Gym Podium
The Big Five Lift Fundamentals to Weight Training
Compound lifts are demanding complex, multi joint and muscle group movements, that have a high metabolic cost. Performing these exercises will help you get strong and burn calories fast. The Big Five compound lifts are a great way to work your entire body within a shorter amount of time, they are also great exercises for beginners as well as those who are more advanced.
These movements mirror the fundamental human movements that we use most in everyday life; squatting, lifting, pushing, pulling and pressing overhead. So, whether your looking to improve your athletic performance or just be better at life tasks such as picking up your child or completing tasks around the house, these exercises will have great functional carryover.
- Squats – the exercise that everyone should be doing! Squats work multiple joints and muscle groups simultaneously reaping a high metabolic cost and building strength from the ground up. Before trying any weighted variations, try with just using your body weight
- Deadlift – aside from squats, fewer lifts are more functional in everyday life than deadlifts. It is difficult to name a situation where lifting things off the ground doesn’t come in handy. Deadlifts engage the legs, shoulders and lower back. Make sure you keep your back straight and open up your shoulders to avoid back injury.
- Bench Press – the bench press a foundational upper body movement, it works the chest, arms and shoulders. Benefits of adding bench press to your workout include increasing upper body strength, improving muscular endurance and helps prepare your body to do movements like push ups.
- Bent over row – your back muscles are the primary beneficiaries of the bent–over row, and as they increase in strength your posture will also improve so you don’t slump as much. Directly stimulating your lats, traps, rhomboids and rotator cuffs works wonders for your body.
- Overhead Press – this is one of the best exercises for developing almost every major muscle group in the body, it will also help to improve your core stability.
Faith Smith | Fitness Trainer | faith.smith@roehamptonclub.co.uk