How to Build Muscle with Compound Movements

[cesari-fitness]

Do you want to know how to build muscle with compound movements? Of course you do! So to get started it is important to have an understanding of these exercises. Compound exercises are exactly what they sound like. They are exercises that work a combination of two or more muscle groups rolled into one exercise. They act to shore up as many muscle groups as possible. By working several muscle groups at the same time these exercises prove to be very effective.

A compound exercise acts like a penny pinching boss, forcing your body to work harder then ever. The results that can be received in the end are well worth the efforts. These movements are guaranteed to give a jolting type challenge to the body. Then your body will adapt by building larger, more powerful muscles. So you are eager to learn what exercises will help you with how to build muscle with compound movements right? Then the following movements are the exercises you will need to learn.

The bench press is a fundamental compound exercise for the upper body. It produces strength and growth not only for the chest muscles but for the front deltoids and triceps as well. Lie on your back on a flat bench, keep your but in contact with the bench and your feet on the floor for balance. Take an overhand grip on the barbell with your hands more than shoulder-width apart. Inhale and slowly lower the barbell until it reaches your chest. Press the weight back up exhaling as you complete the movement.

The deadlift exemplifies how to build muscle with compound movements. It works many muscles the lower back, upperback, trapezius, deltoids, biceps, buttocks, and the legs. Stand facing the bar with your feet slightly spread. Keep your back motionless and a little arched. Flex your knees until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Take an over-under grip on the bar (one palm faces forward and the other faces back), with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart.

Inhale, contract your abdominal and lower back muscles, and lift the bar by straightening your legs (contracting your abdominals and keeping your back straight), raising it in front of your shins. When the bar reaches your knees, extend your torso so you are standing erect with your arms straight down at your sides, exhaling as you complete the movement. Hold this straightened position for two seconds, then return the weight to the floor, making sure you do not hyperextend or arch your back.

A popular and effective compound movement for the biceps is the standing barbell curl. To perform this movement stand with feet a few inches apart and grasp the bar with an underhand grip. To build maximum mass and work the total surface of the biceps do your curls with your hands shoulder width apart. This puts the shoulders, arms, and hands in a straight line.

Then curl the bar out and up in a wide arc and bring it up as high as you can, your elbows close to the body and stationary. Get a full flex of the biceps at the top. Lower the weight again, following the same arc, and resisting the weight all the way down until your arms are fully extended. A small amount of body movement in this exercise is ok since it is a mass- building exercise.

The squat is an exercise used by those that know how to build muscle with compound movements. The reason for this is it involves the entire lower body. With the barbell in the rack, step under it so that it rests across the back of your shoulders, hold onto the bar to balance it, raise up to lift it off the rack, and step away, place feet shoulder width apart. Keeping your head up and back straight, bend your knees and lower yourself until your thighs are just lower than parallel to the floor, also inhale as you lower.

The straight-leg dead lift gives the maximum possible stretch to the hamstrings. This will in turn allow you to develop the most amount of muscle possible in the hamstrings. Take hold of a barbell as you would for dead lifts and come up to a standing position. Keep your legs locked and bend forward from the waist, with your back straight until your torso is about parallel to the floor, with the bar hanging at arm’s length below you.

Straighten up again, pull your shoulders back, and arch your spine to get the spinal erectors of the lower back to contract completely. If you use Olympic weights, it is best to stand on a block or a bench so that you can lower the weight to the maximum extent with out the large end plates touching the floor. I find it helps to keep the lower back in proper posture to have the head up and eyes up though out the exercise

Standing calf raises will help you to develop the overall mass of the calves. Stand with your toes on the block of a standing calf raise machine or smith machine. Straighten your legs, lifting the weight clear of the support. Lower your heels as far as possible, keeping your knee slightly bent. From the bottom of the movement, come up on your toes as far as possible.

From this point, push yourself back up to the starting position. It is important to go below parallel in this movement, especially when you are just learning the exercise, so that you develop strength along the entire range of motion. These are just three of the most effective exercises needed. They are also the exercises that are used for power lifting competition. There are even more effective exercises for those seeking to learn how to build muscle with compound movements.