Muscles only grow when they are forced to work. Compound Sets are a great tool to use to hit the same muscle groups in a couple of different ways and to make them really work. “Compound setting is the pairing of two or more exercises that target the same muscle groups.” This hits the muscle from different directions and forces it to work harder than it would have to if you were just performing one exercise.
You will not normally be able to use as much weight, especially for the second exercise of the compound set. You should aim for 10-12 reps on both exercises. If you find that you are only managing 5 or 6 reps on the second exercise, use a lighter weight. The goal here is to thoroughly fatigue the muscle. Forcing it to perform multiple sets of 10-12 reps will accomplish this goal. There should be no rest between the exercises in the compound set.
Examples of Exercises that Can be Paired Together
Shoulders– Dumbbell presses and dumbbell lateral raises.
Chest- Bench press and dumbbell flyes.
Back– Wide grip pullups and close grip pullups.
Legs– Leg presses and leg extensions.
Like everything else, experiment and see what works for you. You might find you enjoy stringing 3 exercises together for the same body part. However you utilize them, compound sets are in important tool for building a bigger, stronger you!
Can you think of any other exercises that work well as a compound set?
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