50 Best Compound Exercises (The Ultimate List with PDF)

If you’re looking for a complete list of all compound exercises, you have come to the right place. In this article, I’ve shared as many as fifty compound exercises that will help you design a compound workout routine.

I’ve also made a pdf and attached it to this article so you can download and keep it handy.

What is Compound Workout?

Compound exercises work two or more muscles simultaneously. These workouts are also known as multi-joint (MJ) exercises.

For example, the barbell deadlift is a compound workout. It works on several muscles at once, such as the quads, hamstrings, back, hips, core, and Glutes.

Some studies suggest that doing compound workouts is one of the best ways to maximize muscle strength.

And combining compound exercises with a single joint workout (Isolation exercise) can promote greater muscle hypertrophy.

List of All Compound Exercises

1. Conventional Deadlift

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Quads, Back, and Posterior Chain
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Increase strength and help you get big.

2. Flat Bench Press

3. Sumo Deadlift

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Quads and Posterior Chain
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Increase your lifting strength and bolster many muscles from

4. Barbell Back Squat

  • Equipment needed: Barbells, Plates, and Rack
  • Muscles worked: Lower Body
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Level up your strength, build powerful legs, and boost the testosterone hormone.

5. Barbell Jammers

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Legs, Glutes, Core, Arms, and Shoulder
  • Level: Advanced
  • Benefits: Build strength, endurance, and muscles.

6. Incline DB IYT Raises

7. Standing DB IYT Raises

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Shoulder and Traps
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: An excellent exercise to target all three delts (anterior, lateral, and rear delts) at the same time and build rounded shoulders.

8. Clean and Press

9. Dumbbell Man maker

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Build strength and mobility, torch significant calories, and improve body composition.

10. Chin-ups

  • Equipment needed: Pull-up Bar
  • Muscles worked: Back and Biceps
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Improve grip strength, increase biceps size, and improve back muscle definition.

11. Pull-ups

  • Equipment needed: Pull-up Bar
  • Muscles worked: Back and Biceps.
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Helps build sturdy and broader lats and develops a V shape back.

12. Dips

  • Equipment needed: Dip Station
  • Muscles worked: Triceps, Chest, and Anterior Delt.
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Strengthen upper body muscles and build toned arms and chest.

13. Burpee

  • Equipment needed: Bodyweight
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits- Improve endurance, annihilate considerable calories compared to other exercises, and promote cardiovascular fitness.

14. Dumbbell Pullover

  • Equipment needed: A Dumbbell and a Bench
  • Muscles worked: Chest and Lats
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Provide good stretches to the pecs and lats and develop a defined torso.

15. Landmine Press

16. Push-ups

  • Equipment needed: Bodyweight
  • Muscles worked: Chest and Triceps
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Enhance the fundamental upper body strength and solidify the trunk.

17. Plank

18. Military Press

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Shoulder, Triceps, and Core
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Boost pressing strength and improve shoulder health.

19. Bulgarian Split Squat

20. Hack Squat

  • Equipment needed: Leg Press Machine
  • Muscles worked: Quads and Hamstrings
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Help build solid and sizeable legs.

21. Romanian Deadlift

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Quads, Hamstring, Glutes, and Lower Back
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Strengthen posterior chain muscles and make your hips flexible.

22. Thruster

  • Equipment required: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Upper Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Increase strength and speed and fire up decent calories in a short time.

23. Clean and Jerk

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Advanced
  • Benefits: Shoot up strength, speed, and explosiveness while developing a solid physique.

24. Dumbbell Swing Squat

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Torches plenty of calories, boost metabolism, and promote better cardiovascular health.

25. High Pull

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Back, Shoulder, and Arms
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Increase pulling strength and build a firm torso.

26. Barbell Hip Thrust

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Posterior Chain Muscles
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Buttress posterior chain muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

27. Battle Rope

  • Equipment needed: Battle Rope
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Increase endurance and metabolism and tone upper body muscles.

28. Push Jerk

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Upper Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Build strength for performing various CrossFit push exercises.

29. Push-up to Renegade Row

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Upper Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Strengthen the torso, improve balance, and improve fitness.

30. Lunges

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells/Barbell
  • Muscles worked: Lower Body
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Build strong legs and boost endurance.

31. Dumbbell Surrenders

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Strengthen various muscle groups simultaneously and helps improve aerobic fitness.

32. Elevated Plank Row

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Back and Core
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Build a strong back while toning abdominal muscles.

33. Farmer’s Walk

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells/Plates
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Improve total body strength and cardiovascular health.

34. Dumbbell Cluster

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Improve strength and quickness and boost aerobic fitness.

