Library / Exercises

Exercises

Up to five well-supported choices for each muscle group — not a ranked top five, which the research rarely supports, and fewer where only fewer meet our evidence rule. Each page says why the exercise is here, cites the studies, and labels what kind of evidence they are.

Quadriceps

  • Barbell back squatBarbell · The classic lower-body lift. Squatting deeper grew the glutes and adductors more, and the quadriceps just as well.
  • Bulgarian split squatDumbbells or body weight · One leg at a time, rear foot on a bench. Needs only dumbbells or body weight, and matched the back squat for strength.
  • Leg extensionMachine · Isolates the quadriceps. The knee-bent half of the movement is the part a trial found grew them most.
  • Leg pressMachine · Heavy quadriceps work with nothing to balance, so sets can go close to failure and the load can rise in small steps.
  • Smith machine squatMachine · A squat with the bar on a fixed track. Machine training built muscle and strength about as well as free weights.

Chest

  • Barbell bench pressBarbell · The standard upper-body press. In men who had benched for at least a year, ten weeks of it thickened the chest by about 17%.
  • Dumbbell bench pressDumbbells · A bench press with a dumbbell in each hand. In trained men it built pressing strength over ten weeks, most of all in the dumbbell press itself.
  • Pec deckMachine · A machine fly that works the chest on its own. In a twelve-week trial in untrained men, one hard set grew the chest as much as three.
  • Push-upBody weight or resistance band · Needs nothing but the floor. Push-ups matched a light bench press for chest growth, and a banded version matched a heavy one for strength.
  • Smith machine incline pressMachine · A press on a bench tilted to about 45°. In a trial on a Smith machine, it grew the top of the chest more than the flat press did.

Back

  • Lat pulldownCable · The pull-up's movement at any load you choose. Eight weeks of it raised pulldown strength by over a quarter and more than doubled pull-ups.
  • Pull-upBody weight · Needs only a bar. In trained men, stopping each set while reps were still quick built more pull-up strength than grinding on.
  • Seated cable rowCable · A supported row that trains the middle of the back. Paired with the pulldown, it was half of the pulling work that grew lat fibres in eight weeks.

Hamstrings and glutes

  • Hip thrustBarbell or machine · Works the glutes with your back on a bench. In a nine-week MRI trial, it grew them about as much as the back squat did.
  • Lying leg curlMachine · The most common hamstring machine. It grew the hamstrings by about 9% in twelve weeks, though the seated version grew them more.
  • Nordic hamstring curlBody weight · Needs only something to hold your ankles. In trials with groups that did not train, it grew the hamstrings, most of all the semitendinosus.
  • Seated leg curlMachine · Curls the knee with the hips bent, which stretches the hamstrings further. In the same people, it grew them more than the lying curl did.
  • Stiff-leg deadliftBarbell · A hip hinge with nearly straight knees. In a nine-week randomised trial it grew the hamstrings by about 7%, most of all the semimembranosus.

Shoulders

  • Lateral raiseDumbbells or cable · Isolates the side of the shoulder. In experienced lifters, dumbbells and cables grew it by the same small amount over eight weeks.

Arms

  • Incline curlDumbbells · Curls lying back on an incline bench, arms hanging behind the body. In an eight-week trial it grew the upper end of the biceps more than the preacher curl.
  • Overhead triceps extensionCable · Straightens the elbow with the arm overhead. In a twelve-week MRI trial it grew the triceps about 1.4 times as much as the arm-at-side version.
  • Preacher curlDumbbells · Curls with the upper arm braced on a pad. It grew the biceps near the elbow more than the incline curl did, and its elbow-straight half grew that region most.
  • Triceps pushdownCable · Straightens the elbow with the arm at your side. It grew the triceps by about 14% in twelve weeks, though the overhead version grew them more.