Exercise Directory: List of Strength Training Exercises

Here you will find our complete list of strength training exercises.

All strength training exercises have detailed instructions, muscles worked, and a video demonstration.

All exercise descriptions are also available for free in our workout log app.

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Feel free to use these exercise descriptions, images, and videos on your website as long as you link to us as the source.

Muscle Directory: Complete List of All Exercises

Here is our complete list of strength training exercises, sorted by muscle group.

Chest Exercises

1. Bar Dip
2. Bench Press
3. Cable Chest Press
4. Close-Grip Bench Press
5. Close-Grip Feet-Up Bench Press
6. Decline Bench Press
7. Dumbbell Chest Fly
8. Dumbbell Chest Press
9. Dumbbell Floor Press
10. Dumbbell Pullover
11. Feet-Up Bench Press
12. Floor Press
13. Incline Bench Press
14. Incline Dumbbell Press
15. Incline Push-Up
16. Kneeling Incline Push-Up
17. Kneeling Push-Up
18. Machine Chest Fly
19. Machine Chest Press
20. Pec Deck
21. Push-Up
22. Push-Up Against Wall
23. Resistance Band Chest Fly
24. Smith Machine Bench Press
25. Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
26. Standing Cable Chest Fly

Shoulder Exercises

1. Band External Shoulder Rotation
2. Band Internal Shoulder Rotation
3. Band Pull-Apart
4. Barbell Front Raise
5. Barbell Rear Delt Row
6. Barbell Upright Row
7. Behind the Neck Press
8. Cable Lateral Raise
9. Cable Rear Delt Row
10. Dumbbell Front Raise
11. Dumbbell Horizontal Internal Shoulder Rotation
12. Dumbbell Horizontal External Shoulder Rotation
13. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
14. Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
15. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
16. Face Pull
17. Lying Dumbbell External Shoulder Rotation
18. Lying Dumbbell Internal Shoulder Rotation
19. Machine Lateral Raise
20. Machine Shoulder Press
21. Monkey Row
22. Overhead Press
23. Power Jerk
24. Push Press
25. Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
26. Reverse Machine Fly
27. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
28. Seated Barbell Overhead Press
29. Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press
30. Snatch Grip Behind the Neck Press
31. Squat Jerk
32. Split Jerk

Bicep Exercises

1. Barbell Curl
2. Barbell Preacher Curl
3. Cable Curl With Bar
4. Cable Curl With Rope
5. Concentration Curl
6. Dumbbell Curl
7. Dumbbell Preacher Curl
8. Hammer Curl
9. Incline Dumbbell Curl
10. Spider Curl

Triceps Exercises

1. Barbell Standing Triceps Extension
2. Barbell Lying Triceps Extension
3. Bench Dip
4. Close-Grip Push-Up
5. Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extension
6. Dumbbell Standing Triceps Extension
7. Overhead Cable Triceps Extension
8. Tricep Pushdown With Bar
9. Tricep Pushdown With Rope

Leg Exercises

1. Air Squat
2. Barbell Hack Squat
3. Barbell Lunge
4. Body Weight Lunge
5. Box Squat
6. Bulgarian Split Squat
7. Chair Squat
8. Dumbbell Lunge
9. Dumbbell Squat
10. Front Squat
11. Goblet Squat
12. Hack Squat Machine
13. Half Air Squat
14. Hip Adduction Machine
15. Landmine Hack Squat
16. Landmine Squat
17. Leg Extension
18. Leg Press
19. Lying Leg Curl
20. Pause Squat
21. Safety Bar Squat
22. Seated Leg Curl
23. Shallow Body Weight Lunge
24. Side Lunges (Bodyweight)
25. Smith Machine Squat
26. Squat
27. Step Up

Back Exercises

1. Back Extension
2. Barbell Row
3. Barbell Shrug
4. Block Snatch
5. Cable Close Grip Seated Row
6. Cable Wide Grip Seated Row
7. Chin-Up
8. Clean
9. Clean and Jerk
10. Deadlift
11. Deficit Deadlift
12. Dumbbell Deadlift
13. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
14. Dumbbell Row
15. Dumbbell Shrug
16. Floor Back Extension
17. Good Morning
18. Hang Clean
19. Hang Power Clean
20. Hang Power Snatch
21. Hang Snatch
22. Inverted Row
23. Inverted Row with Underhand Grip
24. Kettlebell Swing
25. Lat Pulldown With Pronated Grip
26. Lat Pulldown With Supinated Grip
27. One-Handed Cable Row
28. One-Handed Lat Pulldown
29. Pause Deadlift
30. Pendlay Row
31. Power Clean
32. Power Snatch
33. Pull-Up
34. Rack Pull
35. Romanian Deadlift
36. Seal Row
37. Seated Machine Row
38. Snatch
39. Snatch Grip Deadlift
40. Stiff-Legged Deadlift
41. Straight Arm Lat Pulldown
42. Sumo Deadlift
43. T-Bar Row
44. Trap Bar Deadlift With High Handles
45. Trap Bar Deadlift With Low Handles

