Top 10 Exercises That Should Be In Every Training Protocol

     If you could only do 10 exercises these should be them.  These exercises should be the core of any training program because they execute functionality and recruit the most muscles in one movement.  Be advised, these exercises require some training to execute properly and should be approached with a base of knowledge before attempting.

Squats

     The Squat is the one of the most hated and loved exercises of all time.  It recruits the glutes, quads, Hamstrings, and requires stabilization of the spine by the entire posterior chain of back muscles and transverse abdominus. There are a couple of variations that people on both sides swear by.  The front squat requires the bar to be held on the anterior delts and the back squat requires the bar to be held on the traps.  If lower back pain is a problem then front squats are a safer choice.  Either variation is an amazing exercise. 

Dead lifts 

Dead lifts recruit most of the same muscles that squats do with a more emphasis on the ham strings and lower back. It also recruits the muscles of the shoulder to stabilize the joint and the muscles of the forearm to hold the weight. The romanian dead lift is a great variation for ham development. Again, technique is major issue with this exercise.

Cleans

Cleans can be done from the floor to emphasize the glutes, hamstrings and lower back or from a dead hang to emphasize the traps, rhomboids, delts, and glutes. I like the dead hang more because it is a great developer for the said muscles. This is a exercise that takes years to perfect the technique, but is a great functional movement.

Jerks or Military Press

This is a great exercise for deltoid development. The jerk is basically a military press with a hip thrust. It also secondarily recruits the triceps. When done from the standing position it recruits the core to stabilize the spine.

Bench Press

“Hey bro, how much ya’ bench?” Who hasn’t been asked or asked that? The bench press seems to be the measuring stick of strength. I would put the squat, deads, or cleans in that position, but the bench press is a great exercise for chest and tricep development and should be included in one way or another in every training protocol.

Pull Ups / Chin ups

Pull ups are great for upper back development and highly recruit the lats and biceps. I love this exercise because it can be done pretty much anywhere – a gym, park, doorway, or anything you can hang from.

Rows 

Rows are good way to develop the lower traps and rhomboids. It can be done on machines specifically for them. They can be done bent over with a barbell or dumbells. And my favorite is body weight rows done hanging from something like a bar on a smith machine. They also recruit the biceps.

Dips

Dips really help a lagging bench. They mainly recruit the triceps and help push through the sticking point on the bench press. Again, these can be done pretty much any where you can hang your body between.

Planks

This is just a great core exercise. It recruits the transverse abdominus to stabilize the spine. Also can be done any where you want.

GHD Sit Ups

One of the best core exercises ever. Unfortunately, you need a Glute / Ham Developer, but if you have one then do sit-ups on it. The GHD gives you a much larger range of motion than traditional floor sit-ups. Sit-ups also recruit the hip flexors making it a much more functional movement than the crunch which isolates the abs in a singular movement. Russian twists can also be done on the GHD to target the obliques as well as the rectus abdominus.

I’v laid out 10 of the best exercise out there. On top of muscle good development qualities, they are some of the most functional exercises available and translate to real life movements very well. What do you think should be included in this list. Comment below on 5 exercises that should be included in a training protocol.

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