Movement technique, taught straight

“Sit down between your feet and keep your heels welded to the floor.”

An unloaded squat used to warm the pattern and to teach depth before a bar goes anywhere.

No kit — bodyweight

“Brace like you are about to be punched, then sit between your hips and drive the floor away.”

The barbell carried on the upper traps, squatted to at least parallel. The reference lower-body strength lift.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Break at the hips first and keep the bar stacked over mid-foot the whole way down.”

The bar carried lower across the rear delts, with more forward lean and more hip drive than a high bar squat.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Elbows high the whole rep — the moment they drop, the bar follows.”

The bar racked across the front delts, squatted upright. Ruthless about torso position and quad-dominant.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Two full seconds in the hole, still braced, then stand — no bouncing out of it.”

A back squat with a held pause at depth, used to build position and confidence out of the bottom.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Sit back onto the box, stay tight, then drive up without rocking.”

A squat to a set box height, controlling depth and teaching hip loading.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage · Plyo box or step

“Fight the bar pulling you forward by driving your upper back into it.”

A squat with a cambered safety bar — kinder on the shoulders, harder on the upper back.

Safety squat bar · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Push the bar up into the ceiling for the whole rep and keep it behind your ears.”

A squat with the bar locked out overhead. A mobility test as much as a lift.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Hug the bar into the crook of your elbows and keep your chest up as you sink.”

A squat with the bar held in the elbow crease — brutal on the upper back and trunk, easy on the shoulders.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Hold the weight tight to your chest and let it counterbalance you into a deep, upright squat.”

A dumbbell or kettlebell held at the chest and squatted. The best teaching squat there is.

Dumbbells

“Let the bar path pull you into depth, and stand up through your heels.”

A barbell in a landmine held at the chest and squatted. Forgiving on the wrists and easy to load.

Landmine attachment · Barbell · Weight plates

“Set your feet slightly forward so the fixed bar path does not tip you onto your toes.”

A squat on a guided bar. Removes the balance demand, which makes it a safe way to train close to failure alone.

Smith machine · Weight plates

“Push through the whole foot and do not let your hips shoot back off the pad.”

A machine squat on a fixed angled sled. Loads the quads hard with the back supported.

Hack squat machine · Weight plates

“Stop lowering the moment your lower back starts to peel off the pad.”

A seated or angled machine press. Big quad and glute volume with almost no technical cost.

Leg press · Weight plates

“Pause for a beat at the top with the knees straight, then lower slowly.”

Machine knee extension. Isolates the quads, and the only easy way to load the rectus femoris hard.

Leg extension machine

“Reach the free leg and both arms forward as a counterweight and control the descent.”

A full-depth squat on one leg. A strength and mobility benchmark rather than a volume exercise.

No kit — bodyweight

“Take the slack out of the bar until you hear it click, then push the floor away.”

The bar pulled from the floor to lockout with a conventional stance. The reference full-body pulling lift.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Open your hips and push your knees out over your toes before the bar moves.”

A deadlift from a wide stance with the hands inside the knees. Shorter range, more hip and quad.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Stand tall and finish with your hips and knees locked at the same moment.”

A deadlift from inside a hex bar. The load sits closer to the centre of mass, so it is the friendliest heavy pull to learn.

Trap bar (hex bar) · Weight plates

“Push your hips back at the wall behind you and stop the moment your hamstrings shout.”

A hip hinge from standing with a soft knee, lowering under control to mid-shin. The main hamstring builder.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Drag the dumbbells down your thighs and keep them touching your legs the whole way.”

The same hinge with dumbbells — easier to set up, and the range can go a touch deeper.

Dumbbells

“Keep your hips square to the floor — the back foot points down, not out.”

A hinge on one leg. Exposes and fixes the side-to-side difference a bilateral RDL hides.

Dumbbells

“Same brace, longer pull — do not let the extra range round your back.”

A deadlift standing on a low platform, adding range off the floor to build the start position.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Pull the bar back into your legs, not just up, and finish with the glutes.”

A deadlift from pins or blocks above the floor, overloading the top half of the pull.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Wide hands, chest proud — this one is about the upper back, not the number.”

A deadlift with a very wide grip, lengthening the range and hammering the upper back.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Soft knees, hips back, and stop well before your back wants to round.”

A barbell on the back, hinged forward and returned. Light loads only — this is a hamstring and erector builder, not a max lift.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Finish with your ribs down and your chin tucked — squeeze, do not arch.”

Shoulders on a bench, bar across the hips, driven to full extension. The most direct glute loader there is.

