Compound Calisthenics Exercises: Benefits & Easy Examples For Beginners

When it comes to building strength, endurance, and overall fitness, few training styles are as practical, versatile, and cost-efficient as calisthenics. A great way to improve your calisthenics progress and to see standout results from your training program is by engaging in compound calisthenics exercises. 

In this article, we’ll explore some of the best compound calisthenics exercises that not only help with fat loss but also offer real and tangible progress towards your fitness goals.

What Are Powerful Compound Calisthenics Exercises?

Before we give you a compound calisthenics exercises list, we need you first to understand what precisely these workouts are.

Calisthenics is a form of resistance training that uses your own body weight as resistance to help build muscle mass and strength, as well as endurance, flexibility, and coordination (1). Unlike regular resistance training, calisthenics do not use free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, or gym machinery to add resistance to the workout.

On the other hand, compound exercises, also known as multi-joint movements, are workouts/movements that involve multiple muscle groups simultaneously. 

They are unlike isolation exercises, which are single-joint movements that only target a single muscle group (2).

So, powerful compound calisthenics exercises are bodyweight-only workouts that simultaneously target and train multiple muscle groups.

Read more: Intense Calisthenics Workout for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide

What Are 5 Compound Calisthenics Exercises Beginners Should Try?

Additionally, what 5 compound calisthenics exercises build the most muscle?

In our opinion, the 5 best compound Calisthenics exercises for beginners are:

• Pull-ups
• Push-ups
• Squats
• Lunges
• Dips

These 5 exercises make the list because they are:

1. Beginner-friendly exercises
2. Easily scalable with intermediate and advanced variations that help with progressive overload
3. Targeting more than one muscle group, they fall squarely into the category of compound exercises.

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Step-By-Step Instructions For Each Workout

Here are some easy-to-follow instructions that can help you perform the above compound calisthenics exercises at home:

• Squats

Bodyweight squats are a great compound calisthenic workout as they work your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and core. Studies on this workout have shown that it is an excellent option for anyone who wishes to increase muscle mass and strength in their lower body (3, 4).

1. Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed slightly out to the side. 
2. Keep your gaze straight ahead to maintain a neutral spine and brace your core by pulling your belly button towards your spine. Remember to keep breathing.
3. Push your butt back slightly to begin the movement, then bend at the knees and lower yourself down, opening up your knees.
4. Keep your torso upright and maintain core tension. You can hold your arms by your sides, in front of your chest, or extended out in front of you for balance.
5. Lower down until your butt is below your knees, keeping your weight in your heels. You can stop here or drop further. It all varies per individual, so do what feels most comfortable for you without losing your posture or balance.
6. Stand up by pushing through your whole foot (not just the knees) and squeeze your butt at the top to move your hips forward.

Other variations of bodyweight squats include jump squats, Bulgarian split squats, pistol squats, sumo squats, and more.

• Pull-Ups

These are a great upper body calisthenic compound movement that works the trapezius, pectorals, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, teres major, biceps, forearms, and the core muscles. Not only can this exercise help improve muscle mass in the upper body, but it is also great for increased muscle strength, athletic performance, grip strength, and more (5, 6).

1. Stand in front of a pull-up bar and grab it with your hands slightly further than shoulder-width apart, using an overhand grip – i.e., with your palms facing away from you.
2. Hang from the bar, with your legs suspended, allowing your hands to hold all your weight. If you are too tall to hang from the bar, you may cross your legs together so they don’t touch the floor. Crossing your legs also helps evenly distribute your weight.
3. Engage your core and squeeze your shoulder blades together, then pull yourself up. Keep pulling your body up until your chin is over the bar. Hold this position for a moment.
4. Slowly and carefully, lower yourself back to the starting position. Do not drop your body weight as it could hurt your arms and shoulders, and also negate the eccentric portion of the exercise.

You can do pull-up variations by changing how and where you grip the bar, as each variation targets specific muscle groups or your skills differently. Also note that if the standard pull-up is hard for you, attempt a banded pull-up instead.

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• Push-Ups

Like pull-ups, push-ups are great compound exercises for weight loss and muscle growth. They work your major and minor pectorals, triceps, and anterior deltoids, as well as the core muscles.

1. Get on the floor or mat and get into a plank position. Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and your body, from head to heels, should be in a straight line. Do not sag at the waist or arch your back.
2. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor while keeping the elbows pointing back and at a 45-degree angle to your body.
3. Just before the chest touches the ground, push through the palms back up to the starting position.
4. Make sure to keep your core engaged throughout the movement.

