As you age, your body naturally loses muscle mass. Regular weight training can counteract age-related muscle loss, boost metabolism by building new muscle tissue, strengthen and tone existing muscle tissue and improve your bone density. With the wide array of equipment and exercises available at the gym, choosing the best can be difficult. Compound exercises allow you to lift heavier while engaging more muscle groups at the same time, says certified strength and conditioning specialist Ryan Patrick at Bodybuilding.com.
Pull-Ups
Pull-ups work your lats, biceps and middle back using your own body weight as resistance. In addition to building upper body muscle, the vertical pulling motion of pull-ups may help clear up minor shoulder issues, says Patrick. Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing forward and hands shoulder-width apart. Pull your shoulders back as you stick your chest out. Pull your body up until your chest touches the bar by bringing your upper arms back and down. Hold your body up briefly before slowly returning to the starting position.
Squats
Barbell squats target your hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes and lower back. Stand with a wider stance to focus the exercise on your glutes and hamstrings, or keep your feet shoulder-width apart to focus on the quads. Position a barbell on a squat rack at shoulder height. Stand beneath the bar, resting it across the back of your shoulders at the base of your neck, gripping with your hands shoulder-width apart, palms forward. Lift the bar off the rack and take a couple of steps backward. Push your butt down and back as you bend at the knees. Lower your torso until your thighs are just past the point of being parallel with the ground, keeping your knees behind your toes. Push down through your heels as you return to the starting position.
Bench Press
The horizontal pushing motion of the bench press works your chest, tricpes and shoulders. Changing the angle of the bench allows you to hit your chest muscles from different angles. Set your bench at a 45-degree incline to hit your upper chest or a similar decline to hit your lower chest. To perform the classic bench press, lie on a bench so your shoulders sit underneath the barbell. Grip the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart, and lift the bar above your chest, completely extending your arms toward the ceiling. Slowly lower the bar until it touches your chest, and push it back toward the ceiling in an explosive motion.
Military Press
The military press develops your shoulders and traps along your upper back, as well as your triceps. The exercise may be performed sitting or standing using dumbbells or a barbell. For a seated barbell military press, sit at a bench with a barbell set on the rack behind your head. Grab the bar with your palms facing forward and your hands shoulder-width apart. Bring the bar over your head by extending your arms toward the ceiling and bringing the bar forward a few inches. Slowly lower the bar toward your collar bone and lift back to the starting position. If you suffer from shoulder pain, have a workout partner or trainer hand you the bar from the front instead of bringing it over your head.
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