Glute Exercises

1. Banded Side Kicks
2. Cable Pull Through
3. Clamshells
4. Fire Hydrants
5. Glute Bridge
6. Hip Abduction Against Band
7. Hip Abduction Machine
8. Hip Thrust
9. Hip Thrust Machine
10. Hip Thrust With Band Around Knees
11. Lateral Walk With Band
12. One-Legged Glute Bridge
13. One-Legged Hip Thrust
14. Step Up

Ab Exercises

1. Cable Crunch
2. Crunch
3. Hanging Leg Raise
4. Hanging Knee Raise
5. Hanging Sit-Up
6. High to Low Wood Chop with Band
7. Horizontal Wood Chop with Band
8. Kneeling Ab Wheel Roll-Out
9. Kneeling Plank
10. Kneeling Side Plank
11. Lying Leg Raise
12. Lying Windshield Wiper
13. Lying Windshield Wiper with Bent Knees
14. Machine Crunch
15. Oblique Crunch
16. Oblique Sit-Up
17. Plank
18. Side Plank
19. Sit-Up

Calves Exercises

1. Eccentric Heel Drop
2. Heel Raise
3. Seated Calf Raise
4. Standing Calf Raise

Forearm Flexors & Grip Exercises

1. Barbell Wrist Curl
2. Barbell Wrist Curl Behind the Back
3. Bar Hang
4. Dumbbell Wrist Curl
5. Farmers Walk
6. Fat Bar Deadlift
7. Gripper
8. One-Handed Bar Hang
9. Plate Pinch
10. Plate Wrist Curl
11. Towel Pull-Up

Forearm Extensor Exercises

1. Barbell Wrist Extension
2. Dumbbell Wrist Extension

The Best Strength Training Exercises for Every Body Part

This is our recommended list of the best strength training exercises for every major muscle group.

These are time-tested classics that have proven their effectiveness both in the trenches and in the research labs. Which exercise is best for you will depend on your anatomy, background, and preferences, but this list should give you a starting point.

For most of the muscle groups below, we try to list at least one compound exercise and one isolation exercise. By combining two or three of the strength exercises listed for each muscle group, you should be able to work most of the muscle fibers of the target muscles effectively.

Chest

1. Bench Press
2. Incline Dumbbell Press
3. Bar Dips
4. Standing Cable Chest Fly

Read more: How to Train Your Chest Muscles

Shoulders

1. Overhead Press
2. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
3. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
4. Reverse Dumbbell Fly

Read more: How to Train Your Shoulder Muscles

Back

1. Deadlift
2. Lat Pulldown
3. Pull-Up
4. Barbell Row
5. Dumbbell Row

Read more: How to Train Your Back Muscles

Biceps

1. Barbell Curl
2. Dumbbell Curl
3. Hammer Curl

Read more: How to Train Your Biceps

Triceps

1. Barbell Lying Triceps Extension
2. Overhead Cable Triceps Extension
3. Tricep Pushdown
4. Close-Grip Bench Press

Read more: How to Train Your Triceps

Quadriceps

1. Squat
2. Hack Squats
3. Leg Extension
4. Bulgarian Split Squat

Read more: How to Train Your Quad Muscles

Hamstrings

1. Seated Leg Curl
2. Lying Leg Curl
3. Romanian Deadlift

Read more: How to Train Your Hamstring Muscles

Glutes

1. Squat
2. Hip Thrust
3. Romanian Deadlift
4. Bulgarian Split Squat

Read more: How to Train Your Glute Muscles

Abs

1. Cable Crunch
2. Hanging Leg Raise
3. High to Low Wood Chop
4. Crunch

Read more: How to Train Your Abs

Calves

1. Standing Calf Raise
2. Seated Calf Raise

Read more: How to Train Your Calf Muscles

Related articles:

• How Many Exercises Should You Do per Muscle Group?
• Top 20 Bodybuilding Exercises for Every Muscle Group
• Top 20 Powerlifting Exercises For Strength & Mass

What Are the Four Basic Strength Training Exercises?

