This 3-day compound workout routine is designed to increase strength while building lean muscle. You will perform the same exercises over 3 days, but with each workout serving as a different variation of the exercise. This program should be performed three times per week on non-consecutive days. The workouts should be performed before or after your regular weight training routine.
Day 1
1. Dumbbell Goblet Squats
Dumbbell goblet squats are an effective exercise for the lower body. They strengthen the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings and teach the proper squatting technique. The dumbbell goblet squat is an effective variation to the traditional dumbbell back squat. If you’re looking for an exercise that challenges your core muscles, this one does it and will give you a nice burn in your glutes and quads.
Here is how you perform this exercise:
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in front of your chest, held with both hands.
- Squat down by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. Keep your chest up and your weight on your heels as you descend.
- Go as low as you can while maintaining good form, then drive through your heels to return to the starting position.
For proper execution of the dumbbell goblet squat, remember to keep your back straight. Bend at the knees while keeping the torso stationary and lower your butt to the floor. Avoid leaning forward or letting your knees go beyond your toes. You can switch between three and five-pound dumbbells as you advance in strength. The bottom line is that dumbbell goblet squats are excellent glute exercises that work as well for women as they do for men.
2. Deadlifts
Deadlifts are one of the best compound exercises because they hit several muscles and joints in your body. Deadlifts, like other heavy compound lifts, strengthen your bones and connective tissue while also stimulating and growing muscle.
Here is how you do proper deadlifts:
- Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
- Bend at your hips and grip the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, lift the bar by extending your hips and knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Reverse the motion by flexing at your hips and knees and return the bar to the floor.
Deadlifts produce muscle growth throughout your body. There are several muscle groups that are worked during deadlifts including: the hamstrings, glutes and back, but they also work your abdominal muscles and forearms. One of the benefits of deadlifting is that not only do you grow muscle, but you also strengthen bone and connective tissue while stimulating blood flow to all muscles.
3. Walking Lunges
This exercise strengthens the large muscle groups of your legs, buttocks, and back and improves posture. The walking lunge requires you to use all of your major muscle groups while also tightening your core. This is also a cardio exercise, so you get a full-body workout in one exercise.
To do walking lunges:
- Start by standing tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips.
- Take a large step forward with your right foot and lower your body straight down until your right thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Make sure your right knee is directly above your right ankle and your left knee is bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Push off your right foot and return to the starting position.
- Repeat the exercise with your left leg.
Walking lunges improve balance and core strength in a relatively short amount of time. It works on blood flow to the legs and helps increase the capacity for muscle movement. In addition, the walking lunge is a great exercise for increasing flexibility, as well as helping with joint mobility.
4. Glute Bridges
Glute bridges are a popular exercise among bodybuilders and strength athletes. They primarily work the glutes and hamstrings, but also provide stimulation to the entire lower body. Isolation exercises are fine but compound exercises like the glute bridge lead to increased strength gains and faster results.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Lie flat on your back with feet flat on the ground and shoulder-width apart, legs bent to 90 degrees.
- Drive your heels into the ground, and lift your hips and glutes off the floor.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top of the lift, and then lower your hips back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
- You can also add weight to this exercise by holding a dumbbell or barbell on your hips.
The glute bridge exercise leads to increased strength and stability among all athletes. The most significant benefit is that it leads to an increase in muscular hypertrophy, these gains are also associated with increases in muscle stability. This is a great exercise for runners who need to increase knee stability, but also for fitness enthusiasts who adhere to a strict home exercise program.
5. Romanian Deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts are a variation of the regular deadlift exercise. It starts with the barbell on the floor, the same as in regular deadlifts, but there are differences in technique and execution between the two. The Romanian deadlift is a favorite exercise with powerlifters and strength athletes because it teaches a lifter how to be explosive off the floor while keeping good form.
To do Romanian deadlifts:
- Start with the barbell on the floor in front of you.
