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Exercises

Full body exercises for strength: the lifts and how to build a week from them

Published October 29, 2026

The best full body exercises for strength are the barbell back squat and front squat, the trap bar deadlift and Romanian deadlift, the bench press and overhead press, pull-ups and barbell rows, plus the Bulgarian split squat, the thruster, the farmer's walk and the Turkish get-up. Build each full-body day from one squat or hinge, one press and one pull, train 2 to 3 days a week with 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 8 reps on the main lifts, and add weight whenever every set reaches the top of the range.

  1. Barbell Back Squat Quads, Glutes, Adductors
  2. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  3. Barbell Bench Press Chest
  4. Barbell Overhead Press Shoulders
  5. Pull-Up Lats
  6. Barbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  7. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Squats

A squat trains a lot of muscle in every rep, from your quads and glutes to your back holding the bar. Use one two-leg squat as a main lift and the split squat to train each leg alone.

Quads, glutes and back, squat

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

The back squat lets you put the most weight on your legs, and holding the bar trains your trunk and upper back too. It is the anchor lift of most full-body strength programs.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar across your upper back below the neck, hands just outside your shoulders, and unrack it.
  2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little.
  3. Breathe in, tighten your stomach as if bracing for a punch, and sit down between your heels.
  4. Stand back up keeping your chest and hips rising together.

Cues

  • Breathe and brace
  • Chest and hips rise together
  • Whole-foot pressure

Common mistakes

  • Hips shooting up first out of the bottom: lighten the bar and keep your chest rising with them.
  • Letting the stomach go soft between reps: re-brace at the top of each one.

Swap for: Front Squat, Box Squat

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Quads and upper back, squat

Front Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

Holding the bar on the front of your shoulders keeps you upright and puts more of the work on your quads and upper back. It is a strong second squat for a lighter day.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at upper-chest height and step under it so it rests on the front of your shoulders, elbows high.
  2. Unrack it, take a step back, and set your feet about shoulder-width apart.
  3. Take a big breath, brace, and squat down with your elbows staying up and your torso upright.
  4. Drive up through your whole foot to standing, breathing out at the top.

Cues

  • Elbows high
  • Brace before you descend
  • Chest stays tall

Common mistakes

  • Elbows dropping as you come up: that lets the bar roll forward.
  • Breathing out at the bottom: hold the brace until you are nearly standing.

Swap for: Barbell Back Squat, Goblet Squat

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Quads and glutes, split squat

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

Training one leg at a time evens out side-to-side differences that two-leg squats hide, and it builds leg strength without a heavy bar on your back.

How to do it

  1. Set the top of your back foot on a bench and place your front foot a long stride ahead.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, and keep your front foot flat.
  3. Drop your back knee straight toward the floor until the front thigh is close to level.
  4. Press through the front foot to rise, then finish all reps before switching legs.

Cues

  • Go deep for the inner thigh
  • Front foot flat
  • Rear foot is just a kickstand

Common mistakes

  • Pushing up with the back leg: let it relax and make the front leg do the work.
  • Front knee collapsing inward: keep it pointed the same way as your toes.

Swap for: Dumbbell Split Squat, Step-Up, Reverse Lunge

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Hinges

Hinges train your hamstrings, glutes and back to lift heavy loads off the floor. The trap bar deadlift is the easiest deadlift to learn and load, and the Romanian deadlift is the lighter hinge for your second day.

Glutes, quads and back, deadlift

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

Standing inside the bar keeps the weight centered over your feet, so most people can lift heavy with a flat back from the first session. It trains your legs, hips, back and grip together under the heaviest load most people will lift.

How to do it

  1. Step inside the trap bar with the handles beside your feet.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles.
  3. Flatten your back, take the slack out, and stand up by pushing the floor away.
  4. Lower under control. Each warm-up set adds weight toward your working sets.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Flat back
  • Slack out before you pull

Common mistakes

  • Yanking the bar off the floor: pull the slack out first.
  • Rounding the back as the weight climbs: hold the ramp until the setup is solid.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Hamstrings and glutes, hinge

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

Lowering the bar to mid-shin with soft knees loads your hamstrings through a long stretch. It complements the deadlift with lighter weights and more reps.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a barbell at your thighs, hands just outside your legs, feet under your hips.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, sliding the bar down your thighs.
  3. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched, usually just below the knee, with your back flat.
  4. Push your hips forward to stand up, glutes tight at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back
  • Bar stays on your legs
  • Back flat

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat: keep them soft and still.
  • Reaching for the floor: stop where your back would round.

Swap for: Weighted Back Extension

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Presses

One horizontal and one vertical press cover your chest, shoulders and triceps. Alternate which one goes first in the week.

