The 25+ Best Barbell Exercises (For Each Muscle Group)

Whether you are looking to create a workout with bars or are looking to implement barbell exercises into your routine, you can refer to this ultimate list of barbell exercises.

To create a perfect barbell workout, these are the 25 best barbell exercises:

• Barbell Chest Exercises
• Barbell Bicep Exercises
• Barbell Tricep Exercises
• Barbell Shoulder Exercises
• Barbell Trapezius Exercises
• Barbell Lat Exercises
• Barbell Glute Exercises
• Barbell Hamstring Exercises
• Barbell Quad Exercises
• Barbell Calf Exercises
• Barbell Abdominal and Oblique Exercises

Not each one will be right for your goals, but after reading the full list, you can mix-and-match your favorites to create a custom program. 

Let’s dive in!

Barbell Chest Exercises

Barbell chest exercises target the following muscles:

• Pectoralis Major
• Pectoralis Minor

The pectoralis major (or pec major) provides the bulk of your chest muscles. Its functions are shoulder flexion (bringing your arm from your side to shoulder level), shoulder adduction (bringing your arm toward the middle of your body), and shoulder internal rotation (rotating your upper arm inward and forward).

The pectoralis minor, or pec minor, is a smaller pair of chest muscles that are underneath your pec majors. It acts to protract the shoulder blade (bring it forward around the ribcage) and helps with internal rotation (rounding the shoulders forward) and downward rotation (rounding the shoulders and shoulder blades downward).

1. Flat Barbell Bench Press

The flat barbell bench press is likely the most popular chest exercise and is often used as a marker for the strength performance of the chest muscles. The flat bench requires a bench press station or a free-weight bench that is wheeled into a squat rack.

How To Do It

• Lie down flat on a bench with the barbell set up on the rack height that is low enough for you to unrack the barbell without allowing your shoulder blades to come out of a pinched back and down position.

• Make sure that the barbell is above the top of your head and hold onto it with a wide grip.

• Keep your feet underneath your thighs and push yourself so that you slide your upper traps (top of the upper back muscles) up the bench press. When you do this, make sure you stick your chest up and pinch your shoulder blades back and down.

• When your eyes fall under the barbell, stop sliding up the bench press and unrack the barbell to bring it above shoulder level. Lower your hips to keep your glutes down on the bench.

• Take a deep breath into your chest and brace. Descend the barbell in a controlled manner down to your lower chest level. Ensure that your elbows are underneath the barbell.

• Press the barbell back and up to finish the barbell at the same starting position.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and rack the barbell back.

Benefits

• Focuses on general chest muscle mass. As you are performing the bench press with a wide grip, you will stretch your pecs out more when you train through a full range of motion. Training muscles in a longer muscle length is generally better for building muscle.

• Allows you to move more weight. Using a wide grip minimizes how much range of motion you use. This means you can leverage more weight on the bar, which makes it better if you want to increase strength.

2. Incline Barbell Bench Press

The incline barbell bench press is another popular chest exercise that targets the upper fibers of the chest muscles. You need to have an incline bench to perform this exercise. An ideal angle for the incline barbell bench press is anywhere from 15 to 45 degrees.

How To Do It

• Set up a free-weight bench press to incline one to two notches up. This should ideally be anywhere between 15 and 45 degrees from horizontal.

• Lie down on the bench with the barbell set up on the rack height that is low enough for you to unrack the barbell without rounding your shoulders forward.

• Make sure that the barbell is above the top of your head and hold onto the barbell with your desired wide grip.

• Keep your shoulder blades pinched back and down by thinking about sticking your chest up to the sky.

• Take a deep breath in and unrack the barbell to bring it over above shoulder level.

• Descend the barbell in a controlled manner down to mid-chest level. Ensure that your triceps are underneath the barbell at all times.

• Press the barbell back and up to finish at the same starting position.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and rack the barbell back.

Benefits

• Focuses on upper pec fibers. A comparative study from Coratella et al. 2022, showed that an incline bench press can activate more of the pec muscle fibers that are attached to the collarbone. These are your upper chest fibers. If you want to increase muscle mass in this region, the incline bench press is better.

Learn more about all the muscles used in the bench press.

3. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

The close-grip barbell bench press targets the chest muscles but with more emphasis on the triceps as well.

A shoulder-width or slightly wider-than-shoulder-width grip is considered close-grip. However, among the powerlifting communities, close-grip may refer to any grip that is narrower than the grip they use for competing.

How To Do It

• Lie down flat on a bench press with the barbell set up on the rack height that is low enough for you to unrack the barbell without letting your shoulders come off the bench.

• Make sure the barbell is above the top of your head, and hold onto the barbell with a close grip. For most people, a close grip should be shoulder width or slightly wider than shoulder width.

• Keep your feet underneath your thighs and push yourself so that you slide your upper traps (top of the upper back muscles) up the bench press. When you do this, make sure you stick your chest up and pinch your shoulder blades back and down.

• When your eyes fall under the barbell, stop sliding up the bench and unrack the barbell to bring it above shoulder level. Make sure to keep your buttocks down on the bench.

• Take a deep breath into your chest and brace your core to create rigidity through your entire midsection. Descend the barbell in a controlled manner down to your lower chest level. Ensure that your elbows are underneath the barbell.

• Press the barbell back and up to finish at the same starting position.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and rack the barbell back.

Benefits

• Increases muscle strength due to increased range of motion. Research from Pinto et al. 2012 has shown that training through a longer range of motion can be more beneficial for increasing strength gains in the muscles trained. The close grip barbell bench press can be beneficial for increasing bench press strength gains.

