Ultimate List of Compound Exercises That You’ll Ever Need

The list of compound exercises contained in this post was created by professional trainers, we have made some changes to it to suit beginners as well.

Compound exercises can be relied on in order to achieve several goals related to fitness, so that these exercises can be the best choice for people who want to get strong muscles, gain muscle mass and build great physical strength.

We will also mention the benefits and the best compound exercises that can target the muscles of your entire body.

Let’s continue together in order to discover one of the most effective exercises in reducing body fat and building muscle tissue.

What are the compound exercises?

Compound exercises focus on working the various muscles of the body at once, as they are different from traditional exercises that may take a full session to work the chest muscles only.

Complex training programs are developed where the muscles of the whole body can be targeted in one session and in a short time.

So, this means that compound exercises are exercises that include multiple joints used during the exercise, and thus engage several fresh muscles to use more joints, and compound exercises may include several major lifting exercises such as: loaded squats, bench press, bending over the row, Overhead press, deadlift.

6 Fundamental Compound

Compound exercises consist of 6 movements and are considered the most important and effective in operating all the muscles of the body, but each of these movements has its own variables that we will mention later in the list of compound exercises.

1- Bench Press

The bench press is one of the most common exercises to increase the strength of the upper body, as it is used as a test to measure the strength of the upper body as one of the 3 lifts that are performed in the sport of weightlifting.

The bench press is a focus of many athletes looking to strengthen the upper body, build muscle, and increase muscle mass. (source)

Muscles worked by the bench press:

• pectoralis major.

• Biceps brachii muscle.

• Triceps brachii.

• front serratus.

• Anterior deltoid.

2- Squats

Squatting is also one of the most powerful exercises that target the lower part of the body, as it has many variables that work with the same efficiency to improve the different areas of the lower part of the body, isolate each muscle, work to improve muscle strength, build endurance of the feet and increase muscle mass. (source)

Muscles worked by squatting:

• Gluteus Maximus.

• Middle gluten.

• vastus lateralis.

• central vastus.

• semi-stringed;

• half of the membrane.

• The long head biceps femoris.

• Gastrocnemius lateralis.

• Gastrocnemius medialis.

3- Overhead Press

The overhead press is one of the best exercises that helps the muscles of the upper part to achieve dynamic stability and activate the shoulder muscles. It is also the main refuge for many weightlifting champions in order to improve the strength of the shoulders, triceps and traps. It also targets some areas such as the lower back and abdominal muscles.

Muscles by overhead press:

• Pectorals (chest).

• Deltoids (shoulders).

• Triceps (arms).

• Trapezius (upper back).

4- Rows

Row exercises contain a huge amount of variables in multiple ways and target the various muscles of the body from the upper section to the lower section. They can be performed via the cable machine or through the bar. Row exercises are one of the most powerful exercises in building strength and endurance.

Muscles worked by rows:

• Quadriceps ligaments.

• Hamstring.

• the muscles of the hands.

• shoulders.

• Abdominal muscles.

• Back area.

5- Pull Ups

Pull-up exercises are highly relied upon in order to improve speed in many physical activities such as CrossFit and so on, and pull-up exercises are effective in building strength and endurance of the hands, which makes them a great addition to weight exercises.

Muscles worked by pulling upwards:

• Biceps muscle.

• deltoid.

• rhomboid muscles.

• Core.

====> Best core workouts for women at home < ====

6- Deadlifts

The deadlift is a somewhat complicated movement, but its benefits cannot be counted. The deadlift is relied upon in order to improve physical fitness and build strength in the lower part of the body, so that the main goal is to strengthen the muscles of the thighs and the rest of the muscles are secondarily targeted.(source)

The benefits of the deadlift are not limited to the lower part of the body only, but also help to reduce back pain, improve the strength of the hands, increase metabolism and more benefits … we will probably address them in another post.

Muscles worked by the deadlift:

• Quads

• Core

• Hamstrings

• Glutes

• Hip flexor

• Lower back muscles

• Upper back muscles

List of Compound exercises

We will provide compound exercises for every body section. The regulations will include all compound exercises that target almost all the muscles of the body.

