Why compound exercises should be at the centre of your weightlifting routine

Compound exercises should be the foundation behind any proper bodybuilding plan as their benefits are simply enormous.

Starting a fitness or bodybuilding journey may seem very difficult from the outset. The challenges are way too much and given the amount of information that is readily available these days, it may often lead to great confusion.

Due to the hectic lifestyle that is so pervasive in today’s day and age, most people want results and changes to their bodies as fast as possible. While securing the help of personal trainers in gyms may help them achieve that, there are a few simple fundamentals that everyone should stick to for maximum growth.

One of the core pieces of advice that every fitness expert propagates is to make compound movements the cornerstone of any bodybuilding plan. Exercises like squats, bench press, deadlifts, overhead press, pull-ups, rows are extremely vital and should be prioritised in any fitness plan.

The reasons behind are as follows:

The body burns more calories during compound movements

Compound exercises require the use of more muscle mass during weight lifting and hence, expend greater energy. A weighted squat, for example, uses all the muscles in your leg, as well as your core and forearms. The body expends 5 calories of energy to consumer 1 liter of oxygen. Exercises that involve more muscle tissue require more oxygen, which helps the body increase its net energy expenditure. As such compound movements not only lead to more muscle mass but also allows the body to burn more fat.

They help achieve intermuscular coordination

Doing exercises that activate various muscle groups can increase the overall strength of the body and also improve intermuscular coordination. While isolation exercises help to focus on a weaker area, compound lifts provide the benefit of utilising multiple muscle groups at the same time which can help both joint movement and mobility. For example, several muscles in the gluteal complex (gluteus maximus, medius and minimus) are responsible for controlling motion of the hip. Compound exercises such as squats, lunges or steps that move the hips in all three planes can improve how all of the muscles work together to produce and control force.

Compound exercises are time effective

As already discussed above, compound exercises help the body to burn greater amount of fat than isolation work. More importantly, since compound movements train multiple muscle groups at the same time (for example, bench press activates the chest, shoulders, and triceps together) they are more time efficient. With compound lifts, It’s easier to get a full body, or even upper or lower body workout, done quickly when short on time.

They stimulate the release of hormones

Compound lifts are some of the most difficult exercises that can be done in a gym. It requires a tremendous amount of strength to compound movements in the heavy weight range. As the body uses more muscle fibres activating multiple muscle groups at once, this can promote the release of hormones which help build muscle, such as testosterone and other natural growth hormones.

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