• More concentration on the triceps. Using a close grip means there is more range of motion going through your elbows. As such, the close-grip bench press trains your tricep muscles more. This is useful if you are training for powerlifting. The triceps are more active at higher weight intensities for bench pressing, so the close-grip bench press can be used as a bench press accessory. The close-grip bench press is also useful for bodybuilders who want to focus more on growing the triceps.

Barbell Bicep Exercises

Barbell bicep exercises target the following muscles:

• Bicep Brachii
• Brachialis

The biceps brachii is commonly just referred to as the biceps. There are two heads to the biceps: the long head and the short head.

They act to flex the elbows and rotate the forearms outward. The biceps also have a weak ability to flex the shoulders i.e. perform a front raise.

The brachialis muscle is another elbow flexor muscle that bends the forearms toward the upper arm.

1. Standing Barbell Bicep Curl

The standing barbell bicep curl is one of the simplest barbell bicep exercises. It requires you to engage your lower body and core to stabilize your posture and center of gravity. 

How To Do It

• Hold onto a barbell with an underhand shoulder-width grip and stand up straight with your head facing forward.

• Take a deep breath in, brace your core to create stiffness in your midsection, and engage your legs.

• Curl the barbell as high as you can and exhale while keeping your elbows tucked close into the side of your torso.

• Slowly lower the barbell back down until your elbows are fully extended while breathing in again.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. 

Benefits

• Challenges the core and legs to maintain posture. When you perform the standing barbell bicep curl, your center of mass moves back and forth on your feet. This may encourage you to overextend your back to stay balanced. For this reason, your abdominal, hip, and leg muscles have to work together to make your posture as rigid as possible.

• Increase bicep strength in bilateral pulling exercises. When you train the standing barbell bicep curl, you can strengthen your biceps if they are a weak point in pulling exercises that use both arms at the same time, such as bent-over rows and chin-ups.

2. Barbell Preacher Curl

The barbell preacher curl is an isolation bicep exercise that relies on using a preacher station. Preacher stations are a seated setup with an arm pad on a 45-degree incline.

You can do this exercise with a straight barbell or an EZ curl bar. The hardest point in the range of motion is the bottom of the curl.

How To Do It

• Set up the height of the seat so that when you are seated and place your arm on the arm pad, your armpit is positioned exactly on the top corner of the arm pad.

• Select and load the appropriate weight on the barbell and leave it in the preacher curl station rack.

• Grab onto the barbell with an underhand grip with your palms facing the sky, and hold onto the barbell with a shoulder-width grip.

• Try to turn your elbow pits to face the sky as much as possible. This will help stretch your bicep muscles more, which will maximize the range of motion.

• Take a deep breath in, and exhale as you curl the barbell as high as possible. Stop before the end of the elbow wants to come off the arm pad.

• Inhale as you descend the barbell back down until your arms fully extend.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• High tension when biceps are stretched. The benefit of the barbell preacher curl is that the most amount of tension is felt on the bicep when it is most stretched out (i.e. when your arm is extended as much as possible). This is when the bicep is also the weakest, which makes the preacher curl one of the better bicep curl exercises for bicep strength.

• Good for managing asymmetries. As you are set up with your upper arm isolated on the arm pad, you can pay attention to keeping a symmetrical setup as well as a more symmetrical movement during execution. This will help make sure that your biceps are more balanced.

If one of your biceps is bigger than the other and you want to make them more even, check out How To Even Out Biceps If One Is Bigger Than The Other.

Barbell Tricep Exercises

Barbell tricep exercises target the following muscles:

• Tricep Brachii Lateral Head
• Tricep Brachii Medius Head
• Tricep Brachii Longus Head

The triceps come in three heads.

The lateral head of the triceps is the outermost tricep muscle. This muscle acts to extend or straighten the forearms at the elbows.

The medius or medial head of the triceps is located in the middle of the back of the arm. It also acts to extend the elbows.

The longus, or long head of the triceps, is slightly different. As well as functioning to extend or straighten the elbows, it contributes to shoulder adduction (bringing the arms closer to the body).

1. Barbell Flat Bench Skull Crushers

The flat bench barbell skull crusher should form part of the best barbell workouts to emphasize the triceps. You can do it with a regular straight barbell or an EZ curl barbell. The difference between the barbells is that the EZ curl barbell is angled, so it does not challenge your wrist flexibility as much.

Normally, this exercise is performed on a flat bench, but you can do it on the floor too.

How To Do It

• Lie down on a flat free-weight bench and hold onto a barbell with straight arms above your shoulders and an overhand grip.

• To enhance the range of motion of the triceps, you can tilt your arms back toward your head and hold your arms at a 10-degree tilt.

• While keeping your elbows as close as possible, lower the barbell toward the forehead or the point just above the top of your skull.

• Make sure you keep your wrist straight throughout the execution.

• Straighten your elbows by extending your arms back to the original start position.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Standardizing range of motion. The barbell flat bench skull crusher is good for keeping a consistent range of motion throughout your set as there is an obvious start point where your arms are straight and an end point where the barbell is either by your forehead or just on the bench. This makes it reliable for tracking improvements in tricep performance.

2. Barbell Overhead Tricep Extension

The barbell overhead tricep extension, also known as the French press, can be performed seated or standing. By starting in an overhead position, the tricep muscles are maximally stretched out, which can produce greater hypertrophy and strength gains. 

How To Do It

• Set a free-weight bench pad to be upright or to a slight 10-degree angle from vertical.

• Sit on the seat and press a barbell overhead with a shoulder-width overhand grip.

• While keeping the elbows tucked close to your head, bend your elbows and allow the barbell to go back behind your head or bench.

• Once you reach the maximum range of motion, extend your elbows until your arms reach full extension again.

• Make sure that your elbows remain stationary throughout the range of motion.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, and when you are done, control the barbell back down in front of you.