Research shows that bodyweight pushups elicit the same results in muscle activity and strength gains as a bench press (7). Additionally, when performing bodyweight-only pushups, doing different variations of the workout can lead to increased muscular strength and endurance (8).

• Forward Lunges

There are many variations of lunges, but this beginner-friendly variation effectively targets your quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, and calves.

1. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Place your hands on your hips or clasp them together at chest level.
2. Take one step forward, longer than a walking stride, so one leg is ahead of your upper body and the other is behind. Ensure that the foot doing the lunge movement lands flat on the floor. The back foot’s heel will raise off the floor.
3. Lower yourself to the floor by bending the knees to approximately 90 degrees. Remember to keep your upper body upright and core engaged.
4. The knee of the lunging foot should not go past your knee, and the knee of the back foot should not touch the ground.
5. Forcefully push off from your front leg to return to the starting position.

You can progress lunges by doing variations like jumping lunges, curtsy lunges, walking lunges, and side lunges, among others.

• Dips

This exercise targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Research shows that this workout is effective in strengthening these three muscle groups, which can help with everyday activities such as pushing open a door or even improve overall sports performance (9). 

Perform dips with the help of a dip bar, calisthenics rings (also known as gymnastic rings), or a simple bench, chair, or even a sturdy box/block.

1. Sit on the edge of a stable chair, weight bench, or step and grip the edge next to your hips.
2. Extend and spread your legs till the feet are about hip-width apart and heels are touching the ground.
3. With your gaze looking straight ahead and your chin up, press into your palms to lift your body and slide forward just far enough that your buttocks clear the edge of the chair.
4. Lower yourself until your elbows bend between 45 and 90 degrees. Control the movement throughout the range of motion.
5. Push yourself back up slowly until your arms are almost straight, and repeat.

With these 5 exercises, you can create a beginner-friendly 3-day compound workout routine that, over time, will help you lose any excess fat in your body and increase muscle mass and strength. For a well-rounded workout routine, be sure to include some cardio calisthenics exercises, such as dancing, running, cycling, jumping jacks, or mountain climbers.

Are Calisthenics Compound Exercises?

Yes and no. As previously mentioned, compound exercises involve more than one joint and work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. While calisthenic workouts are predominantly compound exercises, there are a few isolation calisthenic exercises, e.g., bodyweight bicep curls.

Read more: The Complete Guide to Full-Body, No-Equipment Calisthenics Workouts

Can You Design A Workout With Only Compound Movements?

Yes, you can. A compound movement workout routine promotes increasing muscle growth, strength, and endurance. Many say it’s a more time-efficient workout program that works best for those with busy lives and less time to spend at the gym. Training your entire body at once is typically quicker than isolating individual muscles.

What Is An Example Of A Fully Compound Calisthenics Workout?

A workout routine that incorporates the 5 exercises listed above is a good example of a fully compound calisthenics program. All the exercises listed target multiple muscle groups, offering a comprehensive full-body workout routine.

Check out this article to learn more about the incredible benefits of full-body workout programs.

How Do Compound Calisthenics Exercises Accelerate Progress?

Compound calisthenics exercises speed up your progress by working multiple muscle groups simultaneously, which helps build muscle strength, coordination, and muscle mass, and even improves your functional strength.

You can accelerate this progress even further by doing progressive overload through:

• Reducing rest time in between your sets
• Increasing the amount of reps per set 
• Using resistance bands to add resistance to bodyweight
• Doing supersets

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is pushups a compound exercise?

Yes, they are. The exercise targets multiple muscles, namely the pectorals, triceps, and anterior deltoids, as well as the core muscles.

• Do compound movements train abs?

Yes, many compound exercises train the abs, albeit indirectly. This ab portion happens because you need to keep the core engaged to stabilize the body and maintain posture during the movement.

• Do compound movements burn fat?

Yes, they do. When engaging multiple muscle groups during the workout, it increases the calorie burning during and after the exercise, which can help with fat burning as long as you are eating a healthy diet in a calorie deficit.

• Can you get ripped with compound exercises?

Yes, you can absolutely get ripped with compound exercises. As long as you incorporate progressive overload into your workouts and maintain a healthy diet, you can lose fat and increase muscle mass, ultimately achieving the lean physique you desire.

The Bottom Line

Compound calisthenics exercises are an ideal way for a beginner to begin their exercise journey. These movements will allow them to build their foundation in calisthenics and increase their daily calorie burn, which can lead to fat loss and gains in muscle mass, strength, endurance, and functional fitness. 

These exercises are also a time-efficient and affordable option for anyone lacking time or finances to attend or build an at-home gym.