Picking the Best Exercises

Exercise selection is the most impactful part of your plan. The right movements give risk-free results for months on end. The wrong movements will just jack you up and leave you stagnant.

Balancing the movements

Most people cherry-pick what they enjoy. You should cherry-pick what works. Balance the movement categories across your plan. 4-6 exercises per workout, and movements shouldn't overlap a muscle more than 3 times.

Category

Minimum requirements

Chest

2 exercises of any kind

pushups, bench press, db flys

Lats

1 vertical pulling

chinups, pulldowns

1 horizontal pulling

db rows, cable rows

Upper Back

2 elbows-flared movements

rear delt flyes, facepulls

Shoulders

1 vertical press

db or barbell press

1 lateral raise

lateral raises

Biceps

1 exercise of any kind

underhand curls, hammer curls

Triceps

1 exercise of any kind

skullcrusher, pushdown

Quads

1 single leg movement

ATG split squat, reverse lunge

1 deep knee bend

sissy squats, heels up squats

Glute/Ham

1 leg curl

hamstring curl, GHR

1 hip hinge

hip thrust, romanian deadlift

Abs

1 static

planks, ab wheel

1 dynamic

leg raises, situps

Pick your moneymakers

All the best lifters know their moneymaker exercises. They give insane results, work with their body type, and don't hurt them when pushed to the limits. Moneymakers have these traits:

No joint pain

Feel it in your muscles, not your bones and tendons.

Consistent resistance

Repeat it every week with the exact resistance. Bands are out.

Can be pushed hard with confidence

All your focus is on pushing hard, not tricky technique.

Hard to cheat by accident

Some exercises can get sloppier every week without noticing.

If it feels awkward or unstable, ditch it. Machines work well but keep free-weight and bodyweight movements in the mix too.

How do you know before starting? You don't. Make your best guess, then adjust. Your first cycle will give wild results regardless so you can explore.

Recommended exercises by body part

Chest→

All bench press angles and variations

All chest press machines

All dumbbell and machine fly variations

Most pushup and dip variations

Lats→

All chest supported row variations and machines

All pulldown variations

Seated cable rows

All seal row variations

Pullups and chinups

Most bodyweight row variations

Single arm dumbbell rows

Machine pullovers

Bent barbell, Pendlay, and T-bar rows are not recommended.

Upper Back→

Face pulls

Reverse pec deck

All rear delt fly variations

All wide grip, elbows-flared row variations

All kelso shrug variations (can also fill a shoulder slot)

Select movements you feel most between your shoulder blades and the back of your shoulders, with flared out elbows.

Shoulders→

All seated and standing shoulder presses

All lateral raise and delt raise variations

Select movements that can be pushed to failure with no shoulder pain.

Biceps→

All dumbbell curl variations (alternating or not)

All barbell curl variations

All EZ bar curl variations

All cable curl variations

Suspension trainer curls

Pick the movement that feels the best on your wrists and lower bicep tendons.

Triceps→

All flat bench barbell/EZ bar/dumbbell extensions

All incline extensions

Straight bar pushdowns

Overhead dumbbell, cable, or EZ bar extensions

Movements using a rope are not recommended. Pick movements that can be taken to full deep elbow bend with zero pain.

Quads→

Sissy squats

All leg press variations

Hack squat machine and most squat machines

Leg extensions

All ATG split squat variations (recommended in all plans)

Reverse lunges

Walking lunges

Heels elevated front squats

Pick movements that bend the knees as much as possible with no discomfort. Barbell back squats are not recommended.

Glutes and Hamstrings→

Most hip thrust variations

All leg curl variations including GHRs

All romanian deadlift variations (2-4×12-20 light only)

All back raise variations (light only)

Good mornings (light only)

Reverse hypers (light only)

Pick movements that give a deep stretch in the hamstrings with no lower back discomfort.

Abs→

Ab wheel/rollout variations

All plank and weighted plank variations

All landmine rotation and grappler variations

All leg and knee raise variations

All situp variations

For static hold movements, use a 20-90s duration range. Pick movements that have zero lower back discomfort.

If your exercise selection is limited due to available equipment, you can perform the same movement twice. This may seem confusing but will make sense in the performance section. This type of training plan can be performed with as little as a cheap suspension trainer strap and nothing else.

Do not select heavy spine-loaded movements such as back squats, barbell rows, T-bar rows, deadlifts, and good mornings. They're great exercises, but just not for this method. It's a good idea to still perform lower back training in the form of back raises, reverse hypers, and Romanian deadlifts when possible though. Just do 2-4 sets of 12-20 reps with about 60 seconds rest and don't go even close to failure.

Example: 3-day split for a commercial gym

This is what a finished plan looks like. Yours will be different based on your equipment and body, but the structure is the same.

A Chest / Shoulders / Biceps

Incline Bench Press

Pec Deck

Seated DB Shoulder Press

Lateral Raises

Alternating DB Curls

Cable Curls

B Back / Triceps

Pullups

Chest Supported Row

Lat Pulldowns

Wide Grip Cable Rows

Straight Bar Pushdowns

Overhead DB Extensions

C Legs / Abs

ATG Split Squats

Seated Leg Curls

Heels Elevated Goblet Squat

Back Raises

Decline Situps

Plank

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