In my last post, I discussed why doing cardio alone is ineffective for long-term fat loss and briefly touched on the fact that resistance training is the way to go. Put simply, cardio burns calories when you do it, while muscle burns calories all the time. But what kind of resistance exercises are best?
The short answer is: all of them. If you’ve never consistently lifted weights before, or are gearing up for another New Year’s resolution after a long layoff, virtually any conventional resistance exercises – done consistently – will produce results, at least in the short term. These can include free weights, machines, cables, or even your own body weight.
With so many options, however, it’s obvious you can’t do them all. Nor should you, because consistency is probably the biggest factor in making gains at the gym. Enter “The Big 5.”
- Dead Lift
- Squat
- Bench Press
- Overhead Press
- Bent Over Row
These five exercises are traditionally performed with a barbell and are widely considered the “meat and potatoes,” “bread and butter,” foundational movements. We’re talking “old school.”
Dawg.
What makes these exercises so great? First, they’re all compound movements, which means they involve more than one muscle group or joint. Isolation movements, like the biceps curl for example, involve one muscle group and one joint. There’s nothing inherently wrong with isolation movements, but if done exclusively, they don’t provide much of a foundation. Second, because these exercises activate so much of the body, you don’t need a lengthy list of exercises to perform every week, which means your workouts can be shorter and more efficient.
In fact, some purists argue that the bent over row isn’t even necessary, since the deadlift already activates all the muscles in the posterior chain (that’s fancy talk for your backside) to one degree or another. Others go so far as to eliminate both presses as well, and it’s even arguable that you could build a decent physique with nothing but conventional deadlifts and, of course, a proper diet.
If jumping straight into barbell workouts isn’t your thing, all of these can be performed with dumbbells or the proper machines. One way or another, the Big 5 are the foundation of the beginner’s workout I recommend in my eBook, and just a few sets of each, done twice a week, is a great program to start with.
Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!
Dan
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