What are compound exercises?
Moves that bend several joints at once, like squats, deadlifts, presses and rows. In one trial, active young men doing only these gained more strength on a leg machine than men who trained on it.
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What are compound exercises?
A compound exercise moves two or more joints at once. A squat bends your hips, knees and ankles together. A curl only bends your elbow, so it’s an isolation move.
Think of a compound lift as a whole team pulling a rope. An isolation move is one player on their own. One compound lift trains the whole team in one go.
| Lift | Group | What you feel working |
|---|---|---|
| Back squat | Squat | All the muscles in your legs |
| Deadlift | Hinge (bending at your hips) | Your legs, mostly the back of them, plus your back |
| Bench press | Push | Your chest and the muscles round your middle (core) |
| Overhead press | Push | Your shoulders, with your core holding you still |
| Bent-over row | Pull | Round your shoulder blades and your biceps, with your bum and the backs of your legs holding you bent |
| Pull-up | Pull | Your back, plus your biceps and forearms |
Sources: Royal Osteoporosis Society; The Prehab Guys
The Royal Osteoporosis Society says one move from each group, squat, hinge, push and pull, helps strengthen all your main muscles. So pick one lift from each group.
Compound vs isolation exercises: which works better?
For strength, compound moves came out ahead in one trial. Thirty-six active young men trained three times a week for 8 weeks.
One group did only compound lifts. The other did only isolation moves, such as the knee extension. Both groups did the same total amount of work.
| Gain in best single lift | Isolation only | Compound only |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 8.3% | 13.8% |
| Bench press | 8.1% | 10.9% |
| Knee extension machine | 12.4% | 18.9% |
Source: Paoli and others 2017
That leg machine is the knee extension. The compound group gained more on it, without training on it. Both groups lost about the same body fat and gained about the same lean weight.
In another trial, young men new to weights who added curls and an arm-straightening move to compound lifts gained no extra arm size or strength. So build your sessions on compound lifts first. Our best strength exercises guide covers when the extras earn a place.
A full-body compound workout
Split the six lifts into two workouts and swap between them. Each one has a squat or hinge, a push and a pull. Between them, they cover all four groups.
| Workout | Lifts, in this order | Sets and reps |
|---|---|---|
| A | Back squat, bench press, bent-over row | 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps each |
| B | Deadlift, overhead press, pull-up | 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps each |
Sources: Royal Osteoporosis Society; ACSM
Train on 2 to 3 days a week, with at least a day’s rest in between. Build up to 3 sets of each lift. Do compound lifts before any isolation moves, as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) advises.
For sets of 6 to 12 aimed at muscle growth, the ACSM suggests 1 to 2 minutes of rest between sets. Can’t do a pull-up yet? Swap in a row from our full-body dumbbell workout.
How heavy, and when to add weight?
Pick a weight you can lift 8 to 12 times with good form (lifting it the right way). Build up slowly, as the charity advises. The charity says to go lighter if you can’t manage 8, and heavier if you can do 12 and feel you could keep going.
- Below 8 repsUnder 8: go lighter.
- 8 up to 12 reps8 to 12: keep this weight.
- Above 12 reps12 and could keep going: go heavier.
Source: Royal Osteoporosis Society
The ACSM suggests adding 2 to 10% once you can do 1 or 2 reps more than you aimed for.
Aiming for 10 squats at 50 kg and getting 12? Try 51 to 55 kg next time.
Our progressive overload guide shows how to keep that going week by week.
How to do the compound lifts
These cues come from The Prehab Guys, a team of physios who publish an exercise library.
Back squat: keep your back fairly straight and your core braced, and remember to breathe. Deadlift: stand as you would to jump high. Take the slack out of the bar, then lift with your legs, not just your back.
Bench press: eyes under the bar, feet flat, shoulder blades squeezed. Lower the bar towards nipple level. Overhead press: start with the bar on your collarbone and keep the rest of your body still.
Row: hold the bend at your hips and drive your elbows towards your back pockets. Pull-up: pull with your shoulder blades first, then lower yourself slowly.
Not sure of your form? The charity says to talk to a physio or qualified exercise instructor before you start. Warm up first with our warm-up guide.
Your compound workout checklist
- Swap between workout A and workout B, on 2 to 3 days a week.
- Leave at least a day’s rest between sessions.
- Do compound lifts before any isolation moves.
- Build up to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps of each lift.
- Work each set to the point where you need a short rest.
- Once you can do 1 or 2 reps more than you aimed for, add 2 to 10% to the weight.
Sources: Royal Osteoporosis Society; ACSM; NHS
For a full week laid out, see our beginner gym plan.
When to speak to a GP first
Book an appointment before you start if:
- You haven’t exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns.
- You get chest pain that comes and goes, or that goes away quickly but still worries you.
- You’re pregnant and new to weights. The NHS lists strength training at a gym if you do this already, and says not to start a new vigorous activity in pregnancy. Ask your midwife first.
Later in pregnancy, the NHS says to try to avoid lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes. It can make you feel dizzy and is not good for your baby. So swap the bench press for a standing press then.
Call 999 if you get sudden chest pain or discomfort that doesn’t go away. It can feel like squeezing or pressure inside your chest, burning or indigestion.
The same goes for pain that spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back. Or chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, light-headed or short of breath.