Weight training, sometimes called strength training or resistance training, has many benefits, including improved muscle tone, elevated metabolism, increased strength for everyday activities and stronger bones. Weight-training exercises can be categorized as either isolation or compound. Isolation exercises involve movement around a single joint and usually focus on one main muscle, whereas compound exercises involve multiple joints and muscles. Compound exercises tend to be more functional: They replicate movements from daily living or sports, whereas isolation exercises sometimes are unnatural and seldom replicate real-life movement.
Compound Lower-Body Exercises
Exercises that use your hip and knee joints simultaneously are considered lower-body compound exercises. These include squats, lunges, leg presses, dead lifts and step-ups. All of these exercises involve the quadriceps, at the front of your thighs; your hamstrings, at the back of your thighs; and your glutes--all to greater or lesser degrees. These exercises can be done using a variety of equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, strength-training machines and even just your body weight. Simultaneous knee and hip extension is a natural movement pattern used by most people on a daily basis--for example, when climbing stairs or getting in and out of a car. This movement pattern also is prevalent in all sports that involve running, jumping or lifting. Compound lower-body exercises also use lots of energy and are effective calorie-burners.
Compound Upper-Body Exercises
Pushing or pulling using your upper body involves your elbow and shoulder joints, so any exercise that replicates this is considered a compound exercise. Pulling exercises such as lat pull-downs, bent-over rows, single-arm dumbbell rows and pull-ups all work your back and biceps muscles, whereas push-ups, bench presses and dips work your chest and triceps muscles. Pressing a weight overhead, as in the shoulder press, uses your shoulder and triceps muscles. By selecting a variety of pushing and pulling exercises, you can train all your upper-body muscles in as few as three exercises.
Compound Whole-Body Exercises
A number of exercises use the upper and lower body at the same time. These exercises often are used to develop whole-body strength and power. Whole-body compound exercises use large numbers of muscles simultaneously and are effective calorie-burners when done for many repetitions. Examples include power cleans, high pulls, snatches, thrusters, clean-and-presses and kettlebell swings. Medicine-ball throwing exercises also can be considered whole-body compound exercises, as the upper and lower body muscles work together.
References
- "Designing Resistance Training Programs"; Steven Fleck and William Kraemer; 2003
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Association; 2008
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