22 Compound Moves To Work Your Entire Body
Tick tock! When you don’t have a second to spare, your workouts become extremely efficient. You don’t have time to mess around with exercises that won’t bring you closer to your goals. Mix and match these compound exercises to tone the thighs, butt, waistline, arms and back with three sets of 10 to 15 reps. Keep in mind you can interchange dumbbells, kettlebells and resistance bands as needed. If you love the workout Skinny Mom founder and CEO Brooke Griffin put together in the above video, you’ll love these compound moves just as much!
1. Weighted Point Plié Send Bend: Slim the thighs as you drop into a deep plié and work the calves by adding a relevé or rolling onto the ball of your foot. Turn on the obliques to whittle the waistline as you bend side to side. Check it out here.
2. Side Kick: Really lean into your side kick to activate your obliques. Flex the foot and aim at your target with your heel. Your butt and hamstrings will thank you! Click here for more info.
3. Side Lunge and Press: Work the outer glutes (aka the butt-shaping muscles) and fire up your inner thighs as you move in and out of the side lunge. Grab some weights for an overhead press to tone the shoulders as you shift to the other side. Here are more details.
4. Crunch and Punch: Make your ab routine functional by adding a second exercise like a punch! With this bonus arm movement, you’ll get the upper back and shoulders in on the action. Punch it out here.
5. Dumbbell Pullover: After a few hard reps of this move, you’ll realize that yes, you do have muscles along the sides of your ribcage. By balancing on your upper back, you’ll have to squeeze the glutes together and stabilize with the abdominals. This move covers the butt, abs, lats, shoulders and triceps! Check it out.
6. Squat and Triceps Extension: Power up your heart rate with a squat as you dip a dumbbell behind your head for a triceps extension. Focus on your form to accurately target the arm muscles! Check it out here.
7. Bear Crawl: Looks can be deceiving with this exercise. Make sure the knees are under the hips and your butt is not piking up – the back is flat. The thighs, back, lower abs and shoulders will all be on deck for this animal-inspired toning move! Click here for more info.
Click “next” below for more compound moves.
8. Burpee with Gliders: Use a pair of fuzzy socks on hardwood or paper plates on carpet to send the legs out and in during the burpee. Don’t let the hips sag! Complete it with a jump at the end. You’ll recruit muscles from the core, quads, triceps (pushup option), shoulders and glutes (as you jump). Whew! Get to work, girl.
9. Kneeling Hinge: Come to your knees with a weight at chest height. Lean back without bending at the hip – avoid hyperextension, too. As you lean, you’ll notice your thighs want to squeeze as well as your glutes. Stabilize using your abdominals and don’t forget to breathe! Here’s how.
10. Superman Ball Lifts: One of the most targeted areas on a woman’s body is the inner thigh. Use a stability or exercise ball to place between the ankles and hold it in place by squeezing the thighs together. Lift and lower to warm the back muscles for a sexy, sculpted backside. Check it out!
11. Fly with Bridge: The chest and biceps team up with the glutes and hamstrings for a all-over body move. Keep the elbows slightly bent during the fly and drive through your heels to lift the hips. It’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy, but this kind of coordination will translate into pure functionality! Learn more here.
12. Kettlebell Figure 8: How low can you go? Step into a wide squat stance and drop the hips back and down so you isolate the butt and thigh muscles. Hold that squat! The chest is lifted as you rotate the kettlebell through the legs, drawing strength from the upper back and shoulders. Here’s more info.
13. Lying Leg Lift: Shape the booty and thighs with a simple lift. The lift is controlled by the glutes and the obliques. With each lift, you’ll feel the waistline cinch a little more. Cinch it here.
>> Like this move? You’ll LOVE this workout: 30/20/10 Legs & Booty Workout
14. Elevated Shoulder Taps: Intensify your plank with a balancing act that will shape your shoulders and upper back! Walk the feet onto a steady elevated surface and hold the plank. When you feel ready, tap the shoulder with the opposite hand while keeping the hips square to the floor. It’s harder than it sounds and it’s super effective. Here’s more info.
Continue onto the next page for more compound moves.
15. Chair Sits: Who knew getting up from a chair could be such a workout? Without swinging your body for momentum, really dig into your quads and glutes to move you up and down. Try it with one leg, too! This is a compound move because you’ll have to keep the back muscles tight the entire time – excellent for improving posture. Try it here.
16. Squat and Press: Use any kind of resistance equipment for this one. You target the thighs and butt during the squat and the shoulders during your press. Squats always pump up the heart, so you’ll feel that fat-burning sensation early on! Try it out.
17. Turkish Get Ups: It’s a little complicated at first, but once you get it down, this move will become one of your favorites. The key is to look up at the kettlebell the entire time. You work the shoulders, core, glutes, thighs and hamstrings. Holy soreness.
18. One Arm Snatch: The snatching movement is big and powerful. Take the weight and flip it up, catching it overhead with soft knees. You’ll feel this in the legs as much as you do the shoulders. Build powerful arms here.
19. Sumo Deadlift High Pull: Your deadlift movement will maximize the booty gains and the pull will train the shoulders, arms and upper back. With the high pull, keep the weight in the center of your body as the elbows surpass shoulder height. Don’t rush this one! Nice and slow.
20. Scorpion Pushup – Speaking of booty gains, get into your regular pushup position, then lift one leg up with a bent knee. Squeeze the glutes to keep the leg lifted as you press yourself in and out of a pushup. Check it out here.
21. Booty Lift Plank: On the flip side of the scorpion pushup, you have the booty lift plank. Come to the hands or elbows and bend one knee out to the side, crossing that ankle over the other leg. Lift and lower the leg while the arms remain still. This move will transform your butt! Work your booty here.
22. Side Plank Kettlebell Raise: Suspend your bodyweight on your side to power up the obliques. Give your top shoulder some work with a kettlebell press. This move is all about balance – you’ll notice some shaking as your smaller muscle fibers work to coordinate stability. You can do this! Try it out here.