Benefits

• Good transfer for overhead strength. By training the triceps with your arms in an overhead position, you get a good transfer of tricep strength to overhead pressing exercises such as the military press.

Barbell Shoulder Exercises

Barbell shoulder exercises target the following muscles:

• Deltoids
• Rotator Cuffs

The deltoids provide the bulk of the shoulder muscles but are attached to multiple places around the shoulder area. They are made up of the front delts, side delts, and rear delts. 

The front deltoids act to flex at the shoulders or bring the arm up in front and internally rotate the shoulders (rotate the shoulders forward).

The side deltoids are located at the edge of the shoulder. They act to abduct or bring the arm outward to the side.

The rear deltoids are located at the back of the shoulders. They act to bring the upper arm down and back and rotate the shoulders out.

The rotator cuffs are stabilizer muscles for the shoulder. There are four major rotator cuff muscles: the supraspinatus, subscapularis, infraspinatus, and teres minor. The rotator cuffs act to support internal or external rotation at the shoulders.

1. Standing Barbell Overhead Press

The standing barbell overhead press, also known as a strict press or military press, is a great exercise for targeting the deltoids and triceps. It is often used as a measure of overhead str as a measure of overhead strength. 

How To Do It

• Set up a barbell on a squat rack at about a shoulder-level height with the desired weight.

• Grip the barbell with your hands just outside your shoulders and unrack it.

• Take 2-3 steps back from the rack and stand with your feet about hip-width apart.

• Take a deep breath in, brace, and engage your hips and legs before pressing the barbell above your head until your arms are next to your ears

• Inhale as you slowly lower the barbell back down until it reaches your shoulder level.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and then rack the barbell.

Benefits

• Improved coordination of your upper body, core, and lower body. When you are pressing weights overhead your head, you need to be able to coordinate your whole body to stay balanced. Your core needs to engage to keep your posture as rigid as possible, and you need to keep your legs tense, so you don’t bend at the knees and lose balance.

• Increased pressing strength. Any pressing movement will rely on having strong shoulders and triceps (which is what the standing overhead press activates), whether it is an overhead pressing or a bench pressing type movement. Training the standing barbell overhead press transfers well to most pressing movements. 

Learn more about how the overhead press can help improve your bench press in Does Overhead Press Help Bench Press?

2. Standing Barbell Behind The Neck Press

The standing barbell behind the neck press is a challenging shoulder exercise that requires pressing a barbell from behind the head. It requires good shoulder mobility.

It is a popular exercise amongst Olympic weightlifters, who often bring the barbell all the way down to the upper back after an overhead lift.

How To Do It

• Set up a barbell on a squat rack at about a shoulder-level height with the desired weight.

• Walk underneath the barbell and place your traps (the muscles along the base of your neck and upper back) under it, then unrack the barbell with a wide grip.

• Take a deep breath in, brace, and engage your hips and legs before you press the barbell above your head until your arms are next to your ears.

• Make sure your head is slightly forward and your elbow pits face the barbell.

• Inhale as you slowly lower the barbell back down until it reaches your upper traps (above the shoulder level but not at the neck).

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

• Rest the barbell back on your traps, then walk the barbell back into the rack.

Benefits

• Activation on traps and side delts. As you press the barbell from behind the head, there is a greater emphasis on the traps and side delts. This is helpful if you are looking to widen your frame when bodybuilding for a better physique.

• Good transfer for Olympic weightlifting. This exercise variation has good carryover to Olympic weightlifting movements such as the snatch since you are dealing with a barbell overhead with a wide grip.

3. Seated Barbell Shoulder Press

The seated barbell shoulder press is a similar shoulder exercise to the standing barbell shoulder press and the Z press. The major difference is that this exercise is performed while seated on a bench with your knees bent. It also doesn’t require as much hip or hamstring mobility as the Z press.

It’s an excellent option if you want to overhead press in a room with a low ceiling.

How To Do It

• Set up a free-weight bench inside a squat rack, and set the barbell to be shoulder level when you sit upright on the bench.

• Sit with your feet underneath your hips and unrack the barbell with a shoulder-width apart or wider-than-shoulder-width grip

• Take a deep breath in, engage your abs, then exhale as you press the barbell up above your head.

• Finish with your arms by the sides of your ears and lean forward slightly when your arms fully lock out.

• Breathe in as you lower the barbell to the starting position and lean back by 5 to 10 degrees.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then re-rack the barbell.

Benefits

• Postural control for pressing movements. The seated barbell shoulder press is good at teaching you to engage your abdominals to keep a flat back during standing overhead press movements.

Barbell Trapezius Exercises

Barbell trapezius exercises target the following muscles:

• Trapezius
• Rhomboids
• Levator Scapulae

The trapezius muscles (or traps) are located in the middle of your upper back along the base of your neck. They act to:

• Pinch the shoulder blades back or retract the scapula
• Elevate the shoulders
• Bring down the shoulders
• Upwardly rotate the shoulder blades
• Extend the neck
• Bend the beck sideways

The rhomboids are a pair of mid-back muscles that act to retract, elevate, and rotate the shoulder blades.

The levator scapulae is a muscle located at the neck portion of the spine and attaches to the shoulder blades. It functions to elevate the scapula and rotate it downward.

1. Yates Row

The Yates row is a variation of the barbell row made famous by former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates from Great Britain. It has a higher torso angle, which makes it target the upper back and trapezius more due to the direction of the pull.

How To Do It

• Stand up straight with your feet at a hip-width stance, and hold onto a barbell with an underhand grip that is shoulder-width apart.

• Bend at your hips and let the barbell slide down until it is just above the knee cap. Make sure your shins are vertical and your armpits are above the barbell.

