What Muscle Groups Should I Work Out Together?

It's an excuse fitness guru Denise Austin hears routinely from people who say they want to get in better shape but who don't exercise regularly: "I don't have time to work out." To this, the perpetually enthusiastic Austin has a ready response: You can effectively work out two or even three sets of muscles together, at the same time.

"Everyone is time-crunched," Austin says. But having little spare time doesn't have to preclude you from getting in better shape, she says. There are exercise routines that allow you to work out multiple muscle groups in as little as 10 minutes at a time. "If you're doing these correctly, you're also strengthening your core, which is so important for your spine," she says. "If you keep your abs strong, you'll keep your back healthy."

Here are some muscle groups you can work out together:

Individualize Your Workout

Sports performance coach Matt Camargo adds that each workout routine should be tailored to the individual. Camargo is sport performance director at ProSport Physical Therapy & Performance, which has four locations in Southern California. He's also a partner of Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, California.

Before you hit the gym, Camargo says, you should keep in mind that when it comes to exercising different muscle groups, more is not necessarily better. That is, engaging in more repetitions and, for weight work, lifting greater volumes isn't always the optimal approach. "It's important to note that any given exercise regimen is only as effective as the ability to recover from it," he says. "Still, to this day, it gets mistaken that more is better, when less is actually more. That's not to suggest you should to the bare minimum." Rather, each workout routine should be tailored to the individual, Camargo explains.

Men and women tend to have different workout goals, Austin says. Most women want to attain a flat tummy. "Wherever I go, that's the number one question I get (from women): How do I get my tummy flat?" Austin says. Many women also are interested in exercises that will tone their arms: "They want to look good in sleeveless dresses."

While most women care primarily about getting toned, many men want to have bigger, more defined muscles, says Dr. Brian Grawe, an associate professor of sports medicine and orthopaedics at the University of Cincinnati. Grawe once served as an assistant team physician for the New York Knicks. "Men usually work out to improve their power and size," he says.

A Variety of Exercises to Work Out Different Muscle Groups

Austin and Camargo agree that relying on the expertise of a fitness expert or a sports or exercise trainer can help you conduct your workout efficiently and safely. "Having a good understanding of how exercise selection and exercise order play a role in programming high-quality workouts can be the difference between reaching training goals and not," Camargo says.

Doing exercises correctly not only maximizes the benefit to your muscles, it also minimizes your chances of sustaining an injury, Austin adds.

Whatever your goal, here are five ways to exercise different muscle groups at the same time:

1. For arms, legs and glutes: Bicep curls with standing front lunges.

While holding small weights in both hands, step forward with one leg while lunging down. At the same time, curl one of the weights. Step back and repeat with your other leg and the other arm. "You're getting multiple workouts in one," Austin says. This exercise works out your arms, particularly your biceps, as well as your thigh muscles and buttocks, she says. Start out with a weight that allow you to keep your balance. Austin says she uses 5-pound weights, but you may be comfortable working out with less or more weight, and could always build up. Do 30 repetitions, 15 with each leg, Austin recommends.

2. For triceps, buttocks and thighs: Mini-squat with a tricep kickback.

Stand with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart while holding a small weight in each hand. Do a mini-squat, bending your knees and engaging your thigh muscles, while sweeping both weights behind you, toward your back. Lift up out of your squat while bringing the weights forward; then repeat. This exercise works out your biceps and your thigh and back muscles. "This is one of my favorites. It works out different muscle groups," Austin says. "It keeps your abs strong, which helps keep your back healthy." This exercise, when done correctly, also strengthens your core, which is important for spine health, she says.

3. Abdominal and back: Low hover, or plank.

Start in a modified straight-legged pushup position, with your elbows on the floor directly below your shoulders, your hips lifted slightly and your abs tight, Austin says. Elongate your abs and back by lifting your pelvis and holding it for 30 seconds; rest and repeat. "Focus on the core of your body, your torso and abs," she says. Planking strengthens and lengthens both your abdominal muscles and your middle and upper back muscles.

4. Chest and triceps: Bench presses and pushups.

Bench presses and pushups are basic exercises that engage your chest and arm muscles, Grawe says. "They work out both of those muscle groups," he says. "You'll be working on both your chest and triceps muscles at the same time with bench presses and pushups." For the bench press, Grawe suggests starting by lifting between 40% and 60% of the maximum amount of weight you'd lift at one time, and do two to three sets of eight to 16. For pushups, Grawe advises starting out by doing three sets of 20. Gradually, you can increase the amount of weight you lift while doing bench presses, as well as the number of pushups, he says.

5. Chest, shoulders and arms: Dumbbell floor press.

This exercise helps strengthen your chest, shoulders and arms, says Jonathan Jordan, a personal fitness trainer and group fitness instructor for an Equinox health club in San Francisco. Start by holding two dumbbells with an overhand grip while lying flat on the floor. Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Exhale, and at the same time, extend the weights toward the ceiling. Hold the weights for a moment, return to the starting position and repeat. "In this basic move, each arm has to work separately, which can be beneficial for many folks with strength or mobility issues on one side," Jordan says. "That means that with some weight machines and barbells, your stronger, dominant side can do more of the work."