What Are Compound Exercises? Key Benefits and the Best Compound Exercises to Try

For some people, exercise is something they luxuriate in, a routine that takes an hour or more to complete and that’s all about deliciously challenging their body every day. But for most busy people, the thing they are looking for most in their fitness routine is efficiency. If they only have 20 or 30 minutes to commit to exercise, they want to make sure they are getting the maximum benefits possible from that time. 

One way to maximize your workout’s efficiency is to incorporate compound exercises. Here, we’re sharing everything you need to know about these powerful movements, what the best compound exercises are, and how to incorporate them into your fitness regimen.

Let’s dive in!

What are compound exercises?

Compound exercises are movements that work multiple muscle groups at once. They are typically movements that utilize dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, or your own bodyweight. Conversely, some of the strength machines you would see at a big-box gym are isolation exercises that target just one muscle group at a time. 

What are the benefits of compound exercises?

Compound exercises deliver many benefits. The biggest ones include:

• They are efficient and time-saving

• They improve balance and stability 

• They strengthen muscles, bones and joint

• They elevate your heart rate

Efficient and time-saving

Building a workout around compound exercises can essentially cut the length of your workout in half. Instead of doing squats followed by shoulder presses, you can combine the two movements into thrusters, adding a cardio component and making your entire routine more efficient. 

Improve balance and stability

Almost all compound exercises, especially those done with dumbbells or barbells, are completed on the floor. As such, they engage many of the stabilizing muscles in the core and around the joints that help you balance and stay stable as you move through the movements. 

Strengthen muscles, bones and joints

Building off of the previous perk, most compound exercises are weight-bearing. This means that you’re also increasing your bone density and strengthening your joints. 

They elevate your heart rate

Because compound exercises target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, they are incredibly effective at elevating your heart rate and boosting calorie burn. Their dynamic, full-body nature requires more energy, quickly getting you breathing heavy while improving your cardiovascular endurance and building strength.

8 of the best compound exercises to try

Ready to get started? Here are 8 of our favorite compound exercises for a full-body burn:

1. Thrusters

2. Reverse lunge to hammer curl

3. Curtsy squat with a twist

4. Spiderman pushups

5. Jumping lunges

6. Burpees 

7. Romanian deadlift to upright row

8. Squats

1. Thrusters

What it works: Glutes, hamstrings, core, quads, and shoulders.

How to do it: 

• Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold two light to medium dumbbells at your shoulders.

• Lower into a squat, then as you rise back up push the weights up into an overhead press. 

• Bring the weights back down to your shoulders at the same time as you lower into your next squat.

2. Reverse lunge to hammer curl

What it works: Quads, glutes, and biceps.

How to do it: 

• Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold two medium to heavy weights at your sides, palms facing in. 

• Take a large step back with one foot and lower into a lunge, then as you push off the back foot to return to standing curl the weights up to your shoulders. 

• Step back with the other foot as you lower the weights back down, and continue to alternate. 

3. Curtsy squat with a twist

What it works: Glutes, adductors, abductors, obliques, and transverse abs. 

How to do it: 

• Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands together at your chest (option to hold one light to medium weight). 

• Step back with one foot, crossing behind your front foot and lowering into a curtsy. At the bottom of your curtsy, twist toward your front leg. 

• Return to standing and alternate sides.

4. Spiderman pushups

What it works: Chest, rectus abs, transverse abs, shoulders, and obliques.

How to do it: 

• Start in a straight arm plank. 

• Lower your chest to the floor, at the same time bringing one knee up to tap your elbow, then push back up and return your foot to the plank. 

• Alternate sides. 

• You can also split up the movements, completing a push up and then bringing the knee up. 

5. Jumping lunges

What it works: Strength endurance, quads, glutes, hamstrings, core, and stabilizing muscles around the hips and back.. 

How to do it: 

• Start in a lunge. 

• Explode up off both feet and switch legs in the air to land in the opposite lunge.

6. Burpees

What it works: Cardio, quads, hamstrings, arms, chest, and transverse abs.

How to do it: 

• From standing, place your hands down on the floor and jump your feet out behind you.

• Lower your chest to the floor then push back up, jump your feet in, and stand back up. 

7. Romanian deadlift to upright row

What it works: Hamstrings, glutes, chest, and shoulders. 

How to do it: 

• Start with your feet hip-width apart and hold two medium weights with your palms facing your thighs. 

• Bend your knees only slightly and hinge at the hips to lower the weights to mid-shin, then lift back up, pulling the weights all the way up to chest height.

8. Squats

What it works: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, hip flexors, core muscles

How to do it: 

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

• Lower your body by bending your knees and hips. 

• Return to standing. 

• Repeat.

Tips for incorporating compound exercises into your fitness routine

Now that we’ve given you 10 of the best compound exercises to try, keep these tips in mind when trying them:

• Balance your routine. Even though compound exercises make it easier to avoid overdoing it on one muscle group, it’s still important to pay attention to which exercises you’re choosing to make sure you’re hitting every part of the body. 

• Focus on form. One of the most common mistakes people make with compound exercises is executing one part with perfect form and then losing their form on the second part. For example, you could execute a perfect squat to start a thruster, then arch your back to throw the weights up into the overhead press. To get the most out of each move and avoid potential injuries, make sure you’re maintaining proper form throughout the exercise. 

• Play with tempo. Some compound exercises can be dynamic, which means that once you’ve mastered proper form, it’s easy to change up your pace and tempo to get more cardio burn out of the movements. 

• Play with weight and reps. Likewise, you can vary the weight you use and the number of reps you do in order to focus more on specific body parts or specific benefits, such as building muscle (heavier weights, fewer reps) or improving balance (lighter weights, more reps).

Here’s a secret: We lied a little.

We said earlier that most exercise machines focus more on isolation movements than compound exercises and that almost all compound exercises are completed on the floor. That is true, for the most part. But there is one machine that is a compound exercise machine, working cardio, glutes, hamstrings, transverse abs, and arms: the rower. 

If you’re all about efficiency and incorporating powerful compound exercises into your fitness regimen, we recommend checking out Hydrow’s rowing machines. Indoor rowers offer an immersive and efficient total-body workout, targeting 86% of your muscle groups in each rowing stroke. And, because rowing is both a cardio and strength workout, all you need is just 20 minutes to torch calories and build strength.

Hydrow also offers an extensive library of workout content led by our team of world-class Athletes and filmed in gorgeous locations around the world. Our rowing, yoga, Pilates, strength training, mobility training, and circuit training workouts will transport you to stunning global destinations and keep you motivated to come back again and again. 

Learn more about the benefits of rowing and a Hydrow rowing machine today!