
All right peeps, so here is a handy dandy exercise bank. A nice little resource you can take a look at when you want to switch out exercises in your program to keep from getting bored.
Keep in mind some essential compound movements that should not be left out when writing your program. These are:
- Squat
- Deadlift
- Shoulder press
- Bench press
If you are going to switch out exercises in your program, make sure to switch a compound exercise for a compound and an isolation for an isolation exercise.
BB– Barbell
DB– Dumbbell
psst……. I am still working on linking exercises for ease of use….
Quads
Squats (compound)
Variations: body weight, BB, DB, narrow (quads), wide (glutes)
Hack squat / machine or BB
Split squat with back leg on bench
Leg Press (compound)- narrow, neutral or wide
Single leg alternating lunges forward step or reverse step
Leg extensions– single leg and double leg. This exercise can be especially hard on the knees.
Calves
Standing calf raises (toe in, to straight, toe out)- machine, DB, BB, smith machine
Leg press or hack-squat machine calf raises
Seated calf raises – DB, BB, machine
Glutes & Hams
Straight leg deadlifts (compound)- DB, BB, kettlebell, single leg
Clean deadlift (compound)- BB
Snatch deadlift (compound)- BB
Leg Curls – cable, DB, machine: seated or lying down, swiss ball
Single leg alternating lunges forward step or reverse step
Smith machine lunges, reverse lunge, with high knee
Split squat- DB, BB, smith machine
Sumo squat- BW, DB, kettle bell
Lying hip raise (feet on floor, feet on swiss ball, single leg)
Reverse hip raise– with or without swiss ball
Glute bridge – BB
Reverse hyperextensions Or this version
Glute-ham raise- floor, machine
Prowler sprint – compound
Back
Deadlift (compound overall)
Lat Pulldowns (compound)- overhand grip, wide, neutral, narrow grip)
Bent Over Barbell Rows (compound) -prone or reverse grip
Seated Cable Rows (compound) -wide, narrow, neutral grip
One-arm Dumbbell Rows (compound)
Inverted row, aka horizontal pull ups (feet on floor or up on bench)
Cable pullover– incline or decline
Pull-Ups (compound)- weighted, wide and neutral overhand grip
Biceps
Chin-ups (compound, underhand grip)
Reverse lat pulldowns (compound, underhand grip)
Bicep curls DB, BB, EZ bar (close grip), cable
Preacher curls (bar, DB, cable, alternating, single arm, machine)
Chest
Flat Bench Press (compound)- BB or DB
Incline Bench Press (compound) BB or DB
Decline Bench Press (compound) BB or DB
Dips– chest version (compound)
Flyes – cable, DB, flat, incline, decline
In order of increasing difficulty: modified, incline, push-up, stacked feet, decline, feet/shins on swiss ball, single leg decline, hands on bosu ball, hands on swiss ball)
Also try: wide hands and close hands or with suspension bands
Shoulders
Front and middle deltoids
Overhead Press(compound) – BB, DB, standing, seated, modified
Upright row- narrow grip, wide grip
Single arm linear jammer or double arm
Alternating DB lateral raise, front raise, upright row
Middle deltoids
Front deltoids
Rear deltoids
Triceps
Close grip push-up -hands forming a triangle – (compound)
Close-grip Bench Press (compound)
Skull crushers –DB or BB flat, incline
Seated overhead tricep extension – DB or Ez bar , one armed
Cable overhead tricep extension
Cable pushdown– with ext. bar, rope, single arm
Decline Triceps Extension (compound)
Dips (compound)
Traps
Calf Raise Machine Shrugs
Forearms
Wrist Curls (forearms resting on legs or a bench)- BB, DB, low cable
Reverse Wrist Curls- BB, DB
Farmers walk – DB, kettlebells
Core
Note- no amount of ab work will give you 6 pack abs without shedding fat so they can shine through! and really woman… 6 pack abs are really hard to get and keep, jus sayin…. you can be dead sexy with a toned tummy and buffness all around.
Knee/Hip Leg Raises(compound)- weighted, bent knees, holding dumbbell between feet
Sit-ups- flat, decline
Crunches- upper abs- kneeling cable, machine, swiss ball, weighted.
Machine lying hip raises
Planks-deep core- Incline, decline, kneeling, T-stabilization
bicycle kicks/crunch-deep core
Captains chair knee/leg raise- deep core
plank jack- deep core
scissor crunches- deep core
V-tuck- deep core
Ab roll out- deep core
Swiss ball pike- deep core
Side plank- obliques
Oblique V-up- obliques
Cable rotation-obliques
Oblique hanging leg raise
Russian twist- obliques-weighted with ball or plate, with feet elevated
Bird Dog
Mountain climbers- slow, fast
Swiss ball jackknife
Swiss ball pike
Swiss-ball rollout
Prone cobra
Stability chop- kneeling, half kneeling, standing
Kneeling stability reverse chop
V-ups- upper abs
Vertical leg crunch-upper abs
Raised knee in- lower abs
Reverse crunch- lower abs
Flutter kicks- lower abs
Hanging Leg Raises- lower abs
Straight leg raise-lower abs
Wow, what a great resource!@ I can totally use this with my coaching clients. But personally, I’m bored with Squat, Bench Deadlift every session. Can’t I just do curls and calf raises? I didn’t see that option
Thanks for reading bulletproof. The benefit of compound exercises is that they engage more muscle groups which allows you to lift more weight and progress consistently faster than only utilizing isolation exercises. Isolation exercises are a great adjunct to compound exercises as they allow you to to train muscle groups themselves but isolation exercises alone will not allow you to progress as quickly, move as much weight or increase performance optimally.