• Exhale as you row your barbell up along your thighs into your hip crease with your elbows as far back behind you as possible.

• Keep pressure on your mid-foot throughout the whole execution, and maintain a flat back with your head stacked in line with your torso.

• Inhale as you slowly lower the barbell back toward the starting position, and with your arms extended.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Improve back strength for deadlifts. The Yates row mirrors the middle position of a deadlift, which makes it a transferable back exercise if you have trouble keeping your back straight in the deadlift.

2. Barbell Pendlay Row

The barbell Pendlay row is a variation of the barbell row made famous by American Olympic weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay. He designed this exercise to be performed with a more horizontal back angle to help build upper back strength in his athletes.

The Pendlay row requires good hip and hamstring mobility, and without it, you are likely to round your lower back.

How To Do It

• Set up a barbell loaded to your desired weight.

• Position the midfoot underneath the middle of the barbell with a hip-width stance and your feet parallel to the floor.

• Bend your hips back while keeping your shins vertical, and maintain a bend at the knees until your back is parallel to the floor.

• Grab onto the barbell with a grip width that allows you to keep your arms straight. Use an overhand grip.

• Take a deep breath in and forcefully exhale when you row the barbell vertically upward. The barbell should ideally make contact with your mid-torso.

• Lower the barbell back down and return it to the starting position.

Benefits

• Improve back strength for deadlifts. The Pendlay row puts you in a similar position to the bottom starting position of the deadlift. If you find that your upper back rounds and slouches during the initial execution, the Pendlay row can help.

3. Barbell Face Pull

The barbell face pull is an upper body pulling exercise, which is more commonly performed with a rope cable attachment.

The barbell face pull is an ideal alternative if you do not have access to a cable machine. It targets the upper trapezius and rear delt muscles very well.

How To Do It

• Stand up straight with your feet at a hip-width stance, and hold onto a barbell with an overhand narrow-width grip that is about shoulder width.

• Bend at your hips and let the barbell slide down until it is just above the kneecap. Make sure your shins are vertical, and your armpits are above the barbell.

• Exhale as you row your barbell vertically up towards the middle of your face with your elbows flared. Be careful not to do this explosively, so you do not hit your face with the barbell.

• Slowly lower the barbell to the start position and relax your shoulder blades.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Good bench press accessory. The barbell face pull can improve your bench press strength as it trains your upper back muscles and external rotators, which are your rotator cuffs. These are antagonists (or opposite muscles) to your main bench press muscles (the chest, tricep, and shoulder muscles). The antagonist muscles help stabilize the shoulder joint and shoulder blades during the bench press, and strengthening them can help keep your shoulders safe when you do a lot of pressing.

Barbell Lat Exercises

Barbell lat exercises target the following muscles:

• Latissimus Dorsi
• Rhomboids

The latissimus dorsi (or lats) is one of the largest back muscles that you can see. It acts to extend the arm, bring the arm downward, bring the arm to the center of your body, bring the arm down toward the ribcage, and pull the arm backward.

The rhomboids are a pair of mid-back muscles that act to retract, elevate, and rotate the scapula. In lat exercises, they assist the movement of the shoulder blades.

1. T-Bar Row

The T-bar row or landmine row is a popular back exercise that targets the lats, traps, and biceps.

It requires good hip mobility and leg conditioning to maintain posture throughout the execution. If you do not have good leg strength or hip mobility, you are likely to round your lower back. If this happens, you should avoid this movement and do a T-bar row alternative instead.

How To Do It

• To do rowing T-bar exercises, set the barbell in the corner of the room or into a landmine placeholder station. Load the barbell with the desired weight.

• If possible, use plates with smaller dimensions to maximize the range of motion.

• Place a V-grip handle on the end of the barbell shaft before the sleeve lip.

• Straddle the barbell and stand a couple of inches behind the V-grip handle.

• Grab the V-grip handle with both hands and stand up straight.

• Bend your hips back and keep a soft bend in your knees. Lower yourself until the plates just about touch the floor but there is still tension through your body from the barbell.

• Take a deep breath in and exhale as you row the barbell towards your torso with your elbows tucked close to your obliques.

• Pinch your shoulder blades back at the top. Maintain a flat back and fixed posture throughout the execution.

• Lower the barbell as you slowly extend your arms down to the floor.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Muscular endurance of your back and legs. You need to be able to hold yourself in a fixed bent-over position throughout the T-bar row. Therefore, it can improve the muscular endurance of your spinal erectors (the back muscles that help you stand up straight), glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

2. Barbell Pullover

The barbell pullover is a great barbell isolation exercise for the lats. You should ideally lie on a bench to perform this exercise, but you can do it on the floor. 

How To Do It

• Lie on a flat free-weight bench and hold onto a barbell with your arms extended above your shoulders and hands in a shoulder-width grip.

• Inhale as you lower your arms above your head while keeping them straight and stop when they are parallel with your torso. Keep your elbows locked and close together as much as possible.

• Exhale as you raise your arm back to the starting position.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Isolates lats at the weakest point. Your lats are generally weakest when your arms are directly above your head. This is also where there is the greatest amount of tension going through your lats during the barbell pullover. If you cannot do pull-ups from a dead hang and with a full range of motion, barbell pullovers may be a useful addition to your routine since they help strengthen the lats.

Having weak lats is one of the reasons why you may not feel them working during pull-ups. Learn more in How To Activate Your Lats More During Pull-Ups (5 Tips).

Barbell Glute Exercises

Barbell glute exercises target the following muscles:

• Gluteus Maximus
• Gluteus Medius
• Gluteus Minimus
• Piriformis

The gluteus maximus is the biggest glute muscle. It acts to extend (straighten) and abduct (bring out sideways) the thigh at the hip joint.

