Variety is always a good thing, and for building muscle and strength – it’s crucial. But variety can also be a bad thing. For instance, when a beginner looks to start training it can be very overwhelming with the vast array of exercises and equipment – and opinions, which can often lead to inaction, as people simply think it’s just too much hassle.
In this article I’ll help you to cut through the hassle and give you some simple, highly effective time-tested basic barbell exercises which are great for beginners and trainees of any level.
To anyone – beginners in particular – I always recommend compound exercises. If a person isn’t doing at least some compound exercises, then they surely aren’t getting the type of results they could be.
Compound exercises are the ‘big’ ones – the ones which involve heavy weight, and involve several muscle groups, as opposed to ones which isolate only one muscle group.
Don’t be intimidated. Some of these lifts do look dangerous and intimidating, but they are your bread and butter mass builders; without them, you won’t develop as much muscle as you could do, nor as much strength as you could do.
Practice makes perfect, and perfect isn’t an end destination. Westside Barbell’s Louie Simmons said perfect form should be practiced on every rep of every set – and he’s right. And you only get good form through practice, practice, practice.
Here is a list containing the most important compound lifts – all involving use of a barbell…
- Squats
- Dead Lifts
- Bench Press
- Bent Over Rows
- Upright Rows
- Military Press
- Lunges
Other barbell exercises which are useful are…
- Barbell Curls
- Laying Triceps Extensions
You will find plenty of information on the execution of each of these exercises on this website.