30 Exercises That Should Be in Your Workout Routine

Back: Deadlift

The bread and butter of countless gym routines, this move, if done properly, will predominantly engage your back and legs, while building overall strength for you entire body. If you want to master the deadlift, check out this article.

Back: T-Bar Row

As the favorite back exercise of Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, the T-bar row transcends all mere mortal workouts simply because of the Austrian Oak’s blessing. Here’s how to do it.

Back: “The Bird-Dog” aka One-Arm, One-Leg Plank

Sure, you may look a little funny doing it, but this variation on the plank challenges you to keep your back flat and stable. It goes to show that not all essential exercises are about clanging plates and bending bars.

Back: 30-Degree Lat Pulldown

This variation on the traditional pulldown not only strengthens your middle and upper back, it also works your shoulders, biceps, and forearms. 

Back: Pullups

The pullup is a classic strength-building move that everyone needs to do in the gym. But whatever you do, don’t lose your form in favor of reps. Keep those legs straight for maximum payoff.

Back: Farmer’s Walk & Trap Bar Carry

Farmer’s Walk: This workout may sound silly, but the results are anything but. All you need to do is stand up straight and start walking with some heavy dumbbells in each hand. It’s that simple! Utilize the farmer’s walk as either a warm-up exercise or as a brutal finisher.

Trap Bar Walk: The trap bar carry, while similar to the farmer’s walk, allows you to carry a whole lot more weight. Besides the gear, the workouts are essentially the same: Load your trap bar with a heavy weight, stand inside, lift it up, and start walking. 

Arms: Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl

Staying seated while curling may seem like just a slight adjustment to standing, but you won’t be able to deny how hard your arms are working with this move. Sit on an adjustable bench between 45 and 60 degrees for the ideal effect. 

Arms: Standing Barbell Curl

This traditional bodybuilding move is a staple for building bigger biceps. In a controlled motion, bend your elbows and curl the barbell as close to your shoulders as you can. Pause at the top, then slowly return your arms to their original position.

Arms: Dips

You don’t need any fancy equipment for dips (even a park bench will do), which makes this an ideal bodyweight workout for triceps. The different variations available can also target your pecs. 

Arms: Diamond Pushups

Shift your focus to your triceps with this variation on a pushup. By keeping your hands closer together, your triceps are under more tension, resulting in a greater workout.

Shoulders: Shrugs

There is no shortage of ways to do shrugs. You can utilize the trap bar, stick to dumbbells, hop on a calf machine, or use a designated shrug machine, depending on your gym setup. But no matter which method you choose, the end result is always the same: Big. Honkin’. Traps.

Shoulders: Dumbbell Lateral Raises

This classic exercise strengthens the entire shoulder with an emphasis on the sides of the deltoid muscles. For this move, you’ll want to choose form and movement over weight, and to isolate your shoulders even more, you can concentrate on just one arm at time.

Shoulders: Presses

The overhead press is the best way to move large amounts of weight and build some serious shoulder strength. There are also multiple ways to do it, all with their own distinct advantages, including with barbells or dumbbells, standing or seated. To see how to do each, and what benefits they have, check out this article.

Shoulders: Rear Delt Raises

This move is similar to regular lateral raises, except here you raise the weights while slightly bent over, leading to more rear deltoid and trap development. Popular modifications to the bent-over rear delt raise include a seated version on a bench or replacing dumbbells with cables. There’s a reason why this exercise landed on our list of five easy moves for bigger shoulders.

Shoulders: Half-Kneeling Landmine Press

In a previous article, we referred to the half-kneeling landmine press as one of the 10 best shoulder exercises for beginners. But no matter your fitness level, this is a move you should always consider using, especially if mobility is an issue. See our instructions on how to perform the move.

Chest: Barbell Bench Press

Whether you want to go flat, incline, or decline, the bench is the king of chest workouts. In fact, you should be using all the different bench angles available at your gym—no perfect chest was built only using a flat barbell bench, after all. But always remember to never sacrifice form for weight. As pro bodybuilder Eric Broser wrote for us, “Unless you are a powerlifter, stop maxing out every time you bench, and rather focus on exhausting the muscle.”

Chest: Cable Crossover

The cable crossover is a versatile exercise that’s easy to learn and vital to any chest routine. How high you set the cables is all dependent on what part of the muscle you want to hit (upper or lower). And once you figure out what you’re targeting, you can hop right in and start building your ideal chest.

Here’s how to do cable crossovers correctly. 

Chest: Dumbbell Bench Press

When building that perfect chest, be sure to always incorporate dumbbells into your bench routine. For some, this method will put less strain on the shoulders while isolating more of the chest than the standard barbell bench. And like the traditional barbell version, you can switch up to incline and decline variations to hit different parts of the muscle.

For a bigger shock to the system, switch to a neutral grip, where your palms are facing inward at each other, rather than pointed toward your feet. This hits the pecs even more and allows for more weight to be used.

Chest: BOSU, Puncher’s, and TRX Pushups

We went over the diamond pushups earlier for triceps, but if you’re looking to really increase the strength and size of your chest, then you should be dabbling in all sorts of different variations. Work on your core and stability with some BOSU ball pushups, or up your power and mobility with some puncher’s pushups. You can also switch things up with TRX suspension pushups that work on balance and stability. Put it this way: If it’s a pushup variation, you should be doing it. 

Chest: Incline Flye

This is a killer way to hit your upper chest. Just set the bench at an incline of no more than 45 degrees, grab some moderately heavy dumbbells, and get lifting (click here for a full tutorial).

There are two big things to remember when doing incline flyes: 1) Make sure the incline angle is correct (if it’s too straight up, you’ll basically be shoulder pressing) and 2) Choose weight that you can hit for 10 to 12 reps. This isn’t about heavy dumbbells, it’s about proper form and range of motion.

Legs: Squat

The squat is one of the most basic, fundamental compound moves to have in your arsenal. The barbell back squat is the classic go-to, but there are plenty of variations to suit your preferences or limitations. 

Legs: Leg Curl

When it comes to isolating your hamstrings, leg curls are one of the best moves for total development. Whether you opt for seated leg curls or lying leg curls, you’re in for some soreness. 

Legs: Leg Extension

Leg extensions are a staple in any bodybuilder’s routine, and for good reason. They tax your quads and slight variations can help you hit every angle.  

Legs: Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian split squats are tough. You may not be able to pile weight on for them, but once you nail the balancing involved in this exercise, it can be your key to huge legs. 

Legs: Calf Raise

Calf raises are a go-to for guys looking to build their legs, and it’s clear why. Whether you do them on a machine, with a barbell, or with just your bodyweight, it’s undeniable that they isolate your calf muscles to get them bigger and stronger.

Core: Planks

Planks are a core strengthening move that never gets old and there are seemingly endless variations (like side planks, pictured above) to hit every angle of your core. 

Core: Barbell Ab Rollout

Barbell ab rollouts hit your entire core without straining your back when done correctly. Make sure your hips stay in line with your knees and shoulders, and use a comfortable range of motion. Once you’re ready, you can start adding weight for even more of a challenge. 

Core: Cable Woodchop

Cable woodchops pinpoint your obliques while strengthening your entire core. Make sure there’s enough tension on the cable and keep your feet stationary as you twist away from the machine as if chopping into a tree.

Core: Weighted Decline Situp

Weighted decline situps put a few challenging twists on your typical situps. Use a manageable weight and contract your abs to bring your torso up without using much momentum. If it’s too easy, try using a bench with more of a decline. 

Core: Jackknife Situp

Jackknife situps are a challenging twist on the classic move. If you feel like they’re easy, check your form and make sure your legs are straight.