The gluteus medius is the second biggest glute muscle. It also acts to abduct (bring out sideways) and bring the thigh inward.

The glute minimus is a deeper set of glute muscles. It can be thought of as the glute medius’s smaller sibling. Like the other glute muscles, it acts to abduct and internally rotate the thigh at the hip joint.

The piriformis is technically not part of the glute muscles but supports the movement of the gluteus maximus. It also acts to externally rotate and abduct the thigh at the hip joint.

1. Barbell Glute Bridge

The barbell glute bridge is one of the best compound exercises with a barbell for beginners.

You can also adjust your foot position to engage other secondary muscles, including the hamstrings and the quads. If you place your feet closer to your glutes, you’ll activate more of your quads. If you place them further in front of you, you’ll activate more of your hamstrings.

How To Do It

• Lie on the floor face up in a hook lying position where your knees are bent at 90 degrees and your feet are hip-width apart.

• Place a barbell with the desired weight onto the hip crease and hold it with straight arms. It may be useful to use a hip thrust pad to make it more comfortable on your hip crease.

• Take a deep breath in, tuck your chin, and engage your abs. Exhale as you squeeze your glutes and thrust your hips to the sky. Make an active effort to keep the barbell by your hip crease by pushing your arms downward.

• Inhale and slowly lower your hips to the floor.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Easy glute activation exercise. The barbell glute bridge is a very easy and useful exercise for beginners. A common problem when people perform hip thrusts (which is similar to the glute bridge, except you sit with your upper back against a bench) is overusing the lower back. With a glute bridge, you can cue your lower back to touch the floor and tuck your pelvis to target the glutes more.

2. Barbell Hip Thrust

The barbell hip thrust is a superior barbell exercise for glute-focused barbell workouts that also requires the use of a bench or exercise step of some sort. It is similar to the glute bridge but has more range of motion. 

How To Do It

• Set up a free-weight bench in a corner of the room or against something sturdy so it cannot slide as you perform this exercise.

• Lean your upper back against the free-weight bench. Set a barbell loaded with the desired load across your hip crease, preferably with a barbell pad in the middle of it.

• Bend your knees at 90 degrees with your feet hip-width or shoulder-width apart.

• Take a deep breath in and hold the barbell with your arms straight.

• Exhale as you thrust your glutes into the barbell until your thighs and torso are in one horizontal line.

• Inhale as you lower your hips back down to the floor and keep your back flat throughout.

• Repeat the exercise with the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Improve deadlift and squat lockout strength. The barbell hip thrust mirrors the angle that your hips are in during the final few inches of locking out squats and deadlifts. If the lockout is your sticking point in either lift, this is a useful accessory exercise to add to your program.

If you don’t feel your glutes working when doing hip thrusts, try these 9 tips for feeling your glutes more during hip thrusts.

3. Barbell Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

The barbell rear foot elevated split squat is also known as the Bulgarian split squat. It is a great split squat variation for workouts with a bar that can target the glutes more. You can elevate your rear foot between 1 to 2 feet with a bench or exercise step.

The barbell rear foot elevated split squat also targets the quads, hamstrings, and adductors (inner thighs). 

How To Do It

• Place a barbell on your back and elevate your rear foot by placing your toes onto a bench or step or the top of your ankle over a cylindrical object such as a barbell on a low rack.

• Stand two to three feet away from your back foot and maintain tight abs and a flat back. Make sure the hip of the back leg is fully extended by squeezing the glutes.

• With a vertical shin, breathe into your core and squat back and down until you reach your maximum range of motion or until your knee touches the floor.

• Exhale as you drive through your front heel and squat up.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Fix uneven quad strength in squats. If you have uneven quad strength in squats, the barbell rear foot elevated split squat can help you load into your quads. The rear foot elevation tips your body forward, which can help load your quads more. And because it’s a single-sided exercise, you can use it to bring up the strength of your weaker leg.

Barbell Hamstring Exercises

Barbell hamstring exercises target the following muscles:

• Bicep femoris
• Semimembranosus
• Semitendinosus

The bicep femoris is a large set of hamstring muscles that cross two joints: the hip joint and the knee joint. These fibers act to extend the hip, flex the knee, and externally rotate the legs.

The semimembranosus is the hamstring muscle that acts to extend the hip, flex the knee, and internally rotate the legs.

The semitendinosus is similar to the semimembranosus in that it also acts to extend the hip, flex the knee, and internally rotate the legs.

1. Barbell Romanian Deadlift

For hamstring-focused Olympic bar workouts, the barbell Romanian deadlift is great. It’s a hamstring exercise that was first popularized by Olympic weightlifters when athletes saw that the Romanian weightlifting team was performing this variation.

In addition to the hamstrings, it targets the lower back and glutes.

How To Do It

• Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. If you are slightly larger or taller, you may want to use a shoulder-width stance instead.

• Grab onto a barbell with a grip width wider than the distance between your feet and deadlift it up to your hips.

• While keeping a soft bend in your knees, push your hips backward and slide the barbell down your legs until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor. You do not need to touch the barbell to the floor.

• Make sure your back is always flat and your abs are always engaged. A good cue is to think about bringing your sternum backward towards your thighs.

• Exhale as you stand back up and thrust through and squeeze your glutes at the top.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Improve hip strength for deadlifts. The barbell Romanian deadlift is good at replicating the hip movement during deadlifts with more range of motion in the hips. If your sticking point in the deadlifts is anywhere above your mid-shin, the Romanian deadlift can help you overcome that weakness.

• Train hamstrings without a machine. The great thing about the hamstrings is that because they cross two joints, you can activate them with hip-dominant exercises like Romanian deadlifts without needing to rely on knee-dominant exercises like seated leg curls.

