The modern lifting bro has recently seen a renaissance. Dare I call many of us renaissance bro’s? Thanks to the rise of powerlifting more and more bro’s have gotten back to the basics of lifting. Eschewing bullshit bosu balls, unbalanced training, and other unnecessary nonsense for tried and true methods.
There are certain exercises that are superior to most any other exercise. They generally are ones that allow you to use more weight, help activate the muscle more, or help build overall strength.
If every single exercise were to get thrown into a steel cage match, royal rumble style where only the best for each body part emerged, here is who would come out on top. Employ each one of these to build the best body imaginable.
Chest: Dumbbell bench press.
Nothing beats the dumbbell bench press when it comes to developing an impressive chest. The deep stretch you can get thanks to using dumbbells, the contraction at the top, and the stabilizing you have to do is top notch.
The barbell bench is a close second, especially since you can load up more weight on this one. The only drawback is you’re locked into one position, and can’t play with hand positioning at all to change the emphasis to different parts of your chest.
Honorable mention: barbell bench.
Back: Weighted pull-up.
Does any exercise look more badass than having some weights swinging between your legs like a giant set of knockers, and banging out pull-ups? No, it doesn’t. You’re stupid for answering otherwise. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Weighted pull-ups are badass because nothing hits the back all over like a pull-up. The ability to change hand positioning, and body position, means that you can literally hit as far up as your traps, to as far down as your low back/erectors. Throwing weight on top of your bodyweight makes it even more impressive.
Honorable mention: Bent over barbell row.
Shoulders: Overhead press.
Overhead press is the ultimate boulder shoulder move. Go find someone with a giant overhead press, and I guarantee they’ll have massive shoulders. Overhead press is the ultimate shoulder move because of the load it allows you to use, and the way your delts activate during the press.
The only drawback might be that it doesn’t hit your rear delts, which after enough time can lead to an imbalanced look. Throw in some rear delt flyes, and extra pulling movements and you’ll be golden.
Honorable mention: Iron cross.
Quads: Front squat.
Front squat over back squat for quads? Huh? Front squats are an often forgotten part of the average bro’s lifting regimen, though they’re ridiculously valuable for building core strength, athleticism, and freakish quads.
Having the bar rest on the front of your shoulders and a more upright torso forces your quads to activate more than a normal back squat – which utilizes a ton of hips. Back squats are kick ass, and one of the best overall leg exercises there is, but for quad development alone front squats are king.
Honorable mention: Leg press.
Hamstrings: Deadlifts.
There is no exercise more versatile, and more effective than heavy deadlifts. Deadlifts are the king of all exercises, and do one hell of a job at building hamstring strength that The Mountain would be proud of. Properly executing a heavy deadlift stresses your entire posterior chain (everything on your backside) more than any other movement known in the gym.
Plenty of dudes who are scared to go heavy, or afraid they’ll hurt their back like to do a Romanian style deadlift. That’s fine, Romanians work really well, and place a ton of emphasis on the hamstrings. They lose out to regular deadlifts though due to the sheer difference in how much weight you can use.
Honorable mention: Romanian deadlift.
Calves: Leg press calf extension.
Calf extensions on the leg press win out above all else. They do an amazing job at letting you get a full stretch, and use heavier or lighter loads. A major bonus is that they can be done immediately following a set of leg presses, with the exact same weight.
Bonus tip: Calves respond better to higher frequency. If you’re a member of #teamsmallcalves (Captain of the team checking in right here), don’t be afraid to push those bad boys 4-5 days a week.
Honorable mention: Seated calf raise.
Triceps: Close grip bench press.
Triceps lagging behind? That’s no Bueno. Your triceps are 2/3 of your arm, and if they’re the same size as your biceps, that just looks fucking weird. To bring em up, start working in close grip bench.
Close grip works so well because it allows you to use heavy loads, and the triceps respond well to this. The fact that it’s an accessory to barbell bench press will also help bring up your regular bench numbers as well. Be sure you keep your elbows in tight, and squeeze your triceps as hard as possible at the top.
Honorable mention: Tricep pushdowns with a rope attachment.
Biceps: Barbell curl.
There are certain instances in which curling in the squat rack is okay, despite what gym snobs may tell you. I’ve written about them here. Barbell curls are the best overall exercise to build big biceps, thanks to the amount of load, and the activation that the hand positioning gives you.
Just because you can use heavy loads doesn’t mean you always should. If you’re having to use your hips to get the weight up, then check your ego and drop the weight. We’re doing curls, not deadlifts.
Honorable mention: Incline dumbbell curl.
Hips/Ass: Barbell hip thrust.
Hip thrusts have gained a ton of popularity recently, and people in gyms all across the nation can be seen humping the air with a barbell sitting on their crotch. It looks weird, but it makes your ass burn so bad that it’s probably illegal in every state other than Arkansas.
Hip thrusts work well as an accessory to squats and deadlifts, and focus a ton on activating the glutes (paying attention Tiger?). After working those in for a few months don’t be surprised if your squat and deadlift numbers go up significantly, and your lady friend keeps squeezing your ass.
Honorable mention: Back squat