Compound Exercises Best for Muscle Building

If you’re looking through muscle building or bodybuilding workout programs, you’ll most likely notice a combination of isolation and compound exercises.

Isolation exercises are simply that. They isolate a particular muscle group through the movement of a single joint. Some examples would be the Leg Extension, where the only joint in motion is the knee, working the quadriceps. The Concentration Curl isolates the bicep through movement of just the elbow. The Lateral Raise isolates the deltoids through movement of the shoulder.

A compound exercise involves the movement of multiple joints and works two or more muscle groups. The Barbell Squat for example requires movement through the ankles, knees, hips and to some degree the shoulders, working the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, abdominals and lower back.

In order to provide complete muscle fiber stimualtion, you should include both compound and isloation exercises in your muscle building programs. If strictly muscle growth is your goal, then compound exercises should make up the meat of your workout, using isolation exercises as a ‘compliment’ to the big moves.

Compound exercises offer the most muscle growth potential since more stress is placed on the body and more muscle fibers are called into action. Compound exercises performed with intensity also fire up the endocrine system, pumping out anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, both of which are necessary for muscle growth.

The bread and butter of your bodybuilding/muscle building program should focus on the following exercises:

Legs: Barbell Squat, Deadlift, Lunges

Back:Chin ups, Pulldowns, Deadlifts, Rows

Chest: Push ups, Dips, Bench Press

Shoulders: Military Press, Hang Clean and Press, Arnold Press

Arms: Close Grip Chin ups, Dips, Close Grip Push ups

These are the ‘Big Boy’ (or ‘Big Girl’ if you will) moves. Olympic lifts are also great to add in like the One Arm DB Snatch or the Clean and Jerk for example.

Building muscle is hard work and takes time, effort, proper nutrition and patience. Put in a max effort and you’ll see max results!

About Shauna
	Shauna is a personal trainer, nutrition consultant and health and fitness writer for Workoutbox.com. She is also the creator of the "Soccer Mom weight loss program". Read more

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