BACK COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Deadlifts
• Bent Over Row
• Lat Pull Down
• Single Arm Row
• Farmer’s Carry
• Inverted Row
• Close Grip Pulldown
• Wide Grip Pulldown

CHEST COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Incline Barbell Bench Press
• Barbell Bench Press
• Decline Bench Press
• Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Flys
• Dips
• Weighted Dips

SHOULDER COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Barbell Overhead Press
• Dumbbell Overhead Press
• Arnold Shoulder Press
• Bent Over Reverse Fly
• Lateral Raise
• Front Dumbbell Raise
• Handstand Push Ups

ABS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Decline Crunches
• Hanging Leg Raise
• Single Arm Bent Over Row
• Single Leg Deadlift
• Single Arm Chest Press
• Thrusters
• Single Arm Kettlebell Swing

TRICEPS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Overhead Extension
• Close Grip Bench Press
• Dips
• Bar Dips
• Dumbbell High Brach
• Behind The Neck Press
• Diamond Push Ups

BICEPS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Dumbbell Curl
• Barbell Reverse Curl
• Incline Curls
• Chest Supported Rows
• T-Bar Row
• Pull Ups
• One Arm Dumbbell Row

FOREARMS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Plate Pinches
• Thick Bar Reverse Curl
• Fat Dumbbell Wrist Curls
• Thick Hammer Curls
• Thick Grip Static Holds
• Farmer’s Walk
• Climbing Rope

HAMSTRINGS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Lying Leg Curls
• Kettlebell Swings
• Romanian Deadlifts
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Back Squats
• Barbell Good Mornings
• Glute Hamstring Raise

QUADS COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Pause Squats
• Back Squats
• Barbell Split Squats
• Bar Step Ups
• Box Squats
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Front Rack Reverse Lunge

GLUTES COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Reverse Lunges
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Leg Press With Leg High
• Sumo Deadlifts
• Good Mornings
• Donkey Kicks
• Hip Thrusts

CALVES COMPOUND EXERCISES

• Farmer’s Walk
• Seated Calf Raise
• Dumbbell Jump Squat
• Barbell Calf Raise
• Dumbbell Calf Raise
• Elevated Calf Raise
• Donkey Calf Raise

What are the benefits of Compound exercises

Compound exercises affects the muscles of the body positively, and is effective in improving strength and muscle strength and increasing muscle mass, and its benefits are not limited to muscle and fitness, but also can improve blood circulation, the health of the heart and increase metabolism.

Among the benefits that you can gain in general with compound exercises:

Burn more calories.

• Gaining muscle and muscle mass.

• Strength improvement.

• Build muscle strength.

• Improve flexibility.

• Increased metabolism.

• Target many muscles at one.

• Improve body balance.

• Achieving Weight loss goals

How to train your body with compound exercises?

You can rely on compound exercises mainly in order to build strength and muscles and achieve fitness goals.

Set a program of exercises from 2 to 3 times a week, you can focus on an area of the body in each session.

You can do back or upper body exercises on Mondays, do some cardio exercises on Wednesdays, and target the lower body on Saturdays.

For starters, it is best to leave the muscles to recover for 48 hours after strength training exercises.

Example of Compound exercise for upper body

Workout 1 : Pull Ups

Muscle Worked : Back, Biceps, Core

Reps : 4 – 6 – 8 – 4

Workout 2 : Barbell Bench Press

Muscle Worked : Chest, Triceps, Shoulders

Reps : 12 – 10 – 8 – 6

Workout 3 : Face Pulls

Muscle Worked : Upper Back, Shoulder, Biceps

Reps : 12 – 10 – 8 – 6

Example of Compound exercise for lower body

Workout 1 : Barbell Back Squat

Muscle Worked : Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

Reps : 8 – 10 – 12 – 8 

Workout 2 : Lying Dumbbell Hamstring Curls

Muscle Worked : Hamstrings, Lower Back, Glutes

Reps : 10 – 8 – 6

Is it possible to rely on compound exercises only?

In short, yes.
Compound exercises include a huge amount of movements that target your entire body, also you can rely on the compound lift in order to build muscles and gain fitness and achieve goals related to weight loss as well, so the exercises contained in this post may be enough to stay healthy and build Athletic body.

Are compound exercises safe for beginners?

Well this is an important question, because your safety comes first.

Even seasoned athletes, some exercises may be dangerous for them, when it comes to injuries and so on, anyone is exposed to it, whether it is a beginner or a professional.

Healthline has some advice on this:

• Training with a du-qualified trainer can protect you from some injuries resulting from certain movements, because he knows exactly how to integrate beginners with exercises.

• You can also talk to your personal trainer for advice, they can also help you choose weights that match your fitness level and number of repetitions and sets that may be safe for you, so don’t be shy to ask.

• Increasing weights during exercises is related to stability, so you can add some weights in the next group if you feel stable in the previous group, and also reduce weights if you do not feel stable.

• You can forgo the help of the coach when you are a professional in performing movements safely and correctly and know your training programs, however you may want to take more advice.

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