Smarter Way to Build Strength with Complementary Muscles
Most people focus on targeting one muscle group at a time when trying to get stronger and build more muscles. But if you want better results in both size and lifting performance, you should train complementary muscle groups together.
Complementary muscles are groups of muscles that work in synergy to support compound movements, meaning that when you strengthen one, you automatically boost the performance of another muscle group.
A great example of this is how training dips can increase bench press strength. Both exercises rely on the chest, triceps, and shoulders, but dips place greater emphasis on triceps engagement, which is crucial for locking out heavy bench presses.
Ultimately, this results in more efficient training, well-balanced muscle development, and a more functional approach to fitness.
In this article, we’ll discuss the best complementary muscle pairs and which exercises give you the most results.
The human body is not designed to work in isolation but it is made to efficiently perform complex movements by coordinating the activation of muscle groups to produce smooth, purposeful motion.
Every major movement you perform in the gym, from squatting to pressing to pulling, involves multiple muscles firing together to complete the movement. Complementary muscle groups function to support and enhance each other. Adequate training of these muscles leads to faster strength gains, better movement efficiency, and fewer injuries.
Key benefits of training complementary muscle groups:
- Greater strength in compound lifts
- Reduce weak links or lagging muscles
- Prevents plateaus
- Improve movement efficiency
- Lower risk of injury
The chest consists of the pectoral muscles, which are responsible for pushing movements and bringing the arms towards the midline of the body. It is profoundly visible and part of the aesthetic built of any lifter or fitness enthusiast.
The triceps are responsible for strong elbow extension. In lifting, the triceps are crucial in locking out pressing movements like bench presses, overhead presses, and dips. The triceps are particularly important in the final phase of these lifts, when the chest initiates the push, but the triceps are responsible for fully extending the arms.
Without enough muscle endurance or power on the triceps, they will fatigue before the chest is fully exhausted, leading to limited overall chest gains and lifting performance.
Best exercises for triceps development:
The lats make up the bulk of your back surface. It is a critical structure for the aesthetic V-shape appearance. It spans from the lower spine and pelvis up to the upper arm. The lats are responsible for pulling movements and activities involving the shoulders.
The lats allow you to efficiently perform powerful pulling movements such as pull-ups, rows, deadlifts, and lat pulldowns, all of which contribute to upper-body strength, posture, and stability.
In any pulling movements, the biceps assist the lats by flexing the elbow to complete the pull. A well-developed biceps-to-lats ratio improves muscle synergy, allowing for a stronger, more fluid pull and better lat recruitment during compound lifts.
If your biceps are weak, your ability to perform pull exercises will suffer. You might find your grip failing before your back muscles are fully engaged or struggle to complete pull-ups because your biceps fatigue too quickly. While the lats generate the primary pulling force, the biceps allow for a full range of motion and proper movement execution.
Best exercises for the biceps to improve lat strength:
The lower back is a critical muscle group for spinal support, posture, and overall strength in compound lifts such as deadlifts, rows, and squats. Developing a strong lower back requires strengthening muscles that extend the hips, stabilize the spine, and engage the core.
The glutes provide the force for hip extension and stability for the pelvis. A weak glute leads to overcompensation in movements like deadlifts, squats, and standing posture-based exercises. This weakness often leads to lower back strain, fatigue, and even disk herniation.
Best exercises for the glutes development and lower back strength:
The hamstrings assist the lower back and glutes in hip extension. When hamstrings are weak the lower back is forced to overcompensate, which leads to poor movement mechanics. This is also seen not only in the gym but also in competitive sports that requires agility and rapid shift in speed and direction.
Strengthening the hamstrings reduces lower back stress and improves overall hip stability during compound lifts. EMG studies on deadlift mechanics have shown that hamstring activation reduces spinal load and ensures safer back engagement during lifting activities.
Best exercises for hamstring development and lower back strength
The core is a vital structural support for the spine and force transfer in compound movements. A weak core can lead to excessive arcing or lordosis of the lower back, poor posture, and an increased risk of spinal injuries.
The core helps brace the spine, ensuring the lower back remains stable and protected during movements and heavy lifting.
Best exercises for core development and lower back stability:
Here’s a complete workout plan for women:
And for men:
The shoulders (delts) are involved in nearly all upper-body movement. It plays a key role in pressing, pulling, and even stabilizing the shoulder joint.
The triceps assist in all pressing movements, especially overhead presses. Once the delts initiate the movements, the triceps will take over during the lockout phase to fully extend the arms.
Best exercises for the triceps development:
The upper traps stabilize the shoulders during key movements, allowing the shoulder joint degrees of freedom while keeping it aligned and stable. Strong upper traps can reduce the risk of rotator cuff injuries, and in contrast, a weak trap-delt connection can lead to poor posture, limited overhead range of motion, and imbalances.
EMG studies show that shrugging and overhead lifting, which also activates the traps, can enhance shoulder stability and prevent dislocation, shoulder strain, and other injuries.
Best exercises for upper traps and shoulder stability:
The upper pecs or upper chest contributes to shoulder stability and strength during overhead movements.
Best exercises for upper chest:
The quadriceps are a group of large and powerful muscles located at the front of the thigh. Their primary function is to extend the knee, which is essential for movements like squats, lunges, leg press, and sprinting. Strong quads are crucial for lower-body power, knee stability, and athletic performance.
While the quads control knee movement, the glutes generate hip drive, making them critical for deep squats, explosive jumps, and powerful sprints.
Sprinting and jumping rely heavily on hip extension, meaning stronger glutes increase force production and improve speed and explosiveness in quad-dominant movements. The glutes also stabilize the pelvis and femur, which prevents knees from caving in. This reduces strain on the quads and lowers the risk of ACL and meniscus injuries.
A weak glutes can cause an imbalance in lower-body movement, forcing the quads to overcompensate, leading to knee pain, poor squat depth, and reduced force production.
Best exercises for the glutes development:
Your hamstrings function as the main knee flexors and hip extensors, which allow knee bending and leg movement backward.
These muscles are essential for overall athletic performance, especially running, jumping, squatting, and deadlifting.
Just like with the quads, the glutes are the primary complementary muscle for the hamstrings, working together to produce hip extension and maximize lower-body power. However, another key complementary muscle for the hamstrings is the calves, particularly the gastrocnemius, which assists in knee flexion alongside the hamstrings.
The calves and hamstrings work together to stabilize the knee joint and control deceleration during sprinting, jumping, and sudden directional changes. Weak calves can lead to excessive strain on the hamstrings, increasing the risk of hamstring tightness, reduced power output, and inefficient movement patterns. Conversely, weak hamstrings force the calves to compensate, leading to tightness, poor ankle mobility, and a higher likelihood of Achilles tendon injuries.
Best exercises calves:
If you want to maximize strength, muscle growth, and injury prevention, start thinking about how muscles work together. Every major muscle group relies on complementary muscles to generate power, maintain stability, and improve efficiency in movement.
Here’s the real takeaway: If your bench press is stuck, focus on your triceps. If your squats feel weak, build up your glutes and hamstrings. If you struggle with deadlifts, strengthen your core and traps. Training in synergy and strengthening your complementary muscles means identifying weak links and addressing them rather than endlessly working on the same muscle without fixing the foundation that supports it.