16 Compound Workout Exercises To Try At Home Or At Gym

A key component of any strength training program, the deadlift is a basic compound exercise that efficiently targets many muscles at the same time. The posterior chain - which includes the hamstrings, glutes, and back muscles - is the main muscle group that this exercise works.

In addition to gaining a lot of strength, deadlifts will help you develop better posture, functional movement patterns, and overall power.

Steps To Do It:

• Place your feet beneath the barbell.
• Get a shoulder-width hold on the bar by bending over with hinged hips.
• Bring the bar close to your shins.
• Straighten your lower back and raise your chest.
• Breathe deeply, hold it, and lift the weight to stand.

The reverse lunge with arm curl is a compound exercise that targets several muscle groups. It blends an upper-body strength-building exercise with a dynamic lower-body action (reverse lunge).

Steps To Do It:

• With your arms drooping at your sides and a dumbbell in each hand, take a tall stance.
• Lower your body into a lunge stance by taking a single-leg step backward.
• Bring the dumbbells up to your shoulders to do a bicep curl while in the lunge posture.
• Lower the dumbbells as you push off your front foot to go back to the starting position.
• On one leg, complete the required number of repetitions; then, swap legs and repeat.

Functional workouts like squats can increase calories burned, strengthen the core, reduce the risk of injury, and enhance posture and balance. Squats are a fantastic strength training exercise that calls for the simultaneous use of many upper and lower body muscles.

Steps To Do It:

• Begin with feet somewhat wider than hip width and toes slightly turned out.
• Keep your chest up and out, engage your abdominals, and return your weight to your heels.
• Lower yourself into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Your knees should stay aligned over your second toe.
• To return to your starting posture, push through your heels while keeping your chest out and your core taut.
• Squeeze your glutes at the top.
• Do 10 to 15 repetitions and work up to three sets.

A compound exercise that efficiently works several muscular groups is the front lunge with a twist. Here, the twist engages the core with a dynamic lower-body action (front lunge). Step forward with one leg to drop into a lunge stance after standing tall.

Steps To Do It:

• Stand tall, feet shoulder-width apart, arms outstretched ahead with a medicine ball.
• Step your right foot forward into a lunge position, keeping your arms extended.
• Your front leg should make a 90-degree angle, with your knee not extending past your toes.
• In the lunge posture, rotate your upper body to the right and then back to the center.
• Return the right leg to the starting position, then lunge forward to repeat the action with the left leg.
• Perform 8 to 10 lunges on each leg, building up to three sets.

Doing a seated dumbbell shoulder press on a stability ball strengthens the shoulder muscles and enhances balance. Using an exercise ball instead of a bench creates a unique challenge since it demands you to activate your core muscles to stabilize the weight.

Steps To Do It:

• Start by sitting on an exercise ball and using your core. Each hand should hold one dumbbell.
• Place the weights on your thighs. Then, using your thighs, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height.
• Raise the dumbbells until your arms are straight over your head.
• With your elbow at shoulder height, slowly bring your arms back to a 90-degree angle.
• Do 12 to 15 repetitions. Complete up to three sets.

The obliques, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae are all strengthened by this challenging core exercise. As you begin in the high plank position, rotate your body in a "T" form and raise one arm toward the ceiling.

Steps To Do It:

• Place your arms behind your shoulders and engage your core to begin in a push-up position.
• For this exercise, the space between the legs should be around hip-width.
• Anchor your right hand directly to the floor and squeeze your thighs and glutes.
• Raise your left arm and drive your hips and shoulders up toward the ceiling while twisting them to the left.
• Lower the left arm to the floor, then "anchor" the left hand directly to the ground.
• Twist and alternate until the right arm is raised.
• Do around 8 to 10 repetitions on each side and try to complete up to three sets.

A compound workout that increases upper body strength and endurance is the push-up. Experienced people can choose difficult variations like clapping or one-handed, while novices can begin with simpler ones.

The push-up can be performed as a strength training, circuit training, or bodyweight exercise.

Steps To Do It:

• Pull your belly button toward your spine to tighten your core and contract your abs.
• Take a breath and slowly bend your elbows until they form a 90-degree angle before lowering yourself to the floor.
• Return to the starting posture by exhaling while tensing your chest muscles and pulling back up through your hands.

Pull-ups - which involve hanging from a bar and pulling oneself up - are a difficult upper-body workout. You must bend your elbows and bring them near your body to pull the body upwards successfully.

Steps To Do It:

• Your hands should be a little broader than your shoulders as you grasp the pull-up bar.
• For a pull-up, turn your hands away; for a chin-up, turn them toward you.
• Pull your shoulder blades back and down until they protrude from your chest.
• Lift your chin over the bar using only your arms and upper torso.
• Repeat after lowering yourself steadily until your arms are outstretched.

