Compound exercises, those involving more than one joint, help you work multiple muscle groups in one go, maximizing your time at the gym. Compound exercises, such as squats, tend to mimic functional movements more than isolation exercises, such as biceps curls, and because you perform them with free weights, you'll be giving your stabilizer muscles a workout as well.
Upper-Body Pulling Exercises
Exercises involving pulling motions can be divided into horizontal and vertical pulls. Horizontal pulls help develop the muscles of your back and the rear portion of your deltoids without putting extra stress on the shoulder joint. Cable or dumbbell rows are both examples of horizontal pulling exercises. Vertical pulls, such as pull-ups, chin-ups and lateral pull-downs, target the upper back.
Upper-Body Pushing Exercises
While pulling exercises give your back a workout, pushing exercises work your chest and the front of your shoulders. Horizontal pushing exercises, like the bench press, incline bench press or decline bench press, target the chest muscles. Vertical pushes, like Arnold or military presses, work the shoulders. National Strength and Conditioning Association specialist Ryan Patrick suggests balancing your workout with a combination of vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls to maintain muscle balance.
Compound Lower-Body Exercises
Upper-body exercise options abound, but there are fewer choices when it comes to your lower body. To work your quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings together, try squats, lunges, leg press and dead lifts. Performing the leg press requires a weight machine, but each of the other exercises can be done with a barbell, dumbbells or your body weight.
Abdominal Exercises
A study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise examined the muscle activity of the rectus abdominus and the obliques in 30 adults performing 13 different abdominal exercises. The study found that the bicycle and captain's chair, also called the Roman chair, generated the most activity in both abdominal muscle groups.
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