something special about forcing the body to freely manipulate weight, unaided, against the pull of gravity. Nobody ever built a great chest by just pounding away on the pec deck and machine press: it always took years of pushing around barbells and dumbbells. Not all free weight exercises are equal, though. The most effective ones are known as compound exercises, and they involve and activate multiple muscle groups. Examples of powerful compound exercises are the squat, deadlift, and bench press, which train a lot more than just