2. Barbell Good Morning

The barbell good morning is similar to the Romanian deadlift. However, the barbell is on the back of your shoulders or upper back. You can generally not use as much weight on this exercise as you can with a Romanian deadlift.

How To Do It

• Set a barbell on a squat rack at about shoulder height.

• Hold onto the barbell with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip and step underneath the barbell to unrack it.

• Walk the barbell out of the squat rack. Make sure you are far enough away from the squat rack so you will not contact it during execution.

• Take a deep breath in and brace.

• Take a soft bend in your knee and push your hips backward. Ensure that you maintain tight abs and a flat back throughout the execution.

• When you reach your maximum range of motion and feel a stretch in your hamstrings, exhale and thrust your hips through until you are upright.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Good for fixing a forward shift in squats. If you are very knee dominant during squats and tip forward onto your forefoot, the barbell good morning can help strengthen your hips and improve your ability to stay on your heels.

The good morning is also an excellent deadlift accessory exercise. Learn more in my article Do Good Mornings Help Deadlifts? (Yes, Here’s How).

Barbell Quad Exercise

Barbell quad exercises target the following muscles:

• Rectus Femoris
• Vastus Intermedius
• Vastus Medialis
• Vastus Lateralis 

The rectus femoris is the middle quad muscle. It acts to flex at the hip and extends the knee.

The vastus intermedius is the deepest quad muscle. It also acts to extend or straighten the knee.

The vastus medialis is the innermost quad muscle. It acts to extend or straighten the knee along with the vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis.

The vastus lateralis is the largest quad muscle and is found on the outside of the thigh. It acts to extend or straighten the knee along with the vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis.

1. Barbell Back Squat

The barbell back squat is one of the most popular bar lifts to target the quads. It is performed to high levels of strength among powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, strongman competitors, and athletes from other sports.

There are two variations of the back squat: the high bar squat and the low bar squat. They are sometimes called the Olympic squat and the powerlifting squat. The main difference between the two is the position on the upper back where the barbell is placed. 

In the Olympic squat or high bar squat, the barbell is placed on the top of the upper traps. Whereas in the powerlifting squat or low bar squat, the barbell is placed on top of the rear delts. The high bar squat is more knee dominant because it allows the knees to travel more, while the low bar squat is more hip dominant because it allows the hips to travel more. 

You may want to choose a high bar squat if you are a general exerciser who wants to build strong legs, but you may want to choose a low bar squat if you want to compete in powerlifting. 

How To Do It

• Set a barbell on a squat rack at roughly armpit height and load it with the desired weight.

• Grip onto the barbell with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip, and position yourself underneath the barbell with it placed firmly on top of your traps (the muscles that run along the base of your neck and top of your shoulders).

• Take 2 to 3 steps backward. Position your feet with a shoulder-width stance and feet pointed out by 10 to 15 degrees.

• Take a deep breath in, brace your core, and keep your elbows pointed down.

• Break at your hips and knees and squat down until your hip crease falls below the top of your knee. Maintain a flat back and even pressure across your feet.

• Push through your midfoot and stand back up until you fully extend your legs. Exhale at the top.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then re-rack the barbell.

Benefits

• Increase leg and hip strength. The barbell back squat is a quad exercise where you can load a significant amount of weight, which makes it a beneficial exercise to increase overall leg and hip strength.

• Increase muscle mass in quads, adductors, and glutes. The barbell back squat is a great exercise for maximizing the range of motion through the hips and the knees, which makes it an effective exercise for developing muscle mass around the quads, adductors (inner thighs), and glutes.

• Increase athletic performance. The back squat can improve strength and conditioning around the lower body for athletes who want to be more resistant to knee injuries, jump higher, and have more explosive power in the legs.

2. Barbell Front Squat

The barbell front squat is also another popular barbell quad exercise to add to any workout with a bar. It is more commonly done by Olympic weightlifters, but bodybuilders also do it often to build muscle in the quads. 

How To Do It

• Set a barbell on a squat rack at roughly armpit height and load it with the desired weight.

• Grip onto the barbell with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip.

• Position yourself underneath the barbell with it placed firmly on top of the front of your shoulders by bringing your elbows under and pointing them forward.

• Push your knees forward and unrack the barbell. Step backward with your feet pointed forward and at a shoulder-width stance.

• Take a deep breath in and brace your core. Maintain a flat back with your eyes forward and squat down until your hip crease falls below your knees.

• Stand back up until your legs are fully extended but your knees aren’t completely locked out. Keep your elbows pointed forward throughout the execution.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and then rerack the barbell.

Benefits

• Good for reducing lower back stress in leg training. As the front squat causes you to be more upright than usual, this can help alleviate stress in your lower back muscles if they are particularly fatigued.

• Good for reinforcing a neutral spine in squats. The front squat prioritizes a more upright posture and makes it good at reinforcing a more stacked relationship between the ribcage and pelvis in a way that stops the back from over-extending or rounding.

• Good for emphasizing quads. As the front squat is more knee dominant, you can emphasize the quads more than the hamstrings when compared to a back squat.

The front squat can also help you improve your deadlift if your hips rise too fast or you have trouble staying balanced. Learn more in Do Front Squats Help Deadlifts? Yes, Here’s How.

3. Barbell Split Squat

The barbell split squat is a single-leg quad exercise that activates the quads differently between the front leg and the back leg. You can adjust the split squat in different ways to emphasize different muscle groups within the lower body.

If you want to emphasize the hamstrings more in the front leg, you can stand with the front foot further out in front of you. If you want to emphasize the quads more, you can stand with a shorter distance between the front and back legs.

