Do You Need Compound Lifts to Gain Muscle Mass

Compound lifts, such as the squat, bench and deadlift, seem to be a rite of passage when it comes to weight training, with the perception that they are essential to building muscle mass. Compound movements are multi-joint exercises that recruit several muscle groups simultaneously, making them a very efficient way to manage one’s training. However, efficiency can be sacrificed in place of specificity and individuality. I will go out on a limb here to say that they are not essential for hypertrophy, and for some individuals, I think they are better off without compound lifts.

The Benefits of Compound Movements

As previously stated, compound lifts are an efficient way of targeting muscle groups when it comes to running a hypertrophy program. For example, the squat involves the quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings, calves, abductors, erector spinae and abdominals. Targeting these muscles individually could involve up to seven different exercises at once, making compound movements a great return on time invested.

Another benefit of compound movements is that you are learning skills. For example, the bench, deadlift and squat are the three lifts that comprise the sport of powerlifting. Making these movements the staple of your hypertrophy program means you will have an easier time transitioning to powerlifting should you ever have the itch to compete in this sport.

Compound movements also provide the benefit of learning how to move correctly. This sounds funny, but when you hear of people in physical jobs picking up lifelong injuries, this is partly because their nervous system is not properly trained to engage the correct muscles in the correct sequence, to complete a movement, or to move a load. Compound movements are externally cued, meaning that the external view of the movement is what matters, which translates into better movement, which we would be unlikely to learn without these movements. This makes them an excellent choice for athletes in their strength and conditioning programs.

The final benefit that springs to mind at the time of writing, is that there is an element of accelerating the load through the utilisation of power. Power is beginning to be recognised as even more important than strength for longevity, per a 2019 study involving 3,878 participants between the age of 41 and 85. Those below the median in terms of their ability for power output were at a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality than those above the median.

When Not to Program Compound Movements

I try not to get as ticked off as I used to when I hear someone with a basic to intermediate level of knowledge on training preach that basic compound movements are the panacea when it comes to hypertrophy, strength, and even stimulating testosterone production. But it’s simply not true. For some individuals, and in some situations, compound movements are not appropriate. Remember, one of the principles of training is specificity. i.e. training needs to be made specific to everyone. So here are some specific instances where I believe the role of compound movements may be questionable.

Injuries

Injuries are an obvious reason one might wish to avoid or swap between different compound movements. For example, I have mild sciatica, where I rarely have a flare-up. I was making great progress on my squat this year but noticed that my lower back was not feeling the best halfway through a gaining phase. Once I swapped out the squat for a leg press, I could continue training injury-free without any breaks. Had I continued to squat against my better judgement, for the sake of my ego, I know I would have exacerbated the issue to a point where I would have had to avoid training altogether for a period of rehabilitation.

The same goes for deadlifts. I am anal when it comes to lifting form; thus, I’ve never had a serious injury from lifting, but no matter how I correct my form on the deadlift, I inevitably run into issues with my lower back. I don’t even program the deadlift anymore and have been having a great time progressing on rack-pulls performed above the knee, with additional hamstring isolation exercises.

In both these instances, I swapped out compound movements for other compound movements. Still, for those with more serious injuries, or limited range of motion, it may be best to stick to machine exercises, cables, and isolation exercises when using free weights.

Body Type

In both the examples above regarding the squat and deadlift, these issues stem from the fact that I am of the ectomorph body type (see somatotypes) with very long femurs. Due to a low composition of type 2 muscle fibres, and a less-than-ideal anatomical structure for compound movements, injuries are more likely, in addition to the fact that I will find it more difficult to progress on these movements. If I had my time again, I would have prioritised my early lifting career on building a solid injury-free structure to my body using machines, cables and isolation exercises, providing a solid base for learning the skill of compound movements later on.

I have some clients who are quite tall and lanky. For those clients, I am taking this approach to building their physiques. In large compound movements such as the overhead press, deadlift, and squat, the kinetic chain is so long that there are many opportunities to lead power, reducing their results and risking injury. Such body types are better suited to shorter ranges of motion and isolating muscle groups.

Maximal Hypertrophy

This is probably a controversial take, but I believe it to be true. If someone put a gun to my head and told me I have to build as much muscle as possible within a six-month timeframe, completely natural, I would probably limit the amount of free weight compound movements I program into my plan.

I previously mentioned that compound movements are time efficient, and they are. However, as with most things in life, we pay more for convenience. The cost to be paid here is fatigue. Large compound movements are more fatiguing than other exercises, limiting the volume accumulated through each session, each training week, etc.

In my 10+ years of experience in lifting, I have noticed that I could train all day, performing isolation and machine exercises while bringing the target muscle close to failure. Conversely, the neurological fatigue that accompanies compound movements, is a tradeoff best made to elicit improvements in strength and power for longevity, in addition to hypertrophy. However, compound movements would not be essential if I was not concerned about longevity or functionality and focused solely on gaining muscle mass.

I hope this gives you a more nuanced understanding of compound movements. Like all movements, they have their time and place for specific purposes but are not magic. I include compound movements in all my splits for the benefits stated above, but there are clients I work with who are better off limiting them if hypertrophy is their primary goal.

If you want to work with me, check out my online personal training service here.