Barbell exercises
Short answer
20 barbell movements, grouped by pattern. Each one gets setup, execution, the errors that ruin it, and a straight account of what the research does — and does not — support.
Variants of the same lift share a page. A barbell row, a bent-over row and “barbell rows” are one movement, so they get one entry rather than three near-identical pages competing with each other. Where a claim is measured, the study is linked. Where it is not, the page says so instead of dressing convention up as data.
Squat
- Barbell back squatBar on your back, sit down between your feet, stand back up. The lift everything else gets compared to.Quadriceps · Gluteus maximus
- Barbell front squatBar across the front of your shoulders instead of your back. Forces you upright, and punishes you instantly if you lean forward.Quadriceps · Gluteus maximus
- Barbell hack squatThe old-school one. Bar on the floor BEHIND your heels, you squat down, grab it, and stand up. No machine required.Quadriceps
Hinge
- Barbell deadliftPick a loaded bar up off the floor and stand all the way up. Nothing tests total-body strength faster.Gluteus maximus · Hamstrings · Erector spinae
- Sumo deadliftSame lift, wide stance, hands inside the knees. Shorter pull, more upright torso, more work from the quads and adductors.Gluteus maximus · Quadriceps · Adductors
- Barbell Romanian deadliftA deadlift that starts at the top and never touches the floor. Hips go back, knees stay mostly still, hamstrings do the work.Hamstrings · Gluteus maximus
- Barbell good morningBar on your back like a squat, then hinge forward at the hips and come back up. Small loads, big effect.Hamstrings · Gluteus maximus · Erector spinae
- Barbell hip thrustUpper back on a bench, bar across your hips, drive your hips up to lockout. The most glute-specific barbell movement there is — and this one is actually measured, not assumed.Gluteus maximus
- Barbell glute bridgeSame idea as the hip thrust, but flat on the floor. Shorter range, no bench needed.Gluteus maximus
Horizontal push
- Barbell bench pressLie down, lower the bar to your chest, press it back up. Simple to describe, and most people still do it badly.Pectoralis major · Triceps brachii
- Barbell incline bench pressSame press, bench tilted up. The angle shifts more of the job to the upper chest and front delts.Pectoralis major (clavicular head) · Anterior deltoid · Triceps brachii
- Close-grip barbell bench pressBench with your hands about shoulder width. Elbows stay tucked and the triceps take more of the load.Triceps brachii · Pectoralis major
Vertical push
- Barbell overhead pressStand up, press the bar from your shoulders to overhead, lock it out. No leg drive, no bounce.Anterior deltoid · Lateral deltoid · Triceps brachii
- Barbell push pressAn overhead press with a leg drive to start it. Lets you move more weight than a strict press.Anterior deltoid · Triceps brachii
Horizontal pull
- Barbell rowYou hinge over, hold a bar at arm’s length, and pull it to your torso. It is the biggest bang-for-buck horizontal pull there is.Latissimus dorsi · Middle trapezius · Rhomboids
- Pendlay rowA barbell row where the bar resets on the floor every single rep and your torso stays parallel to the ground.Latissimus dorsi · Middle trapezius · Rhomboids
Vertical pull
Lunge
Isolation
Now load the bar
- Plate math calculatorWhich plates make your target total.
- One-rep max calculatorFive formulas, from a set you actually did.
- Warm-up calculatorEmpty bar up to your working set.
- Strength standards587,379 raw competition lifters. Read the caveat.
- Barbell workoutsHow these lifts get assembled into a week.
- Barbell weight referenceEvery bar, its spec, and its source.
Questions people actually ask
▶How many barbell exercises are there?
This site covers 20 barbell movements, grouped into eight patterns: squat, hinge, horizontal push, vertical push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, lunge and isolation. Variants of the same lift live on one page rather than getting a page each.
▶What are the main barbell exercises?
The squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press are the four that most programs are built around. Rows, RDLs, hip thrusts, curls and shrugs cover most of what gets added on top of them.
▶Why do some of these pages say there is no study?
Because for many popular lifts there genuinely is not one worth citing. 9 of the 20 movements here have electromyography sources attached. The rest describe standard functional anatomy and say so, rather than inventing a percentage.
▶Do I need a full gym for these?
A barbell, plates and a floor covers a surprising number of them. A rack expands the list to squats, presses and good mornings; a bench adds bench press and hip thrusts. Each page lists exactly what it needs.