Basic Strength Training : 1 - Compound Movements (Part 1)

1 - Compound Movements (Part 2)

Compound exercises are the most important exercises in an exercise program. For personal program and design, there needs to be a base of strength developed so that you have an idea on what to do while in the gym. Some of you may be puzzled by "compound movements" and some of you may know exactly what they are. First off, a "compound" movement is NOT defined as an exercise that uses various muscle groups. While this IS true and a huge plus of a compound movement; isolations and every other movement of the human body require utilization of more than one muscle group, as well. If you would lie down on your bed and lay perfectly fat, then raise your pointer finger you would use muscle groups from more than one source; first off, you would use your grip strength; second, you'd use strength from your forearm extensor muscles (brachioradialis, supinator, abductor pollicis longus, extensor pollicis longus). People far too often think the only type of contraction a muscle makes is concentric; it is inaccurate. The muscle makes three contractions: eccentric, concentric, and isometric. In some exercises, muscles are worked only isometrically; for instance, the upper back muscles during the back squat, the traps during weighted dips, and the forearm muscles during a bench press. The true definition of a compound movement is a movement that demands involvement of multiple joints.

Compound exercises include the bread and butter of an exercise program; bench presses, barbell rows, squats, overhead presses, deadlifts, pullups, lunges, chin-ups, push-ups, and exercises of that sort. Isolation exercises include movements are designed to isolate a specific joint from other muscle groups; for instance, lateral raises, shrugs, barbell curls, triceps extensions, calf raises, leg extensions, hamstring curls, and wrist work. One of the biggest benefits to compound movements is the coordination it creates between muscles. When you perform a vertical leap, you are working muscles in accordance to a natural movement; the quads are involved, the hamstrings, the glutes, the calves, the core, and basically muscle groups that make up the lower body. Compound movements create this coordination by teaching joints and muscles to work together. When you perform a squat, you're teaching the hamstrings to stabilize when coming down in a natural movement; you're teaching the quads to work with the glutes and coordinate those lower body muscles. When you perform a leg extension, you're isolating the quadriceps from the muscles they were designed to coordinate with and its basically going to be useless strength in the real world. That's not to say that isolations do not serve a purpose; they do and I'll get around to that point later in the article.

 

👉 1 - Compound Movements (Part 1)
👉 1 - Compound Movements (Part 2)
👉 2 - Program
👉 3 - Principles
👉 4 - Nutritio