Chest, shoulders and triceps, press

Barbell Bench Press

Chest

The bench press lets you load your upper body more than any other press. It is the main upper-body strength test in most programs.

How to do it

  1. Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, feet planted, and squeeze your shoulder blades back and down into the pad.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, unrack it, and hold it over your shoulders with locked elbows.
  3. Lower the bar to your lower chest, around nipple height, with your elbows angled roughly 45 to 70 degrees from your sides.
  4. Touch your chest without bouncing, then press the bar up and slightly back until it is over your shoulders again.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades stay pinned
  • Bar to the nipple line
  • Drive your feet into the floor

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides: let them sit a bit closer to your ribs so your shoulders stay comfortable.
  • Lifting your hips off the bench to finish a rep: keep your glutes down and count that rep as your last.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Machine Chest Press

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Shoulders and triceps, standing press

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

Pressing a barbell overhead while standing trains your shoulders and arms, and your trunk has to hold your whole body still under the bar.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over your elbows.
  2. Unrack it onto your upper chest, take one step back and set your feet about hip width apart.
  3. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs so your ribs stay down, and take a big breath.
  4. Press straight up, pulling your chin back so the bar clears your face.
  5. Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through until the bar sits over the middle of your foot with your arms locked.
  6. Lower it along the same line to your upper chest and re-brace before the next rep.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Chin back, bar straight up
  • Head through at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish reps, which turns the lift into an incline press: lower the weight until your torso stays vertical for the whole set.
  • Pressing the bar forward around your face: pull your chin back and keep the bar close enough to brush your nose.
  • Stopping short of lockout: finish every rep with the bar over your mid-foot and your arms straight, or the rep doesn't count in your log.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Landmine Press, Dumbbell Push Press

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Pulls

For every press, train a pull. The pull-up builds your lats and grip with your bodyweight; the barbell row lets you load your upper back heavily.

Lats and biceps, vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

Pulling your own bodyweight is one of the best tests of upper-body strength. Once you can do 8, add weight with a belt or a dumbbell between your feet.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and hang from fully straight arms.
  2. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears before your elbows start to bend.
  3. Drive the elbows toward your ribs until your chin passes over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a dead hang and pull again.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, then pull
  • Legs still and together
  • Two seconds on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to cheat reps: cross your ankles and brace the abs.
  • Half reps from a bent-arm start: finish each rep at a full hang.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Lat Pulldown, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

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Upper back and lats, row

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

The barbell row loads your whole upper back heavily and holds your hinge position at the same time. It balances the bench press set for set.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your thighs, hinge forward until your torso is near 45 degrees, back flat.
  2. Row the bar to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your sides.
  3. Lower to straight arms and keep the torso angle.

Cues

  • Brace before every rep
  • Bar to the belly button

Common mistakes

  • Standing taller each rep as it gets heavier: if the hinge goes, the set is over.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, T-Bar Row

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Whole-body lifts

These use your legs, trunk and arms at once. Put them at the end of a session, where they add work for your whole body without eating into the main lifts.

Quads and shoulders, squat to press

Barbell Thruster

Quads, Shoulders

A front squat that drives straight into an overhead press, the thruster trains legs, trunk and shoulders in one rep. Use moderate weights and sets of 5 to 8.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar in the front rack with a grip just outside your shoulders.
  2. Squat to just below parallel.
  3. Drive up hard, and as your hips straighten use that speed to press the bar overhead.
  4. Bring the bar back to your shoulders and sink straight into the next squat.

Cues

  • One movement, not two
  • Hips drive the bar
  • Back to the rack, then down

Common mistakes

  • Stopping at the top of the squat before pressing: let the drive carry the bar.
  • Pressing with soft elbows at the top: lock out each rep.

Swap for: Kettlebell Thruster, Front Squat, Wall Ball

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Grip, traps and trunk, carry

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Carrying heavy dumbbells builds the grip and upper back that limit your deadlifts and rows. Five minutes at the end of a session is enough.

How to do it

  1. Pick up two heavy dumbbells with your back flat.
  2. Stand tall with your ribs down and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Set the weights down with a flat back when the time or distance is up.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Crush the handles
  • Quick steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders round forward.
  • Walking so slowly the dumbbells start to swing.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Shoulders and trunk, get-up

Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up

Shoulders, Abs

Moving from lying to standing with a weight overhead trains shoulder stability and trunk strength through every position. A few slow reps per side cap a lighter day.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with a kettlebell pressed up in one hand, the same-side knee bent.
  2. Roll onto the opposite elbow, then the hand, keeping the bell locked out above you.
  3. Lift your hips, sweep the straight leg back to a kneel, and stand up.
  4. Reverse each step back down to the floor.

