Focus on your Compounds

Get better overall results in less time by strength training with compound exercises for a superior workout without spending hours in the gym!

Exercises can be classified as either compound, which involve multiple joints and more than one muscle group (such as the deadlift, bench press, and overhead press), or isolation exercises, which are exercises that isolate a single muscle group only (such as a triceps pull-down or calf raise).

I remember when I first started out, all I would do is isolation exercises. I would do 3 different chest flyes, fancy isolated back exercises, crazy shoulder techniques, only leg extensions, and of course bicep curls! Yes, isolations are great also for mass building and can be fun, but they shouldn’t be your main focus when you are a begginer. Otherwise, you’re just leaving a lot of gains on the table. Here’s the thing, if you want to build muscle at a fast and efficient rate, you need to choose the exercises that are gonna give you the biggest bang for your buck, “COMPOUND EXERCISES!” Compound exercises should be the bulk of your training routine and your main focus, then you can do all the fun isolation exercises afterwards . The reason you want to do compound exercises is because they hit more than one muscle group at a time. You can also increase the weight with compound exercises at a faster rate than you can with isolation exercises which allow you to progressively overload quicker. While compound exercises are not more effective than isolation exercises for increasing muscle mass, the ability to effectively work multiple muscle groups simultaneously does provide several advantages:

• Workouts built around compound exercises are more time efficient making them a better choice for busy people who want to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible.  Compound lifts create the greatest calorie burning in the shortest time.

• Compound exercises are more systemically demanding making them more effective for stimulating improvements in cardiovascular fitness and well-balanced muscular physique, making them better choices for beginners.

• An added benefit is that compound lifts also increase overall strength and size far more effectively than single-joint, isolation exercises because they signal the production of large concentrations of testosterone and growth hormone.  

Some people are afraid of getting too big following a program of compound lifts, but most people don't have to worry about that. Women, especially, do not often possess enough of the hormone testosterone to accidentally build large, bulky muscles simply by following a full-body weightlifting routine.

Overall, single-joint exercises are not less important than compound movements—isolation exercises play an important role in fitness, especially for body sculpting, because they are an effective way to target specific muscle groups to balance out your physique—but if your schedule calls for reduced exercise time, compound exercises are the way to go.

Compound exercises are proven time-efficient muscle builders, so the next time you're tempted to back out of your workout because of time concerns, remember that you should be working smarter, not longer. Combined with plenty of sleep, clean-eating principles, and a positive attitude, you'll see huge improvements in your fitness level!