5 Best Lower Body Compound Exercises for Fat Loss

Soniya
Compound movements helps target multiple muscles in a single workout. (Image via Unsplash / Anastase Maragos)
Compound movements helps target multiple muscles in a single workout. (Image via Unsplash / Anastase Maragos)

A compound exercise is a movement that involves more than just one joint. When you perform a compound exercise, you’re working more than one muscle group in your body at once.

That’s because the body recruits all its muscle groups to perform the movement. The more muscle groups that are involved, the better are the gains made.

In this article, we'll take a look at the best lower body compound exercises you can do to lose fat and gain muscle in those lower regions. However, be aware that compound exercises are very demanding.


Compound Exercises for Weight Loss

The following five exercises mentioned below may not be new, but they'll allow you to do a lot of reps in each workout without getting bored. By doing them, you're sure to lose fat and burn calories quicker than most other exercises. So, let's get started:

1) Deadlift

Deadlifts are a great compound exercise for working your back, glutes and hamstrings. They also strengthen the core, help you develop overall strength and are an effective way to build muscle.

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Here's how you do it:

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Bend your knees, and grab the dumbbells or barbell you'll use, lifting them to hip level.
  • Lower them to your shins, and raise them back up to hip level.
  • Do 10 to 12 repetitions, and take a 30-60 second rest between sets.

2) Squat

Squats are an excellent all-body exercise. They work the glutes, quads and hamstrings, strengthening bones, ligaments and tendons. You can do them with or without weights, based on your preference or fitness level.

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To do squats:

  • Stand with your feet spread apart as far as they can go, and make sure your legs are straight and parallel to each other.
  • To make the exercise easier, you can turn your feet slightly outwards but not more than 15 degrees.
  • With your arms straight out in front of you, lower yourself till your hips are at least parallel to the floor.
  • A good way to do that is to point your bottom outwards, bend your knees well, and lean forward at the waist.
  • Perform 20 repetitions of three sets.

3) Pull-up

This is a multi-joint compound exercise that works the back muscles, triceps and biceps. It's not easy to do this exercise, which can build upper body strength.

If you're out of shape or new to this exercise, ease yourself into it by using an assisted pull-up machine.

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How to do a pull-up:

  • When you first begin doing a pull-up, stand straight with your hands fully extended while holding a pull-up bar.
  • Keeping your knees bent and heels off the floor, pull yourself up to reach the bar.
  • Lower yourself till your chin touches the bar, and raise yourself back up again as many times as you can before fatigue sets in.

4) Shoulder Press

The shoulder press is a great compound exercise for your shoulders, triceps and biceps. It's also good for building strength.

However, if you have lower back problems or any other kind of health problem, talk to your doctor before attempting this exercise.

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Here's how you do a shoulder press:

  • Take a barbell, and hold it so that your palms are facing in front.
  • The distance between your arms should be wider than shoulder-width.
  • Slightly bend your knees; place the barbell near your collarbone, and lift it so that it lies on your chest.
  • Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
  • Raise the barbell to shoulder level with the bar lying just above your head.

5) Resistance Band Seated Row

This compound exercise works your lats, chest, rhomboids and triceps. You'll need a resistance band to complete the workout.

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Here's how you do this move:

  • Sit on the floor, with your legs extended straight out in front of you.
  • Wrap a therapy resistance band under the curves of your feet.
  • Stand tall and straight, with your chest out and shoulders rolled back.
  • Bend your elbows, and bring them close to your body.
  • Squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you were hugging yourself.
  • Do not lean back; maintain an upright posture throughout this exercise.
  • Slowly extend your hands forward, and bring them back to their starting position.
  • Repeat 15 times for three sets.

Takeaway

Incorporating the aforementioned lower body compound exercises into your routine is something you can choose to do, but be sure to focus on a full body exercise. For your body to achieve the most gains and benefits, lower body compound exercises should be done in combination with other exercises.

The point of lower body compound exercises is to tone up and strengthen the body. Instead of choosing just weight loss or strength training, mix up your options to see quick results.

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Edited by Bhargav