Purpose of Compound Weight Work

[StepFanatic]

Cathe or anyone who knows.

What is the purpose of compound weight work? In C&W and Imax Extreme (from Terminator), is it to help lower your heart rate? Is it suppose to help build muscle? I find I don't get much out of the compound moves. Should I try to use heavier weight? Any of the moves that require you to lift the weight above your head, I can't seem to go very heavy.

Thanks for any help anyone has to offer.

 

[Aquajock]

The purpose of compound weight work in the workouts you've listed, as well as other circuit-style workouts such as Circuit Max, Gauntlet and Viper, is actually to maintain an elevated heartrate AND provide weighted muscle conditioning in a time efficient manner. The conditioning won't be pure-strength oriented, because usually the legs can take a lot more weight than the upper body muscles, but for those who are time-challenged compound weight work can be a good bridge between strength sessions.

I personally prefer, when doing circuit-style cardio workouts, to do leg circuits only with a loaded barbell or heavier dumbbells. That keeps my heart rate pumping AND I get better leg conditioning because I can go heavier on the weights. That does mean that I have to budget in other times for upper body work, but ya gotta follow your heart. Rate.

A-Jock

 

[StepFanatic]

Thanks Annette - thats what I kind of figured too, but thought maybe I was missing something since I don't really care for the compound weight work much.

 

[Shaz]

Hi A-jock, do you ever do the opposite, and leave out the leg work and concentrate on upper body instead (in compound exercises)?

Sharon

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Shaz / Sharon! No, I never do upper body work only in a cardio-oriented circuit workout. My heart rate goes into the toilet if I take leg work out of the equation, so I just bang the legs and save upper body for another time. Plus, were I to do upper body only in the resistance cycles, my guess is the the HR elevation would be far more from the pressor response than from meaningful cardiovascular challenge and that's not what I'm shooting for.

A-Jock