The beauty of fitness programs is that very few are identical. Depending on a person’s goals, you’ll find basically everyone at your gym has different exercises, rep counts, set numbers, and strategies that they do day in, day out. Some will even have completely different gym methodologies there are those that swear by tried-and-true weight routines, while others go for more flexibility and bodyweight work.
Over the years, we’ve tackled the full spectrum of fitness and gym routines, each with their own distinct advantages. While there’s never going to be one definitive “WORKOUT LIST TO END ALL WORKOUT LISTS,” there are more than enough essential exercises that anyone who gets in the gym should at least consider. We decided to cobble together 12 of these for our list of some essential exercises that could boost your gym routine.
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 your entire body.
This variation 30-degree lat pulldown on the traditional pulldown not only strengthens your middle and upper back, but it also works your shoulders, biceps, and forearms.
You don’t need any fancy equipment for dips 5 reasons you should be doing dips (even a park bench will do), which makes this an ideal bodyweight workout for triceps.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 or up your power and mobility with some puncher’s pushups punchers pushup. 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.
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 6 squat variations to suit your preferences or limitations.
Leg Extension is a staple in any bodybuilder's routine, and for good reason. They tax your quads and slight variations can help you hit every angle.
Planks are a core strengthening move that never gets old and there are seemingly endless variations (like side planks, pictured below) to hit every angle of your core.
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.