Feeling the squeeze? We hear you. Sometimes, there just aren’t enough hours in the day, which means that your workout can take a beating. But what if we told you you can work more muscles in less time with these three compound moves and still get great results?
That’s right, moves that work more than one muscle at once will not only slash your workout time, but these strength training exercises will also challenge your upper and lower body in super creative ways so you’ll never get bored. “Compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups, leading to more muscle development in less time,” says Jack Claxton, Level 3 Personal Trainer and Personal Training Ambassador at David Lloyd.
“Not only are these types of exercises great for stimulating the release of anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, but they’ll save time because they hit more muscles in just one movement. With lots of stages to think of at once, these killer combos will help engage the brain, which also helps improve our overall functional mental strength as well as our coordination,” adds Jack.
There are many compound exercises to try, but here are three to master as an effective way to build muscle and lose weight.
Turkish get up
Not only does this move target multiple muscle groups at once whilst teaching your body full-body stability and coordination, but the Turkish get-up is considered one of the best core exercises targeting the upper and lower part of the abs and the obliques, too.
How to do the Turkish get up
- Lay on your back with your right leg straight and your right arm out to the side. You will also need your left leg bent and holding a kettlebell in your left hand.
- Press the kettlebell to the sky so that the arm is locked out and drive into the floor with your right arm and left leg, picking your shoulders and torso off the floor, twisting onto the right elbow and forearm for support.
- Keep the left arm locked out, steady and in line with your shoulder.
- Continue to press the floor away with the left leg and right arm to come further off the floor so that your right arm is now extended.
- Whilst looking up at the kettlebell, lift your hips up and away from the floor keeping most of the weight in the right arm and left leg.
- Sweep the right leg back through the space under your torso. Planting the knee in line with the ground supporting hand.
- Keeping an even split of weight across both legs drive the kettlebell away from the floor, as if trying to touch the sky as you remove your right hand from the floor, rotating your right knee at the same time so that your legs are both facing forwards.
- Get your legs into a kneeling lunge position from foot to hip, ready for the final step then step up straight from the half kneeling position so both feet are together and you are your kettlebell is still overhead with the arm locked.
- Reverse the movement back to the floor and repeat.
Sumo deadlift to high pull
This full-body exercise not only requires strength, coordination and power but it recruits almost all of the muscles in your posterior chain - the muscles situated at the back of the body. It is also great for building your shoulder muscles and increasing the heart rate dramatically, which will improve your overall fitness and stamina.
How to do the Sumo deadlift to high pull
- Stand with your feet just wider than your shoulders with a kettlebell placed on the floor in between your legs. Turn your feet out so they are at a slight angle and then hinge at your hips and bend your knees to pick up your Kettlebell.
- Keeping your eyes forward and core tight drive through the heels to stand up, making sure that the kettlebell is close to your body.
- Once the kettlebell passes your hips, maintain the upward momentum by pulling the kettlebell up with your arms - making sure that the elbows come out wide as you pull the kettlebell up just under your chin.
- Once the kettlebell hits the top of the move - don’t try to hold it, simply lower it back under control to the floor.
Renegade row with push up to burpee
This 9-stage move combines the benefits of both a row and a push-up, providing a full-body workout that engages your core, chest, back, shoulders, and arms.
How to do Renegade row with push up to burpee
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a Kettlebell in each hand.
- Then lower to the floor placing your kettlebells on either side of your feet and on the floor. Kick your feet back so that you are in a high plank position and then perform the Renegade row movement by driving your right elbow up high and then your left. Once you performed a row on each side reset your core so you’re in a strong high position before performing a push-up.
- Once at the top of the move jump your feet up towards your hands and stand up, taking the weights with you before lowering down into a squat position and exploding up into a shoulder press.
The workout
Now you’ve mastered these three moves it’s time to put them together with this highly efficient and super-creative workout. To do this, grab your kettlebell and perform each exercise for 60 seconds, resting for 30 seconds between exercises. Repeat the full circuit up to 3 times.
- Turkish Get up - 60 seconds on each side
- Sumo Deadlift to High Pull - 60 seconds
- Renegade Row with Push Up to Burpee - 60 seconds
Finish the workout with a quick blast performing each move for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest in between moves twice through. Enjoy - and remember to play. The more creative you can make your workouts the more fun you’ll have.