Barbell · Weight plates · Flat bench

“Drive through your heels and hold the top for a full second.”

A floor-based hip extension. The unloaded or lightly loaded version of the hip thrust.

No kit — bodyweight

“Let the cable pull your hips back, then stand tall by squeezing your glutes, not by leaning back.”

A hinge against a low cable. Teaches the pattern with the load pulling you into it rather than down.

Cable machine

“The bell is thrown by the hips snapping shut, not lifted by the arms.”

A ballistic hinge with a kettlebell. Conditioning and hip power in the same movement.

Kettlebells

“Round up one vertebra at a time, then stack back to straight — never past straight.”

A hip and spinal extension on a 45-degree or horizontal bench. Cheap, effective posterior-chain volume.

Back extension bench

“Push the footplate away and control the whole way down before you pull yourself back.”

A knee-flexion and hip-extension exercise on a GHD. One of the strongest hamstring builders available.

Glute-ham raise

“Fight the fall for as long as you can — the lowering is the whole exercise.”

A kneeling eccentric hamstring curl with the ankles anchored. Punishing, and the best hamstring injury insurance there is.

No kit — bodyweight

“Keep your hips pinned to the pad and curl all the way to your backside.”

Machine knee flexion lying prone. Isolates the hamstrings without loading the spine.

Leg curl machine

“Sit tall against the pad — leaning back turns it into a hip movement.”

Machine knee flexion seated, with the hip flexed. Trains the hamstrings at a longer length than lying.

Leg curl machine

“Stay patient over the bar, then jump and pull yourself under it.”

The bar taken from the floor to the front rack in one movement, caught above parallel. A power lift, not a strength lift.

Barbell · Weight plates

“From above the knee, jump hard and turn the elbows over fast.”

A power clean starting from the hang rather than the floor. Simpler to coach and easier on the back.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Wide grip, long pull, and punch up against the bar as you receive it.”

The bar taken from the floor to overhead in one movement, caught above parallel. The most technical lift in the library.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Finish tall on the toes with the shoulders shrugged — no arm bend until the legs are done.”

The pulling half of a clean without the catch. Builds the pull with far less technical risk.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Step long enough that your front shin stays near vertical, and stand tall between steps.”

Alternating forward lunges travelling across the floor. Quads, glutes and balance under fatigue.

Dumbbells

“Step back and lower straight down — your front knee should barely move.”

A lunge stepping backwards. Easier on the knees than a forward lunge and more glute-dominant.

Dumbbells

“All the weight through the front heel — the back leg is a kickstand, not an engine.”

A split squat with the rear foot elevated. The hardest and most honest single-leg strength builder.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

“Feet stay planted — you are moving straight up and down, not forwards.”

A stationary split stance squat with both feet on the floor. The entry point to single-leg work.

Dumbbells

“Do not push off the back foot — drive entirely through the leg on the box.”

Stepping onto a box under load. Simple, scalable single-leg strength and knee resilience.

Dumbbells · Plyo box or step

“Sit back into the bent hip and keep the straight leg's foot flat on the floor.”

A lunge stepping sideways. One of the few loaded movements in the frontal plane.

Dumbbells

“Pull the bar apart, tuck your elbows slightly, and touch the same spot every rep.”

The barbell lowered to the chest and pressed to lockout on a flat bench. The reference upper-body strength lift.

Barbell · Weight plates · Flat bench · Squat rack or power cage

“One full second on the chest with the bar dead still, then drive.”

A bench press with a held pause on the chest. Builds the start position and matches competition commands.

Barbell · Weight plates · Flat bench · Squat rack or power cage

“Hands about shoulder width and elbows tucked — this is a triceps lift with a bench under it.”

A bench press with a narrower grip, shifting the work onto the triceps.

Barbell · Weight plates · Flat bench · Squat rack or power cage

“Set the bench around thirty degrees and touch high on the chest, not the throat.”

A barbell press on an inclined bench. Biases the upper chest and front delts.

Barbell · Weight plates · Adjustable bench · Squat rack or power cage

“Keep the bar over the lower chest and control it — the leverage flatters you here.”

A barbell press on a declined bench. Shortest range of the three angles and heaviest lower-chest loading.

Barbell · Weight plates · Adjustable bench

“Let the triceps touch down, pause, then press — no bouncing off the floor.”

A press lying on the floor, which cuts the bottom range. Shoulder-friendly and triceps-heavy.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Lower until you feel a stretch across the chest, then press the dumbbells together at the top.”