35. Sumo Deadlift High Pull

  • Equipment needed: Bodyweight
  • Muscles worked: Integrate Full Body
  • Level: Advanced
  • Benefits: Bolster muscles throughout the body and help develop an aesthetic physique.

36. Push Press

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Upper Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Helps achieve a strong and muscular torso.

37. Pendlay Row

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Back and Shoulder
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Increase your pulling strength, helps put on muscles, and shape the torso.

38. Overhead Squat

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Shoulder, Legs, and Core
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Develop strength from upper to lower body and build an athletic physique.

39. Dumbbell Step-Up

  • Equipment needed: Dumbbells and a bench/box
  • Muscles worked: Legs, Glutes, and Core
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Build solid legs and increase stamina and mobility.

40. Bent-over Row

  • Equipment needed: Barbells and Weight Plates
  • Muscles worked: Back, core, and Posterior Delt
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Build a muscular and broader back.

41. Turkish Get-Up

  • Equipment needed: Kettlebells
  • Muscles worked: Integrated Full body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Reinforce the entire muscle groups from the upper to the lower body and improve overall balance.

42. Kettlebell Swings

  • Equipment needed: Kettlebells
  • Muscles worked: Integrated Full body
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Increase strength, speed, and explosiveness and enhance cardiovascular fitness.

43. Kettlebell Taters

  • Equipment needed: Kettlebells
  • Muscles worked: Integrated Full Body
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Burn decent calories in a short time and build stronger legs.

44. Handstand Pushups

45. Pistol Squat

  • Equipment needed: Kettlebell/Bodyweight/Kettlebell
  • Muscles worked: Legs, Glutes, and Core
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Benefits: Strengthen lower body muscles and improve overall balance.

46. Landmine Oblique Twist

  • Equipment needed: Barbell and Plates
  • Muscles worked: Abs, Oblique, and Shoulder
  • Level: Beginner
  • Benefits: Bolster midsection and helps build sculpted abs.

47. Bear Crawl

48. Dragon Fly

  • Equipment needed: Bodyweight
  • Muscles worked: Arms and Core
  • Level: Advance
  • Benefits: Improve strength, balance, and flexibility, and sculpt abdominal muscles.

49. Diamond Pushup

50. Muscle Up

  • Equipment needed: Pull-up Bar
  • Muscles worked: Integrated Full body
  • Level: Advance
  • Benefits: Improve balance, muscle cooperation, speed, flexibility, and fitness level.

Compound Exercises List By Muscle Group

Leg/Lower Body

  • Barbell Deadlift
  • Barbell Squats
  • Hack Squat
  • Barbell Jammers
  • Clean and Jerk
  • Dumbbell  Swing Squat
  • Barbell Romanian Deadlift
  • Bulgarian Split Squat
  • Squat Thrust
  • Barbell Hip Thrust
  • Barbell Lunge
  • Squat  to Overhead Press
  • Overhead Squat

Chest

  • Bench Press
  • Dips
  • Dumbbell Pullover
  • Landmine Press
  • Push-ups
  • Incline Bench Press
  • Barbell Jammers

Back

  • Barbell Deadlift
  • Pull-ups
  • Chinups
  • Inverted Rows
  • Barbell Bent Over Row
  • Barbell T Bar Row
  • Dumbbell IYT Raises
  • High Pull
  • Pendlay Row

Shoulder

  • Dumbbell Arnold Press
  • Barbell Overhead Press
  • Incline DB IYT Raises
  • Squat to Overhead Press
  • Landmine Press
  • Barbell Jammers
  • Standing IYT Raises
  • Pendlay Row
  • Thruster
  • Overhead Squat

Arms

  • Dips
  • Close Grip Bench Press
  • Diamond Push-Ups
  • Chin-ups

Abs and Oblique

  • Planks
  • Hanging Raise (Knee and Leg)
  • Kneeling Wood Chop
  • Ab wheel Rollout/Barbell Rollout
  • Landmine Oblique Twist
  • Windshield Wiper

Full Body/Integrated Compound Workout List

  • Burpee
  • Clean and Press
  • Barbell Jammers
  • Muscle Up
  • Hang Clean
  • Battle rope Waves
  • Clean and Press
  • Dumbbell Man maker
  • Cable pull to press
  • Push Jerk
  • Push-up to Renegade Row
  • Barbell Push Press

List of compound Workout PDF


Include these exercises in the following workout programs:

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Author
Murshid Akram
I'm an online personal trainer, fitness blogger, and fitness enthusiast. I love researching and writing about exercise and nutrition. I share science-based, practical, and logical information that can help you achieve your desired fitness goal.

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