How To Do It

• Place a barbell on top of your traps and hold onto it with as narrow of a grip as possible to make sure it is tight on your back. Keep your elbows pointed down, eyes facing forward, and your back flat throughout.

• Stand in a split stance position with both of your feet pointed forward. Make sure your back foot is not directly behind your front foot. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to balance.

• If you find it hard to balance, make sure there is always a soft bend in your back knee, and turn your front foot in slightly.

• Take a deep breath in and squat down. Allow your front knee to travel over your foot and keep it in line with your toes. Make sure your back knee is underneath your hips.

• Exhale as you drive from both legs and stand up. Maintain a soft bend in both knees at the top.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, and then change sides to do the same thing for the other leg.

Benefits

• Increased quad hypertrophy. The barbell split squat is good at loading the quads in different muscle lengths, particularly in their stretched-out position. When one leg is behind you, the hip is extended and the knee is flexed, stretching the quads to nearly their longest muscle length. Training muscles through their longer muscle length is superior for muscle strength and hypertrophy.

Barbell Calf Exercises

Barbell calf exercises target the following muscles:

• Gastrocnemius 
• Soleus

The gastrocnemius is the bulk of the calf muscle. Its function is to plantar flex at the ankles, which means pointing your foot down and away from the body. It also has a weak ability to flex or bend the knees.

The soleus lies underneath the gastrocnemius. Its only function is to point the foot down and away from the body.

1. Seated Barbell Calf Raises

The seated barbell calf raise is a barbell isolation exercise for the calves. It requires the use of a seat as well as something to elevate the front of the foot. 

How To Do It

• Sit on a bench with your toes elevated on something between 2 to 4 inches high.

• Place a loaded barbell on top of your thighs a couple of inches before the knees.

• Take a deep breath in and exhale as you raise your heels and squeeze your calves upward.

• Slowly lower the heels back down until they touch the floor and you feel a stretch in your calves.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Focus on the soleus muscle. The seated barbell calf raise is better at targeting the soleus calf muscle, which is the outer calf muscle. This is because the knee is in a bent position, which makes it better at activating the soleus muscle.

Even though they are an often-neglected muscle group, powerlifters can benefit from training the calves, as it can help improve ankle mobility, foot stability, and knee health.

2. Standing Barbell Calf Raises

The standing barbell calf raise is a barbell calf raise that can be performed in two ways. You can either place the barbell on your shoulders or hold onto the barbell in front of you. 

How To Do It

• Stand with a hip-width stance with your toes elevated by 1 to 3 inches. Ideally, use a wedge of some sort as opposed to a block. Make sure that the elevation is sturdy and will not flip.

• Place a barbell on your traps (the muscles that extend over the back of the neck and shoulders) or hold onto a barbell in front of you with a shoulder-width grip.

• Squeeze your calves and raise your heels off the ground, making sure that your whole forefoot is on the wedge.

• Slowly lower your heels to the ground and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Focus on the gastrocnemius muscle. The standing calf raise is better at activating the gastrocnemius calf muscle, which is the inner calf muscle. This muscle is more engaged when your knees are straight, so you need to pay closer attention to keeping them straight when performing this exercise.

Barbell Abdominal And Oblique Exercises

Barbell abdominal and oblique exercises target the following muscles:

• Transverse Abdominis 
• Rectus Abdominis
• External Obliques
• Internal Obliques

The transverse or transversus abdominis is the deepest abdominal muscle. It acts to maintain ab tension to keep the guts inside and increases intra-abdominal pressure. It also contributes to rotation.

The rectus abdominis is the top layer of the abdominals and is what you see when someone has a six-pack. Its main function is to flex the spine and roll the front of your rib cage closer to the pelvis.

The external oblique is the outermost ab muscle. Its role is to assist with rotating at the core, flex the spine in the same way as the rectus abdominis, and assist with side bending at the spine.

The internal oblique lies underneath the external obliques. It flexes the spine forward when both sides are contracted and flexes the spine sideways. It is also responsible for intra-abdominal pressure along with the other abdominal muscles.

1. Barbell Abdominal Roll Out

The barbell abdominal rollout is an intermediate to advanced abdominal barbell exercise. It is an alternative to the regular abdominal rollouts that normally use an ab roller. To do the barbell abdominal rollout properly, you need to use circular-shaped weight discs.

How To Do It

• Set up round weight plates on a barbell and position yourself in a kneeling position.

• Hold onto the barbell in front of you with a shoulder-width overhand grip.

• With a flat back, hips extended, and glutes squeezed, roll the barbell forward and lower yourself as much as possible. Aim to get your torso to touch the ground.

• With straight arms, roll the barbell back toward yourself until you are as upright as possible. Make sure that your hips maintain an extended position throughout the execution.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Adjusts to your strength level. The benefit of the barbell ab rollout is that you can adjust it to your strength level. The stronger you are, the lower you can go. The more novice you are, the less you need to descend.

• Improved posture. The barbell abdominal rollout is great for improving posture by strengthening your abdominals while stretching out your lats. Tight lats can cause you to have rounded shoulders and a more extended lower back.

2. Barbell Russian Twists

The barbell Russian twist activates all of the core muscles, including the abdominals and the obliques. And many alternatives to Russian Twist do the same.

How To Do It

• Sit down on the ground with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor.

• Lean your torso back at about 45 degrees with a barbell on your back. Make sure your back is flat and your head is aligned with your torso.

• While maintaining that same torso angle, rotate yourself to the left, then rotate yourself to the right.

• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Improve rotational core strength. The barbell Russian twist is useful for increasing rotational core strength, which is important for fixing rotations or hip shifting during squats.