A flat-bench press with dumbbells. More range than a barbell and each side has to earn its own rep.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

“Thirty degrees, elbows under the wrists, and drive up and slightly in.”

A dumbbell press on an incline. The workhorse upper-chest builder.

Dumbbells · Adjustable bench

“Set the seat so the handles line up with the middle of your chest before you start.”

A seated pressing machine. Safe to take close to failure with nobody spotting.

Chest press machine · Weight plates

“Position the bench so the fixed bar path lands on your mid-chest.”

A bench press on a guided bar. Useful when training alone or working around a shoulder.

Smith machine · Flat bench · Weight plates

“Squeeze your glutes and move as one plank — hips and chest arrive together.”

The bodyweight horizontal press. Scales from an incline to feet-elevated to loaded.

No kit — bodyweight

“Lean forward for chest, stay upright for triceps, and stop before your shoulders roll.”

A bodyweight press between parallel bars. Heavy loading available with a belt.

Dip bars

“Small bend in the elbows, held the whole rep — you are hugging, not pressing.”

A single-joint chest movement against cables, with tension held at the shortened position.

Cable machine

“Open only as far as feels like a stretch, never a pull, and lead back with the elbows.”

A single-joint chest movement with dumbbells. Loads the chest hardest at length.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

“Set the seat so your hands travel at chest height and hold the squeeze for a beat.”

A machine chest fly. The most controlled way to add chest volume with no stabilising cost.

Pec deck

“Squeeze your glutes, get your head through the window at the top, and finish with the bar over your ears.”

A barbell pressed from the shoulders to lockout overhead while standing. The reference upper-body pressing lift.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Short dip, hard drive, and the arms only finish what the legs started.”

An overhead press with a leg drive out of a shallow dip. Moves more load than a strict press.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Back flat on the pad and ribs down — no arching to fake the lockout.”

An overhead press seated with back support, removing the leg and trunk contribution.

Barbell · Weight plates · Adjustable bench · Squat rack or power cage

“Press slightly in so the dumbbells meet over the middle of your head.”

An overhead press with dumbbells, seated or standing. Kinder on the shoulders than a fixed bar.

Dumbbells

“Rotate as you press so the palms finish facing forward, and rotate back on the way down.”

A dumbbell overhead press with a rotation through the range, adding front-delt time under tension.

Dumbbells

“Set the handles level with your ears before you take the weight.”

A seated overhead pressing machine. The safest way to press overhead near failure alone.

Shoulder press machine · Weight plates

“Press up and across your body — the bar path is an arc, not a line.”

A one-armed press on a landmine. Overhead loading at an angle the shoulder tolerates well.

Landmine attachment · Barbell · Weight plates

“Hips high, head between your hands, and lower your crown to the floor.”

A bodyweight vertical press in a piked position. The step towards a handstand push-up.

No kit — bodyweight

“Stay stacked and tight — this is a press, not a kick.”

A vertical press from a handstand, usually against a wall. Demanding on the shoulders and the nerve.

No kit — bodyweight

“Dip, drive, and drop under the bar to meet it with locked arms.”

An overhead lift where the legs drive the bar and the lifter re-bends to receive it. Moves the most weight overhead.

Barbell · Weight plates · Squat rack or power cage

“Lead with the little fingers and pull until the band touches your chest, without shrugging.”

A light band held at arm's length, pulled apart to warm and strengthen the upper back and rear delts.

Resistance bands

“Hinge to about forty-five degrees, hold it there, and row to the bottom of your ribs.”

A barbell rowed to the torso from a hinged position. The heaviest horizontal pull most lifters will do.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Torso stays parallel to the floor and the bar resets on the deck every rep.”

A strict barbell row from a dead stop on the floor, with no torso movement. Explosive and honest.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Row to your hip, not your armpit, and let your shoulder blade travel with it.”

A one-armed row supported on a bench. Big range, easy to load, and each side works alone.

Dumbbells · Flat bench

“Chest stays glued to the pad — if it lifts, the weight is too heavy.”

A row with the torso supported, which removes the lower back entirely and keeps the work in the upper back.

Dumbbells · Adjustable bench

“Sit tall, pull the handle to your navel, and do not rock for the last rep.”

A seated horizontal pull against a cable stack. Constant tension across the whole range.

Seated row machine

“Keep your chest up and pull the handles into your sternum.”

A row on a landmine or T-bar machine. Allows heavy loading with a neutral grip.

Landmine attachment · Barbell · Weight plates

“Drive your elbows back past your ribs and hold for a beat before releasing.”

