The One Thing Most People Don’t Mention About “Compound” Exercises

(Photo by Playtime Fitness on Flickr )

I talk a lot about compound lifts and smart exercises on my site. I’m really going out of my way here to make no secret that these are the best kind of exercises I think you can be doing, not only because they can work a transformation on your body faster than any other I know of, but also because they’re so efficient when compared to so-called “spot” training or endless cardio.

But there’s one thing that — for a very good reason — I sometimes forget to mention when extolling the virtues of all these multiple-muscle-working lifts.

What is it?

It’s that compound exercises are demanding as hell.

That First-Time Shock

People who do their first sets of squats are often taken aback. These are tough exercises. The reason compound lifts are so great is because they work multiple things at once, sure — but you’re going to feel the demands that multiple muscle exercises put on your body.

Especially for people coming from a machine background, or even more drastically — an all-cardio one — the switch from strength training that was largely done while sitting down to something that employs a huge number of muscles, plus balance and control like you’ve never experienced is a big damn switch.

Mentally Preparing Yourself

Another reason I’m no big fan of machines is because the spot-training methodolgy they naturally encourage tends to let people off the hook, as you can sit leisurely down, run through a couple sets on a bicep curl machine, curl ‘till you can’t curl no more, but never engage anything else besides your biceps.

Even just doing those curls with a barbell, standing up would make a difference – your neck, shoulders and back are forced to get into the game a bit, and your concentration on posture and balance will make a difference over the long run, too. These are the kinds of exercises you want while working out your biceps — not something that just works the one, single muscle and lets all the other ones relax.

How Compound Exercises are Similar to Interval Training

When people talk about how great High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is, they often leave the “oh yeah, it will completely destroy you the first few times” part conveniently out of the sales pitch, or stick it in there at the end.

But it’s true — just like how a series of interval sprints will push your muscles and lungs to the max, leaving you wondering how you could have ever felt that a plain old jog was a strenuous workout, doing compound lifts will drain you.

This means the same precautions apply — if you have a pre-existing medical condition, you don’t want to start right in on the interval training, just like you don’t want to start right in on the squats, deadlifts, and all the other compound exercises either.

Where Can Beginners Start?

These are not exercises for complete beginners. More than anything, I want fitness beginners to get to the level (and it’s not really very difficult) where they can do these workouts and make them a principal part of working out, but there’s no point beating around the bush — these workouts will place big demands on your body, probably bigger ones than you’re used to (you knew there was a reason they worked so well, right?), and some instruction at the beginning is obligatory.

It’s a rare — and often misguided/stupid — person who jumps straight into doing back squats and deadlifts after watching a few videos online and talking to absolutely no one. I don’t want you to be that person.

Talk to your trainer, to a gym staff member, to someone you know who works out regularly. Make sure you take small steps towards a compound-exercise future. Prepare yourself mentally. Realize that you probably won’t be fully prepared physically. Acknowledge that it’ll take a few times to get these things right — that’s why machines are simple, and these are a little less simple.

But once you’ve done all that, and really got your first taste of the kind of full-body transformation a great free-weight, compound workout can give you? I guarantee you there’s no going back.