The Benefits of Barbell Training

The benefits of barbell training include: 

1. Increased Strength 
2. Hypertrophy 
3. Better General Health 
4. Versatile Workouts 

Increased Strength 

All upper body and lower body barbell exercises encourage strength gains and muscle growth. The whole point of heavy barbell training is to get stronger! 

Of course, the rep ranges that you’re using in your workouts and the weight of your loaded barbell both influence how effective your barbell weight training is at improving your strength. Focusing on heavy compounds barbell exercises, like barbell squats or the front squat for maximum strength gains. 

Hypertrophy 

Barbell training within a rep range of 8-12 promotes muscle growth (hypertrophy). While you can still gain muscle using only dumbbells and kettlebells for your weight training, the best barbell exercises enable you to overload the muscles for maximum activation. 

You can perform compound exercises (like a barbell front squat) and isolation barbell movements (such as a bicep curl) to boost muscle growth in your upper body and lower body. 

Better General Health 

The benefits of barbell training go far beyond gaining strength and size in different muscle groups. Weight training with the best barbell exercises can improve your overall health and well-being. 

Some of the incredible benefits of barbell training for your general health include: 

• Lower risk of cardiovascular disease 
• Increased bone density 
• Lower risk of osteoporosis 
• Easier weight management 
• Better joint stability and mobility 
• Improved flexibility 
• Better coordination 
• Better immune function 

Versatile Workouts 

There is a wide variety of barbell movements that you can add to your workouts to target your upper body and lower body. Regardless of your health and fitness goals, you can find a selection of the best barbell exercises to suit your needs. 

You can add as many weight plates as you need onto your loaded barbell to select your desired weight and practice workouts of all kinds, including powerlifting, strength training, and endurance work. 

How to Program Barbell Exercises

If you’re hoping to experience the many benefits of barbell training, you need to program them properly. This means focusing on the best barbell exercises that will help you to achieve your goals. 

Here are some key considerations to take when you’re programming barbell exercises into your training regime. 

Training Frequency 

It’s important not to overdo it with barbell training, especially if you’re practicing a lot of heavy compound barbell movements, like the front squat or bent over row. Overtraining can increase your risk of injury and stunt your progress, so you must consider your workout frequency. 

Exercise Order 

To create the best barbell training program that gets you the results you want, you need to consider the order of your barbell exercises. 

You’ll want to place the heaviest compound barbell exercises (like the bent over row, barbell front squat, hip thrust, or exercises where you press the bar like overhead presses) at the start of your workouts when you have the most energy and your muscles aren’t yet fatigued. 

Try and avoid putting several heavy barbell exercises that target the same muscle groups in the same workout. I’d stick with a maximum of three of the best barbell exercises for a certain muscle group within a single workout to avoid overtraining and risking an injury. You can then add some isolation exercises to target specific areas of your upper body or lower body to suit your goals. 

For example, for a lower body-focused barbell training session, you could perform the barbell front squat in the power rack with your feet shoulder-width apart, followed by glute bridges and split squats for your three big lifts. You can then follow with an accessory lift like the Romanian deadlift to fatigue the hamstrings further or switch to dumbbells, kettlebells, and weight plates to supplement your barbell training. 

Sets and Reps 

Once you’ve chosen the best barbell exercises to include in your program, you need to then figure out how many reps and sets are most appropriate for your goals. If you’re using barbell training to boost your strength, you’ll want to work between 5 and 10 reps using a weight that is around 75 to 85% of your one-rep max. 

For hypertrophy-focused barbell training, work within a rep range of 8 and 12 using a weight that is anywhere from 60 to 80% of your one-rep max weight. 

In terms of the number of sets you’re going to do, this depends on the type of exercise, the number of reps, and the weight of your loaded barbell. I recommend performing between three and five sets for most exercises for compound and isolation movements in both your lower and upper body training.

How to Warm Up for the Barbell

Warming up is essential for any workout. However, it’s especially important for heavy barbell training where you’re performing movements in the power rack (like barbell squats) or exercises where you press the bar overhead. 

It’s best to start your warm-up with some light cardio, such as walking for 10 minutes or so on the treadmill. You can then follow this with a short mobility routine to wake up your muscles and joints, and prepare them for the upcoming barbell exercises.  

Make sure to mobilize all of the relevant joints. For example, if you’re doing the front squat, you’ll need to wake up your shoulders, thoracic spine, hips, knees, and ankles. For upper body barbell exercises, like the bent over row, you might only need to focus on mobilizing your shoulders and wrists. 

Practice a few sets with the barbell only to get used to the movements that you’re going to be doing in that particular workout before adding weight plates to it. You can then start your working sets with the loaded barbell. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Build Muscle With Just A Barbell?

Barbell training is one of the most effective methods for muscle growth. You can definitely build muscle by exclusively using barbell exercises, and you can add weight plates to make them heavier as you progress in your lifts.

What Muscles Do Barbells Work?

You can use barbell exercises to target any muscle in the body. Whether you do compound exercises, like the front squat or bent over row, or isolation exercises, like skull crushers and good mornings, you can target specific muscle groups to achieve your goals.

Do Barbell Workouts Burn Fat?

You can use barbell training to aid your fat loss journey. Heavy compound barbell exercises can increase your calories burnt during your workouts and help you to build muscle so that you’re also burning more calories outside of the gym. Of course, you’ll also need to make sure that your diet is in check if your goal is to lose fat.

About The Author: Norman Cheung ASCC, British Powerlifting Team Coach

Norman Cheung is a powerlifting and accredited strength and conditioning coach under the UKSCA. He has been coaching powerlifting since 2012 and has been an IPF Team GB coach since 2016. He has experience coaching various lifters, from novices to international medallists and international university teams. Alongside coaching, he takes an interest in helping powerlifters take their first step into coaching. He currently runs his coaching services at strongambitionscoaching.com.