Cues

  • Eyes on the bell
  • Arm locked
  • One step at a time

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the steps and losing the vertical arm.
  • Using a heavy bell before the sequence is smooth.

Swap for: Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry, Kettlebell Windmill

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

New to barbells, three full-body days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets39 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Dumbbells, Trap Bar +1

You have access to a gym with barbells and are in your first year of strength training.

Alternating two full-body days three times a week trains every main lift 1 to 2 times a week, which is the fastest way for a beginner to add weight. Day A and Day B have 13 working sets each, about 60 minutes.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat3 warm-up sets first 4 × 5–8 2 3 min
Barbell Bench Press 3 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Barbell Row 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Farmer's WalkSeconds of walking. 3 × 30–45 2 90 s

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 3 × 5–8 2 3 min
Barbell Overhead Press 4 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Pull-UpUse a band if you cannot do 3. 3 × 3–8 1 2 min
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 90 s

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Lift Monday, Wednesday and Friday, alternating A and B. Warm up to your first working weight on the squat and deadlift with 2 to 3 lighter sets.
How to progress
Work each lift up to the top of its rep range on every set with 2 reps in reserve, then add 5 pounds to the upper-body lifts or 10 pounds to the squat and deadlift and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Two full-body days for a busy week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets29 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Barbells, Flat Bench, Pull-Up Bar +2

You have lifted before, but work or family leaves you two gym sessions a week and you want to keep getting stronger.

With two sessions, each day carries one heavy lower-body lift, one press and one pull, plus one extra lift. Day 1 has 14 sets and Day 2 has 15, so every main muscle gets about 6 to 8 hard sets a week.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Barbell Bench Press 4 × 4–6 1 3 min
Pull-Up 3 × 5–8 1 2 min
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Front Squat3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 5–8 1 2:30 min
Barbell Row 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Romanian Deadlift 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Kettlebell Turkish Get-UpPer side. 2 × 1–3 3 90 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Leave at least two days between the sessions, for example Monday and Thursday. If you only have 45 minutes, drop the last exercise of the day.
How to progress
Use double progression: work up to the top of the rep range on every set at 1 to 2 reps in reserve, then add weight and drop to the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Past the beginner stage, heavy, light and medium days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets38 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Pull-Up Bar, Trap Bar +1

You have lifted for a year or more, adding weight every session no longer works, and you train three times a week.

Giving each day a different job lets you train often without every session being heavy. The heavy day has low reps near your limit, the light day uses lighter variations at 8 to 10 reps, and the medium day sits in between. Each day has 12 to 13 working sets.

Heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat3 warm-up sets first 5 × 3–5 2 4 min
Barbell Bench Press 5 × 3–5 1 3:30 min
Barbell Row 3 × 5–8 1 2:30 min

Open Heavy in the session builder

Light
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Front Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–10 3 2:30 min
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 8–10 2 2 min
Pull-Up 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Barbell Thruster 3 × 5–8 3 2 min

Open Light in the session builder

Medium
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3:30 min
Barbell Bench Press 4 × 5–6 1 3 min
Pull-UpAdd weight once 6 reps are easy. 3 × 4–6 1 2:30 min
Farmer's WalkSteps. Heaviest pair you can hold. 2 × 30–40 1 2 min

Open Medium in the session builder

How to run it
Run Heavy on Monday, Light on Wednesday and Medium on Friday. On the light day, leave 3 reps in reserve on the main lift even if it feels easy.
How to progress
On the heavy day, add 5 pounds when every set reaches 5 reps at 1 to 2 reps in reserve. On the light and medium days, add reps to the top of the range first, then weight.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What workouts make your body stronger?

Workouts built on compound lifts, the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, pull-up and row, done with heavy weights for 3 to 8 reps and more weight over time. Two or three full-body sessions a week is enough for most people.

Is full body training good for strength?

Yes. Training each lift 2 to 3 times a week gives you more practice than a split that trains it once, and practice is a big part of getting stronger, especially in the first years.

How many exercises should a full-body strength workout have?

Four to five. One squat or hinge, one press and one pull, plus one or two extras like a split squat or carry. More than that usually means the main lifts get less effort.

How many sets and reps for full-body strength?

3 to 5 sets of 3 to 8 reps for the main lifts, resting 2 to 4 minutes. Accessory lifts like split squats and Romanian deadlifts work well at 6 to 10 reps.

Is 20 minutes of strength training a day enough?

For general fitness, yes. For building strength with heavy lifts, warm-ups and long rests usually need 45 to 60 minutes, so two or three longer sessions beat daily 20-minute ones.