Everything You Need To Know About Compound Exercises

Performing compound movements is a time-efficient and convenient way to increase muscle growth and strength and deliver similar results compared to single-joint exercises, according to a review of 23 studies. (However, in certain instances, single-joint exercises are best, such as correcting muscle imbalances in a bodybuilding or rehabilitation programme.)

This is valuable when you lack time for resistance training. When you're working multiple muscle groups in one movement, you can use these moves to create an efficient full-body workout. This is great news, especially if you have trouble fitting in regular strength work—you don't have to be in the gym for hours.

The more muscle groups recruited in a strength exercise, the greater levels of tissue-building hormones—testosterone and other anabolic growth hormones—are released, Schenck said.

A 2019 study on recreational athletes found that while both single-joint and compound (or multi-joint) lower-body exercises lead to strength gains, multi-joint moves were superior in improving muscle strength. Though the differences in strength gain were small, the biggest benefit, said researchers, was that multi-joint exercises delivered these gains in a more time-efficient manner.

And, a small-scale study published in a 2017 issue of Frontiers in Physiology on young men, found that multi-joint work was also more efficient for improving both strength and cardiorespiratory fitness compared to single-joint exercises.

Whether you feel it or not, you're typically engaging your core in order to stabilise your body during compound movements, Travis said. Research shows that functional compound movements, such as squats or farmer's carry, were better at developing core stability over certain traditional core exercises, such as the hanging leg raise and sit-ups. Why? These moves work the full kinetic chain, which is the term for interconnected joints and muscles that work together to perform movements, according to the American Council on Exercise. For example, the lower kinetic chain consists of body parts from your toes to your spine.

That said, you'll still want to add in some core-specific work to your routine. Some people place core work at the end of a strength session, but you could also do it before as part of your warm-up, he added.

"I like to do some core work to get the body ready to move. This also engages your body to connect your top [half] to your bottom half before bigger lifts", Travis said, which can help you execute the move properly and with better form, something important for injury prevention. Planks and their variations, as well as bear crawls, are a few examples.

During an isolation exercise, you don't need to maintain tension in other muscles. "You can curl the weight up and down without engaging the other parts of your body", Travis said. On the other hand, recruiting more muscle groups and joints in a compound exercise forces your body to do extra work to kick in and stabilise itself, he said.

Exercises that mimic the pushing, pulling and squatting done in daily life—from carrying multiple bags of groceries, walking upstairs or picking up children—train your body to do these things more effectively (and safely), said Mike Boyle, a certified functional strength coach.

For instance, the farmer's carry—where you walk holding onto weights or other heavy objects—perfectly mimics the muscle activation (and grip strength) that occurs when carrying groceries. Of course, compound exercises can't do it all. If you are after specific aesthetic goals (for example, to grow a specific muscle group), then you'll probably focus most of your efforts on isolation exercises, Travis said.

(Related: What Are Push-Pull Workouts? Experts Explain)

Technique is important throughout any type of strength training—and that's especially true in a compound exercise. First, learn how to perform each move with proper form without weights. Then, once you've nailed the move, progress to weighted movements, but increase the weight slowly, Travis advised.

Consider working with a certified personal trainer or strength and conditioning specialist to master your form.

"Because there are so many muscles involved in compound exercises, the likelihood of injury is greater, too", Schenck said. One of the major roles of muscles is to protect the joints. You can do this by "pre-engaging" your body (or activating your muscles) before and throughout the movement, she advised.

Strength and visual changes don't come overnight. "It takes roughly four to six weeks for the body to learn how to properly perform a movement", Schenck said.

As such, strength gains and body composition changes take longer to become apparent. What is happening—and this is important—is that your brain and nervous system are learning to execute each movement more efficiently, she said. Be patient and stick to your routine and you'll see the benefits soon.

Words by Jessica Migala