- Bend at the hips to grip the barbell with an overhand grip, your hands should be about shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your back straight, push your hips back and raise your torso until your back is at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
- From this position, raise the barbell by extending your hips and knees until you are standing upright.
- Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
The Romanian deadlift is a great enhancement for any weight lifting routine. It not only improves your strength and power, but it also trains your body to balance while moving heavyweights. Just remember to keep your chest up, back straight and knees slightly bent so that you don’t injure yourself.
Day 2
1. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
The Incline Dumbbell Bench Press is one of the best exercises you can do for building muscle and increasing strength. Aside from it being a great mass builder, it’s also an excellent compound exercise that targets all three heads of your chest muscles: the pectoralis major, clavicular and sternal portions.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Start by sitting on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Position the dumbbells so that they are at shoulder level and your palms are facing each other.
- Press the dumbbells up above your chest, extending your arms fully.
- Lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position, and repeat for reps.
The incline dumbbell press is a great chest exercise that can also be used to target your shoulders, triceps, and even your back to a limited degree. Whether you are doing this exercise for strength, mass or to increase your bench press numbers for football or powerlifting, you will not regret adding the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press to your routine.
2. Close Grip Pull Ups
Close Grip Pull-Ups are an effective exercise for strengthening the back, shoulder, biceps, and forearms. Performing this exercise can help develop the strength and size of your physique. Before you perform close grip pull-ups, it is important to become familiar with the proper techniques involved in performing this exercise.
To do this exercise:
- Hang from a pull-up bar using an overhand grip, your hands should be a couple of inches narrower than shoulder width.
- As you exhale, pull your body up until your chin is over the bar.
- Concentrate on using your back and biceps muscles to pull your body up.
- As you inhale, lower your body back to the starting position.
Close-grip pull-ups are a great back exercise that all individuals looking to develop bigger and stronger backs should include in their weight training regimen. This exercise will help with both the width and thickness of your back, and it is an effective exercise for both beginners and those more advanced weight lifters.
3. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a strength training exercise that works the front of the shoulders and upper arm. It is performed using a pair of dumbbells while sitting on a seat that allows for an erect posture.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Sit on a chair or bench with back support and your feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with your palms facing forward.
- Press the dumbbells straight overhead until your arms are straight.
- Lower the dumbbells back to shoulder level and repeat.
The Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a very effective strength training exercise that targets the front and medial heads of the deltoids. It can be used as a warm-up to precede more compound exercises or as a specific isolation exercise targeting each area of the deltoid individually.
4. T-Bar Rows
T-Bar Rows are an exercise that targets your back, shoulders, and biceps. They can help build muscle definition and size as well as build strength. You’ll need a bar or any type of long piece of metal or wood to do these. Proper form is of utmost importance for good results and safety.
Here is how you do T-Bar Rows:
- Start by placing the bar on the floor in front of you.
- Step onto the center of the bar so that it is balanced.
- Bend down and grip the bar with an overhand grip, your hands should be about shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your back straight, pull the bar up until it touches your chest.
- Lower the bar back down to the starting position and repeat.
T-bar rows are a really good exercise to improve your back while using smaller muscles to target your biceps. Overall, they are a great addition to anyone’s routine who is interested in increasing their back size. They can be a bit difficult at first as you get used to proper form and go heavier, but give them time and you’ll see the results.
5. Barbell Shrugs
Barbell shrugs are a great exercise for big traps and shoulders. They’re also one of my favorite exercises, because everything is just moving up, down, and putting weight on your shoulders. It’s also a relatively easy exercise to do correctly if you know the right form.
Below is how you perform this exercise:
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, and holding a barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand grip.
- Keeping your back straight and your knees slightly bent, raise your shoulders as high as you can.
- Pause for a count of one, and then lower the barbell back to the starting position.
Barbell shrugs are a great exercise for big traps and shoulders. They’re often a favorite of power-lifters, and they build muscle along the entire back and shoulders, meaning they’re the perfect exercise if you want to increase your strength in this area.
