# Compound Exercises - Best for Beginners



## cranium85 (Jul 2, 2012)

*Compound Exercises - Why they are the best for beginners*



Compound exercises are exercise that work/use more that two joints or major muscle groups while the exercise is being performed. Now i think it's fair to say that not all exercises are born equal. Their are wither compound exercises of isolation exercises. Isolation exercises are those that involve the movement of a single joint. An example of a common isolation exercise is the biceps curl. You elbow joint is the only joint being used and your biceps is the only major muscle group that is being trained or isolated.

Now in my opinion why waste all that time and energy doing biceps curls when you can do other "compound" exercise that will work not only your biceps but a multiply of muscles at once. For example, the pull-up or chin up. Now i am going to make this quick and just give a few examples of my favorite compound exercises. I will leave a few links at he bottom of this thread which will explain how to properly perform these exercise in more detail and also list more compound exercises which you can look into.

But the point of this whole post is that for a beginner who is just starting out, compound exercises are the best way to go because instead of wasting ton of time in the gym doing curls you could be doing pull ups and working not only your biceps but multiply muscle groups therefore giving using your energy more efficiently and getting your body, as a whole, in shape faster.

Pull Ups
The main muscles that this exercise works are your lats, upper back, and biceps. They also work your core and your neck to a lesser degree. This is the king of all exercises when it comes to working out your back. Their are also many variations to this exercise, that focus on diffrent parts of the back. For instance, hammer curls work more of your lats to give you that nice V shaped back. Look below and see all the different muscles simple pull ups work.

Muscles Worked:
Latissimus Dorsi
Teres Major
Trapezius
Rhomboid Major
Rhomboid Minor
Biceps Brachii
Brachialis
Brachioradialis

The Squat
 Squats involve the movement of the ankle, knee, and hip joints. The muscles that are directly worked are the quads, hamstrings, gluts, back, and core muscles. It is also great at working those stabilizing muscles.

Muscles Worked:
Quadriceps
Glutes
Adductors
Hamstrings
Erector Spinae
Rectus Abdominis

Bench Press - Push Ups
The Bench Press stresses your pectoral muscles, your triceps, and the front of your shoulders. It also incorporates your neck and serratus anterior muscles. Their are also various forms u can use to perform this exerscise. Close grip, to hit the inner chest and triceps more. Incline, to work your upper chest more. Decline, to target your bottom chest.

Muscles Worked:

Pectoralis Major
Pectoralis Minor
Anterior Deltoid
Triceps Brachii
Serratus Anterior
Coracobrachialis

DIPS
There are two ways to emphasis this exercise, one if with the chest in mind, and the other is to spotlight the triceps. What separates these two is with the chest dip you’re doing each rep while leaning forward. For the tricep dip, there’s no lean. Your body is as straight as can be.

Muscles Worked:

Pectoralis Major
Triceps Brachii
Anterior Deltoid
Serratus Anterior
Anconeus
Brachialis

Upright Row
As good as exercise as any but in my personal opinoin, this exercises maily works your Traps, Delts, and your biceps.

Muscles Worked:

Trapezius
Deltoids
Levator Scapula
Biceps Brachii
Brachialis
Glutes

Bent Over Rows
Also a good compound exercise, how ever works more of your back muscles.

Muscles Worked:

Latissimus Dorsi
Teres Major
Posterior Deltoid
Biceps Brachii
Brachialis
Brachioradialis
Trapezius
Rhomboids
Erector Spinae
Rectus Abdominis
Rectus Abdominis
Erector Spinae

Deadlift
I personally choose not to do these that often because if not done correctly can cause some serious back issues. Which i already have bad back problems. To put if plainly, my back is ****ed. 

Muscles Worked:

Erector Spinae
Trapezius
Glutes
Quadriceps
Rectus Abdominis

Clean and Press
This will be the last compund exercise i will mention. Starts off like a dead lift, then you know the drill the links will explain how to do it all properly. Barbell starts off on the ground and ends up being shoulder pressed above your head. This exercise utilises a multitude of muscle groups at once as you can see below and practically works your whole body.

Muscles Worked:

Deltoids
Triceps Brachii
Biceps Brachii
Erector Spinae
Hamstrings
Glutes
Calves
Rectus Abdominis

Oh yes and the shoulder press or the military press is also a good compound exercise.
I hope this helps especially bros who are just starting out. Point is don't waste your time in the gym doing ten minutes of curls when you can be doing chin-ups and working 8 different groups of muscles.


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## RowdyBrad (Jul 2, 2012)

Good post brother. You are way off though on bicep curls, I have seen the young guys doing them as compound exercises. The heave and ho has to work front delts, traps, mid and lower back and hamstrings. All while in the squat rack!

Good ways to throw on some slabs of beef in the list you got!


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## Pikiki (Jul 2, 2012)

Good details in which muscle groups workout each move.


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## cranium85 (Jul 2, 2012)

yeah u are right ..i probably left out a lot of stuff....to be honest i copied a pasted some of the muscle group worked parts from a website cuz i didn't feel like listing it all my self and then having to spell check it all lol. If you look at some of the links i posted u can probebly get a better idea of what muscles groups are worked with each exercise, or do a google search or something

I started writing this at like 2am last night practically falling asleep at my computer, prob wasn't the greatest idea seeing how i had to get up at 530 for work but once i started i felt like finishing it. Maybe i will edit it later, if u look for closely their are prob. a number of mistake i may of made and much more info i could of added. Will prob undate later tonight. I just though i should contribute something u know. I've gotten a lot from this site and felt like giving something back.

Besides I truly believe that compound exercises are the best way for a beginer or anyone actually to work out. I Do almost ALL compond exerciese when i work out. I try to get the best work out while in while not trying to waste to much energy to isolation exercise. 

Don't get me wrong, i do curls and stuff, but i usually save that for the end of my work out after i've done all my pull ups, pull downs ect. then do curls to burn out that last bit of energy. I do the same with isolation ticept exersies i always do them last after i do my bench or dips ect...


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## RowdyBrad (Jul 2, 2012)

No it's good man. I was just teasing about beginners using their whole bodies for bicep curls.


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## cranium85 (Jul 2, 2012)

oh lol.....i know what u mean now.....how they kinda throw their whole body up their like their while they think they are doing it properly. Hey it's funny to watch sometimes, but u got to remember...we were al beginners at one point. Thats why i think that machine they have at the gym that gives you a spot while doing your pull ups or chin ups is great. Cuz beginners can adjust the amount of weight they need to spot them up and do the exercise properly. Do u know what machine i'm talking about?


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## RowdyBrad (Jul 2, 2012)

Yeah I used the assisted pull up machine about 14 years ago.

I still consider myself a beginner to this here life, started because of TRT initially, but I am very careful with form. Luckily I work out at home.

I was worse when I tried lifting during highschool, I did the whole circuit 1 time for about an hour and just did maybe 8 reps on each with a very light weight. Had no idea about nutrition, going to failure, technique or free weights. Thanks to body for life of all things, I started lifting with correct form and got a basic idea of rep ranges and sets and compound lifts.


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