Strength training is one of the four pillars of fitness. With that in mind it is important to understand the best exercises for building overall strength.
As we age, strength training takes on even more importance due to the potential loss of muscle mass if we are inactive.
The best way to build significant strength is with exercises that allow you to potentially lift heavy weight by incorporating multiple muscle groups.
Even if you have some wear and tear, you’ll want to find a way to incorporate at least a couple of these exercises into your strength training program.
If you have difficulty with any of them, or you are new to strength training, coaching from an experienced strength training coach is highly recommended.
The best exercises for building strength are the deadlift, barbell squat, bench press, overhead barbell press and the pullup.
Deadlift
The one core exercise you need if you want to build muscle mass is the deadlift. For a single movement exercise, it hits more muscle groups than any other.
The deadlift works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, abdominals, shoulders, lats, trapezius, and the forearms.
The deadlift is the one exercise that allows you to lift the most weight. At present, the world record for a deadlift is just over 1,100 pounds.
It is also the one exercise where you can progress the fastest in regard to adding weight to the bar.
Because it works both the upper and lower body, it is virtually a must exercise to include in any strength training program.
Very few people who are able to train are unable to do the deadlift.
In fact, last year, a 100 year old woman in Florida deadlifted 165 pounds. Even more amazing is that she didn’t start training until she was 91.
Therefore, there are few excuses for excluding the deadlift from your program.
Barbell Squat
While the deadlift involves more muscle groups, the squat actually engages more muscle mass through the greatest range of motion, when utilizing the low bar squat (as opposed to resting the bar on top of the shoulders, the low bar sits just below the spine of the scapula…this forces a different movement pattern that engages the hips more).
The squat works virtually the entire posterior chain, from the calves all the way up to the upper back.
As a result, powerlifters who specialize in the squat are able to handle upwards of 900 pounds.
In most strength training programs, the squat is viewed as the most important exercise, and it is also often trained in these programs more than the other exercises.
Similar to the deadlift, you can also add weight to the bar fairly quickly with the squat.
However, technically, it can be a more challenging lift, and it can be difficult for people with back or knee issues.
With that in mind, if it all possible, try to incorporate the squat into your program.
Bench Press
The bench press is the exercise that allows you to develop the greatest upper body strength. Power lifters who specialize in this lift are able to bench upwards of 800 pounds.
When performed properly, the bench press can incorporate significant leverage, which is why you are able to push up significanly more weight than with the barbell press.
As such, it is a movement that allows you to build significant strength and muscle mass in the upper body. The bench press works the muscles of the chest, upper back, front of shoulders, and triceps.
The forearms also get some work from holding the barbell.
Overhead barbell press
The overhead barbell press is the most technical of the lifts discussed here. It is also the one exercise where your progress in regard to adding weight to the bar will stall most quickly.
While the prirmary muscle group employed in this lift is the shoulders, since it is done standing, it also engages many muscles from the feet all the way out through the forearms.
Because of its difficulty, many non-competitive lifters simply choose to do seated presses with barbells or dumbbells.
This is acceptable, as long as you are at least incorporating the squat and deadlift into your training.
Remember, the goal with these lifts is overall strength, and that is built with as much range of motion as possible.
Pullups
While pullups are primarily a bodyweight exercise, they are excellent for developing pulling strength with the lats, upper back, shoulders, biceps and forearms.
The problem is, most people can’t even perform a single pullup, and for many people, this is because they are overweight.
For these people, lat pulldowns are an alternative until significant weight loss occurs, and strength is built into these muscles.
The pullup is excellent for achieving balance in your body and training, since the two major strength training exerices for the upper body involve pushing movements.
While the deadlift does incorporate the lats in its motion, the range of motion involving the lats is quite minimal.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of what exercises to incorporate to build overall strength, which should be the ultimate goal for anyone who trains with barbells and dumbbells.
Obviously, these can be difficult exercises for many people, and therefore it is ok to utilize assistance exercises to build enough strength so that they can progress into these exercises.
Ultimately, if you are able to train these exercises, you’ll have the ability to improve your overall quality of life over the long run.
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