Compound Movements and Why You Should Prioritise Them

Are you still trapped in isolation exercise training cycles?

Hitting one “muscle group” at a time. Chasing muscular destruction from every possible angle, each and every week.

Training ultimately comes down to a series of choices, and the type of exercises you choose to focus on consistently will be reflected in your body composition and athletic capabilities.

How do you view the human body, simply as a collection of muscle groups that need to be hit separately? Or, as an integrated unit that should be trained and strengthened through full-body movements?

Today we’re going to discuss the benefits of compound movements, and why you should make them your priority when it comes to training.

If we consider the human body as one large movement system, it’s easy to see that no muscle works in isolation. Think about the squat vs a leg extention, rather than only targeting the quads, the squat works the hamstrings, glutes, core and back muscles in a single movement.

A study compared two groups of athletes using single-joint (isolation) and multi-joint (compount) exercises. Total training volume was the same over a 3x per week for 8 weeks protocol. The results showed that the multijoint exercise group experienced higher levels of v02 max, muscle strength and fat loss(1).

An important consideration is that much higher loads can be used in compound movements. This is what gets you strong.

Let’s compare a few different single-joint exercises with multi-joint. Think about the loads you can lift with each when comparing these movements.

Bicep curl vs chin-up. In addition to pummelling the biceps, the chin-up also builds a stronger back, core and chest.

Latteral raise vs overhead press. Overhead pressing incorporates not only the lateral deltoids, but the front-delts, rear-delts, trapezius, chest, triceps and core muscles.

Hamspring curl vs deadlift. This is a big one. In addition to thick hamstrings, the deadlift builds the quads, glutes, spinal erectors, lats, traps, biceps, forearms and core. It’s really a full body exercise.

While isolation movements have their place, especially in bodybuilding or when training small, weaker muscles in the body, compound movements more closely replicate movement patterns in sports and everyday life, and stimulate more overall muscular strength and athletic development.

With more nervous system, muscle, and cardiovascular stimulation, you can also expect higher levels of cardiovascular fitness and fat loss too. 

With all that said, make compound lifts your priority each and every training session. Isolation movements are great as accessory work to target specific weak points, and have their place, but should come secondary to the bigger lifts.

Happy training.

References

Paoli, A., Gentil, P., Moro, T., Marcolin, G. and Bianco, A., 2017. Resistance Training with Single vs. Multi-joint Exercises at Equal Total Load Volume: Effects on Body Composition, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Muscle Strength. Frontiers in Physiology, 8.