A seated plate-loaded or selectorised row. Consistent path, easy to progress, safe near failure.

Seated row machine · Weight plates

“Stay in one straight line and pull your chest to the bar, not your chin.”

A bodyweight horizontal pull under a fixed bar or rings. Scales by moving the feet.

Pull-up bar

“Stand square to the bar and row it up along your side, letting the shoulder stretch at the bottom.”

A one-armed landmine row from a staggered stance. Strong stretch on the lat.

Landmine attachment · Barbell · Weight plates

“Pull the rope to your forehead and finish with your knuckles beside your ears.”

A high cable pull to the face with external rotation. The cheapest shoulder-health insurance in the gym.

Cable machine

“Think of pushing your hands apart, not lifting them, and keep the traps quiet.”

A single-joint movement for the rear delts, with dumbbells, cables or a reverse pec deck.

Dumbbells

“Arms stay straight — just pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.”

A short-range hang-and-depress that switches the lats on before pulling work.

Pull-up bar

“Start from a dead hang, pull your elbows into your sides, and clear the bar with your chin.”

An overhand bodyweight vertical pull. The benchmark for relative upper-body pulling strength.

Pull-up bar

“Palms towards you, chest to the bar, and control the way down.”

An underhand bodyweight vertical pull. More biceps than a pull-up and usually a few reps stronger.

Pull-up bar

“Use the lightest band that lets you finish every rep with your chin clear.”

A pull-up with a band under the foot or knee taking part of the load. The honest route to a first pull-up.

Pull-up bar · Resistance bands

“Set your ribs down, pull the bar to your collarbone, and lead with your elbows.”

A cable vertical pull from a seated position. Scales to any strength level, unlike a pull-up.

Lat pulldown

“Let the shoulder rise at the top, then pull it down into your back pocket.”

A one-armed cable pulldown. Full range on each side and a strong stretch at the top.

Cable machine

“Arms stay long — push the bar down in an arc using only your lats.”

A single-joint lat movement against a cable. Teaches people who "cannot feel their lats" what a lat does.

Cable machine

“Wide grip, elbows to shoulder height only — if your shoulder pinches, drop it and do a lateral raise.”

A vertical pull to the chest with a wide grip, loading the side delts and traps.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Throw it down like you mean it and let your whole body follow through.”

An overhead-to-floor throw with a slam ball. Power and conditioning with no eccentric cost.

Medicine ball

“Squeeze your glutes and tuck your ribs — a hard thirty seconds beats a soft two minutes.”

An isometric hold in a straight line on the forearms. Prescribed in seconds, not reps.

No kit — bodyweight

“Stack your hips and push the floor away with your bottom shoulder.”

An isometric side hold for the obliques and lateral trunk. Prescribed in seconds per side.

No kit — bodyweight

“Curl your pelvis up towards your ribs — swinging your legs is not the exercise.”

A hanging trunk flexion from a bar. Scales from knee raises to strict toes-to-bar.

Pull-up bar

“Crunch with your abs and keep your hips still — this is not a hinge.”

A kneeling trunk flexion against a cable stack. The only easily loadable direct ab movement.

Cable machine

“Keep your ribs pulled down and only go as far as you can come back from.”

An anti-extension rollout on a wheel. Very demanding on the trunk and the lats.

Ab wheel

“Press your lower back into the floor and do not let it lift as the limbs move.”

A supine anti-extension drill with opposite arm and leg. The safest way to teach bracing.

No kit — bodyweight

“Stand square and refuse to let the cable turn you.”

An anti-rotation press against a cable or band. Trains the trunk to resist, which is what it does under a bar.

Cable machine

“Turn from the hips and ribs, not the arms, and follow the handle with your eyes.”

A rotational cable movement, high to low or low to high. One of the few loaded transverse-plane options.

Cable machine

“Lower back glued to the floor — lift the limbs only as far as that stays true.”

A supine isometric hold with the trunk braced and the limbs extended. Prescribed in seconds.

No kit — bodyweight

“Stand tall, breathe, and walk like you are not carrying anything.”

Heavy weights carried at the sides for distance or time. Grip, trunk and honest hard work.

Dumbbells

“Weight in one hand, shoulders level — do not let it bend you sideways.”

A single-sided loaded carry. An anti-lateral-flexion core exercise disguised as walking.

Dumbbells

“Low body angle, short steps, and keep it moving.”

A loaded sled pushed for distance. All concentric, so it builds conditioning with minimal soreness.

