5 Main Compound Exercises For Maximum Muscle Gain

Compound exercises, in general, offer the most bang for your buck when it comes to building muscle. They work multiple muscle groups at once and allow you to use more weight than isolation exercises do.

If you want to build the most muscle possible with the least amount of time in the gym, compound exercises should be a staple of your workout routine.

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Squats and Other Compound Exercises For Muscle Gain

Here's a look at five such exercises:

#1 Squat

Squats are one of the best compound exercises you can do. They work the glutes and hamstrings and also hit the quads and core.

To do a squat:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your toes pointed slightly outwards.
• The weight should be on the heels of your feet and not in front or behind them.
• Keep your chest up. That way you will keep from arching backward, which puts undue stress on the lower back muscles rather than focusing on strengthening them. This exercise should be focused more on developing power in thigh muscles than anything else.
• Squat down till your thighs are parallel to the floor. Thrust back up, and repeat for reps.

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#2 Deadlift

There are two main types of deadlifts: conventional and sumo.

• To do conventional deadlifts, stand with a narrow, shoulder-width stance while your feet stay flat on the floor.
• Place your hands outside shoulder width, and grip the bar just outside your legs in a neutral grip (with your palms facing each other).
• Sumo style is done with a wide foot stance, with the hands placed inside of the shoulders and the back arched more than in conventional deadlifts.

Both styles primarily target the hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, and lower back muscles but rely heavily on spinal erectors during the lifting phase and arms for receiving position.

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#3 Bench press

The bench press is a popular compound exercise that works the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. It can be done at home or in the gym, but no matter where you do the exercise, it will help develop your chest and arm muscles.

Here's how it's done:

• The bench press is performed by lying on a flat bench with your feet flat on the ground and back straight.
• Using both hands, reposition the weight over your chest, and lower down till your arms are fully contracted.
• Push back up till your arms are extended at the starting position. Repeat for reps.

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#4 Barbell row

Barbell rows are an effective way to strengthen the back muscles, biceps, and traps.

The movement involves pulling a weighted barbell off the floor by arching the back and pulling it towards you till it reaches chest level. You should maintain a flat back throughout the exercise.

To do a barbell row:

• Stand in front of a weight bench with the seat facing away from you.
• Grab onto a barbell with both hands about shoulder-width apart, with your palms facing down so that it rests at waist height in front of you.
• With straight arms but without locking out at the elbows, pull the bar towards yourself by bending forward at the hips. Keep your abdominals engaged.

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#5 Overhead press

It's a great exercise for increasing upper body strength and size. It should be done with either a barbell or dumbbells, using a shoulder-width grip.

Here's how it's done:

• You will perform this exercise standing, holding the weight in front of you. The barbell or dumbbells should rest on your deltoids and clavicles (upper chest).
• As you lower the weight to the starting position, ensure that your elbows do not move past 90 degrees from the side (perpendicular to the floor).
• Do not allow yourself to go into full extension at either end of the movement. Rather stop just short of locking out at both ends so that tension remains on the muscles for maximum growth potential.

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Takeaway

Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate lifter, compound exercises are something to consider adding to your workout routine. They offer some of the best benefits in terms of muscle growth and strength gain, without being overly complicated.

We’ve covered a few main lifts here that can get you started with compound movements: squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell rows, and overhead presses. The important part is knowing which moves work well together so that you don't overcomplicate things.