The four basic strength training exercises refer to the four fundamental movements of resistance training.

They are four movements that, together, cover a large part of what we can do with our bodies and use almost all of our major muscle groups.

The idea is that if you do at least one exercise for each fundamental movement, you will have worked all your major muscle groups.

At least one exercise from each of these four basic movements should be included in every comprehensive strength training program.

The four fundamental movements are:

• Push something away from you. Examples: bench press, overhead press, push-ups, machine chest press.
• Pull something towards you. Examples: pull-ups, lat pulldown, barbell row, dumbbell row, cable row.
• Hip hinge. Examples: deadlift, good morning, Romanian deadlift, clean, kettlebell swing.
• Squat. Examples: squat, front squat, Bulgarian split squat, goblet squat, leg press.

Push, pull, hinge, and squat. That’s it.

Generally speaking:

• Pushing exercises work your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
• Pulling exercises work your lats, traps, and biceps.
• Hip hinge exercises work your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.
• Squat exercises work your quads, glutes, and adductors.

Pick one exercise from each category and train it once or more per week, and you will have an excellent strength training program for basically your entire body.

• If you train with a barbell and pick one exercise from each category, it might be bench press, barbell row, deadlift, and squat.
• If you train with kettlebells, it might be kettlebell press, kettlebell row, kettlebell swing, and goblet squat or front squat with the kettlebells in the rack position.
• If you train with machines, it might be chest press, machine row, back extension, and leg press.

Additions to the Four Basic Movements

Can’t we leave a nice thing alone?

Alright.

If you want to get fancy, there are two things you can add.

1. Abdominal Training

While the back of your core gets plenty of training in most hip hinge and squat exercises, your abs and obliques (the front and sides) don’t.

To rectify this, you could add an ab exercise from the list of exercises above.

2. Vertical and Horizontal Pushing and Pulling

For even more comprehensive upper body training, you could split up the pushing and pulling movements into horizontal and vertical planes of motion.

• Horizontal movements have your arm working about 90 degrees out from your body, i.e. where the arm would be horizontal if you were standing upright. Examples:
  • Horizontal pushes: bench press, dumbbell chest press, and push-ups.
  • Horizontal pulls: barbell row, dumbbell row, and cable row.
• Vertical movements have your arm working over your head. Examples:
  • Vertical pushes: overhead press, dumbbell shoulder press, and kettlebell press.
  • Vertical pulls: lat pulldown and pull-up.

Horizontal and vertical movements will emphasize slightly different muscles, or different regions in large muscles, and can thus lead to more complete training.

What Makes a Strength Training Exercise Good For Building Muscle?

An exercise is effective for building muscle if it:

• Works the muscle through a long range of motion.
• Is stable enough for your muscle power to be the limiting factor, and not your balance.
• Trains multiple muscles simultaneously (these exercises are often called compound exercises).

Of course, you don’t have to train several muscles in the same exercise, but it is time-effective to use compound exercises as they will help you train all your major muscle groups more quickly.

Is There One Exercise That Works the Entire Body?

Not that we’re aware of. But …

A lot of people would say the deadlift.

While the deadlift certainly uses a lot of muscle mass at the same time, it doesn’t work all major muscle groups.

The deadlift primarily works your posterior chain: your glutes, lower back, hamstrings, adductors, traps, and of course grip.

This leaves out the muscles in your upper arms, shoulders, lats, and abdominals. Your quads aren’t worked very effective either.

Another exercise that comes to mind is the clean and jerk (or clean and press). The clean and jerk basically combines a deadlift-like movement with an overhead jerk, adding some work for your legs, shoulders and arms.

You might argue, however, that the clean and jerk is actually two exercises combined (the clean and the jerk), and thus not “one exercise for the whole body”.

No matter how you slice it, both the deadlift and clean and jerk are still two fantastic exercises, and if one of them was all you ever did, you would still do pretty good.

Are Free Weight Exercises Better Than Machines?

Free weights refer to all kinds of training equipment that isn’t attached to something. The most common ones being barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Machines refer to training equipment that is fixed in one way or another. For example, it could be machines for leg presses or leg extensions, or smith machines.

While some may preach the superiority of one or the other, the truth is that free weights and machines both have their pros and cons that you should consider when planning your training.

To learn which is better for your goals, check out our article on free weights vs. machines.

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