Day 3
1. Good Mornings
Good mornings are one of the best exercises you can do in your back workout. This exercise targets all the muscles used in the squat and deadlift, while also working the hamstrings, glutes, quads, and lower back muscles.
To do this exercise:
- Start by placing your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a barbell across your back with an overhand grip.
- Bend your knees and hips to lower your body down, keeping your back straight and your knees behind your toes.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, then reverse the motion by extending your hips and knees to return to the starting position.
If you’re looking to develop strength and size in your posterior chain without performing powerlifting numbers in the squat or deadlift, good mornings may be a great choice for you. Not only will they help build muscle, but they also have a bit of an added weight loss effect due to the increased metabolic demand associated with exercise.
2. Barbell Squats
Barbell Squats are one of the best exercises you can do to improve your strength. They will help to build strong quads and glutes while getting your core, upper body, and calves involved. Barbell Squats also have some great benefits, including increased testosterone levels and significant improvements in strength.
Here is how you perform this exercise:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and your barbell on your back.
- Squat down by pushing your hips back and bending your knees.
- Descend until your thighs are parallel to the ground and then drive back up to the starting position.
Barbell squats are great for your body, and you can reap even more benefits by adding some weights to them. By doing this, you’ll put yourself in a position to make great gains in strength, while improving your overall body composition. You should always be safe when performing Barbell Squats, so take the necessary precautions and warm up those muscles before starting with the heavier weights.
3. Leg Press
The Leg Press is a piece of weight training exercise equipment that allows for several unique movement options. First and foremost, it is an extension of the hip joint and the knee joint. By pushing the footplate down against a load placed on the upper platform you can perform a flex at the hip joint. The upper and lower body remains fixed in place, with only the extension at the hip being exercised.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Sit in the leg press machine with your back and head flat against the pad.
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the footplate.
- Press the footplate away from your body, extending your legs until they are straight.
- Return to the starting position.
The benefits of this exercise are that it works the muscles of the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. It is a great exercise for building strength and size in the lower body.
4. Step Ups
Step-ups are a great lower body strength exercise for several reasons. They are incredibly simple and can be done just about anywhere, which makes them the perfect choice for your warm-up or cooldown. Step-ups work for multiple muscle groups simultaneously, from the glutes to the quads and even your core. Since they can be done almost anywhere, they are also super convenient.
To do step-ups:
- Place one foot firmly on an elevated surface.
- Keeping your core engaged, drive your other leg up so that your thigh is parallel with your raised foot.
- Slowly lower your leg back to the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
Step-ups are a functional exercise and can be done anywhere, making them a great choice for your warm-up or cooldown. They also have the added benefit of working many muscles at once which makes them highly efficient.
5. Rack Pulls
Rack pulls are a great way to strengthen your back and improve overall body strength. Whether you’re a powerlifter or bodybuilder, these exercises can help boost your workout. The added benefit of doing this exercise from a rack is that it allows more weight to be used without the worry of breaking down form.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Set the bar in a rack at about knee height.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your shins touching the bar.
- Bend your hips and knees to lower your body down and grab the bar with an overhand grip, your hands should be just outside of your shins.
- Keeping your back straight, drive your heels into the ground and stand up, pulling the bar up to your hips.
- Reverse the motion and lower the bar back down to the starting position.
Rack pulls are a great exercise for working your back. They have the added benefits of being able to use heavier weight without having to worry about form. The exercise also hits many different muscles for maximum effectiveness. However, it should be noted that rack pulls place a lot of stress on your forearms so make sure you’re using the proper form at all times or you’ll risk injury.
Conclusion
If you are trying to get stronger, either to build lean muscle mass or to increase your overall body strength, this three-day compound workout routine is a great option on how to structure your workouts so that you can see the strongest results in the least amount of time. No matter what type of exercise program or fitness routine you use, you will always want to make sure that it contains exercises that are designed to work multiple areas of your body at the same time. This way, while you are working one larger muscle group in one area of your body, you are also working smaller muscle groups in other areas and helping them to become stronger at the same time.