An intense workout that tones your core muscles is the forearm plank. With just your forearms and toes for support, you maintain your body in a straight line while performing a plank. This pose works your shoulders, glutes, lower back, and abs, among other muscle groups.

Similar to a static push-up, except instead of going up and down, you stay in the same posture. Strength, posture, and core stability may all be considerably enhanced by regular plank exercise.

Steps To Do It:

• Start with your forearms and toes on the floor, face down, in the plank position.
• Your forearms are pointing forward, and your elbows are exactly beneath your shoulders. You should be staring at the floor with your head relaxed.
• Pull your navel toward your spine by using your abdominal muscles. From your ears to your toes, keep your body in a straight line without bending or drooping, and keep your torso firm and upright.
• For ten seconds, maintain this posture.
• Work your way up to thirty to sixty seconds.

A versatile exercise, lunges have a posture in which one leg is stretched backward and the other leg is front with the knee bent. This workout is easy to practice at home, and can be done with a dumbbell or resistance band for an added challenge.

Steps To Do It:

• Start by placing your feet hip-width apart and standing upright.
• Maintaining a straight back, take a big stride forward with one leg.
• Lower your body toward the floor by bending both knees. Don't let your front knee go past your toes.
• Throughout the exercise, keep your balance and your core active.
• To go back to the starting position, push off with your front foot.
• Use the other leg to execute the lunge.

A fundamental exercise that efficiently works and builds several upper-body muscular groups, such as the arms, shoulders, and chest, is the bench press.

This combination exercise works the deltoids, triceps, and pectoralis muscles (chest) by having you raise a weight while you're lying on a bench. People can improve their general fitness, muscular mass, and upper body strength by including bench presses in their exercise regimen.

Steps To Do It:

• Lie on your back on a flat bench.
• Grip a barbell with hands slightly wider than shoulder width.
• Press your feet firmly into the ground and keep your hips on the bench throughout the entire movement.
• Keep your core engaged and hold a neutral spine position throughout the movement. Avoid arching your back.
• Slowly lift the bar or dumbbells off the rack, if using it. Lower the bar to the chest, allowing elbows to bend out to the side.
• Stop lowering when your elbows are just below the bench.
• Perform 5 to 10 reps, depending on the weight used. Perform up to 3 sets.

Dips primarily target the triceps and require good core strength for conducting successful reps. When performed with a close grip, the focus remains on the triceps, with assistance from the chest and shoulder muscles.

However, widening the grip shifts the emphasis towards the chest muscles, similar to how a wide-grip bench press engages the chest more than the triceps.

Steps To Do It:

• Grip the parallel bars or rings with both hands and lift yourself.
• Straighten your arms. Bend the knees to keep the body off the ground.
• Lower your body by bending your elbows.
• Your upper arms and shoulders must dip just below your elbows.
• Push back up, in one explosive movement. Lock your elbows at the top.
• Repeat this process, going through steps 3-5.

The barbell row is a complex exercise that mainly works the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius muscles in the back. It also works the muscles in the core, forearms, and biceps.

To execute a barbell row, you must row the barbell towards your chest while keeping your back straight and hinge at the hips. This workout works well for strengthening the upper body, enhancing posture, and boosting general athletic performance.

Steps To Do It:

• Stand with your feet under the bar.
• Bend the upper body through hinging at the hips. Then, grab the bar at shoulder width level.
• Slightly bend your knees while keeping a straight back.
• Lift your chest and straighten your back.
• Pull the bar against your lower chest.

The gluteus maximus, the biggest muscle in the buttocks, is the main target of the hip thrust. It also works several other muscle groups, such as the lower back, quadriceps, hamstrings, and core muscles.

Steps To Do It:

• Begin by sitting on the floor with your feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart and your knees bent. You can slightly place the toes outward.
• The weight bar should be placed across the hips. Do not elevate the bar with your arms; instead, hold onto it to maintain it in place.
• Press the bar straight up while contracting your glutes until your hips line up with your shoulders and knees.
• Reduce the bar gradually until the hips are only a few inches off the ground.
• Squeeze your glutes and lift the bar again.

The latissimus dorsi, a big back muscle, is the main focus of the lat pull-down, a strength training exercise. To do this exercise, you must pull the cable bar down toward your chest, using the deltoid and back muscles.

Steps To Do It:

• Take a seat in the lat pull-down machine.
• Maintain a raised chest and relaxed shoulders.
• Put the balls of your feet on the floor and concentrate on using your lats rather than your arms to pull.
• Visualize bringing your elbows down rather than behind you.
• Pay attention to the caliber of each repetition.

In the upright row, you pull a weight vertically toward your collarbones while holding it in an overhand grip. This compound workout exercise works the deltoids, biceps, and trapezius, among other muscle groups.

Steps To Do It:

• Grab a barbell, stand tall, and engage the abdominals.
• Raise the barbell as you exhale.
• Stop at the top of the lift.
• Lower the barbell as you inhale, returning it to the starting position.