Prowler or sled

“Five to eight minutes easy until your breathing lifts and you have broken a light sweat.”

Low-intensity whole-body work — bike, rower, brisk walk or skipping — to raise temperature before loading.

No kit — bodyweight

“Move each joint through its full range under control — no bouncing, no holding.”

Leg swings, hip circles, thoracic rotations and shoulder passes to open the ranges the session will use.

No kit — bodyweight

“Land soft and quiet in the same shape you jumped from, and step down every time.”

A two-footed jump onto a box. Trains rate of force development with almost no landing cost when you step down.

Plyo box or step

“Elbows pinned to your ribs — if they drift forward, the weight is too heavy.”

A two-handed biceps curl with a straight or EZ bar. The heaviest curl variation available.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Turn your little finger up at the top and lower all the way to straight.”

A supinating biceps curl with dumbbells, one or both arms.

Dumbbells

“Thumbs up throughout — this one is for the outside of the arm.”

A neutral-grip curl. Loads the brachialis and brachioradialis as much as the biceps.

Dumbbells

“Let your arms hang behind you and keep them there — the stretch is the point.”

A curl lying back on an incline bench, training the biceps at their longest.

Dumbbells · Adjustable bench

“Keep your armpits jammed into the top of the pad and stop just short of lockout.”

A curl with the upper arms supported on an angled pad. No swinging possible.

Preacher bench · Dumbbells

“Stand a step back from the stack so there is tension on the biceps at the bottom.”

A biceps curl against a cable, with tension held through the whole range.

Cable machine

“Knuckles up, wrists locked straight, and expect to use less weight than you would like.”

An overhand curl loading the brachioradialis and the forearm extensors. Sorts out sore elbows.

EZ curl bar · Weight plates

“Elbows locked at your sides and push all the way to straight.”

A cable triceps extension from a high pulley. The default triceps volume movement.

Cable machine

“Get your elbows beside your ears and let the weight stretch the long head.”

A triceps extension with the arms overhead, training the long head at length.

Cable machine

“Lower behind your head, not to your forehead, and keep the upper arms still.”

A lying triceps extension with an EZ bar or dumbbells.

EZ curl bar · Weight plates · Flat bench

“One dumbbell in both hands, elbows narrow, and lower until you feel the stretch.”

A seated or standing overhead triceps extension with a dumbbell. Needs no cable stack.

Dumbbells

“Lead with your elbows to shoulder height and stop — higher is just traps.”

A dumbbell raise in the frontal plane. The only direct side-delt builder that matters.

Dumbbells

“Run the cable behind your back so the tension stays on at the bottom.”

A side raise against a cable, which keeps the delt loaded where dumbbells go slack.

Cable machine

“Raise to eye level with a soft elbow and no swing from the hips.”

A dumbbell or plate raise in front of the body for the front delts.

Dumbbells

“Straight up and down, hold at the top, and do not roll your shoulders.”

A barbell shrug for the upper traps.

Barbell · Weight plates

“Let the arms hang dead and lift only with the traps.”

A shrug with dumbbells at the sides. Better range than a barbell.

Dumbbells

“All the way down for a stretch, all the way up onto the big toe, and pause at both ends.”

A calf raise with the knee straight, loading the gastrocnemius.

Calf raise machine

“Knees bent means soleus — go slow and let it burn.”

A calf raise with the knee bent, which shifts the work to the soleus.

Calf raise machine

“Full range on one leg, holding something for balance rather than for help.”

A one-legged calf raise off a step, loadable with a single dumbbell.

No kit — bodyweight

“Legs, then back, then arms — and reverse that order on the way in.”

Intervals on a rowing machine. Full-body conditioning with no impact.

Rowing machine

“Set the clock, go hard for the work, and actually stop for the rest.”

Intervals on a fan bike. The most efficient and least pleasant conditioning tool in the gym.

Air bike

“Set an incline you can hold a conversation on, and let go of the handrails.”

Steady walking at an incline. Low-impact aerobic work that does not interfere with lifting.

Treadmill

“Keep the effort conversational — this is recovery work, not a race.”

Steady-state cycling. Easy aerobic volume with no eccentric load on the legs.

Exercise bike

“Small jumps off the balls of your feet, wrists doing the turning.”

Rope skipping for rounds or time. Calf and ankle conditioning as well as aerobic work.

Skipping rope

“Chest to the floor, stand all the way up, and pace it — burpees punish enthusiasm.”

A floor-to-standing full-body movement for conditioning. No equipment and nowhere to hide.

No kit — bodyweight