11 Barbell Exercises: Benefits of Doing Barbell Exercises

Barbell exercises are weight-training exercises that involve lifting heavy weights loaded onto a barbell. The weight is delivered by weight plates, which come in increments, allowing you to work your way up to lifting heavier weights. Dedicated lifters may choose to purchase a squat rack or bench press to practice barbell workouts in their home gym, but most gyms will already have all the equipment you need to start incorporating barbell exercises into your workout routine.

There are several notable benefits to practicing barbell exercises.

1. 1. Barbell exercises build strength throughout your body. Barbell exercises are effective exercises for building muscle mass throughout your entire body. Barbell exercises are a great choice for anyone looking to strengthen their lats, pecs, quads, and more.
2. 2. Barbell exercises can help improve your athletic performance. Barbell exercises build muscle in the upper and lower body, helping add power and speed to a wide range of athletic activities.
3. 3. Barbell exercises can help improve your posture. When practiced with proper form, barbell exercises can help build strength in your stabilizer muscle groups, helping you stand up tall and keep your back straight.

Consider some of the best barbell exercises for building full-body strength.

1. 1. Barbell bench press: Perform bench presses by lying on your back on a flat bench with your eyes aligned directly underneath a weighted barbell. Grab the barbell with a shoulder-width grip and unrack it carefully. Lower the barbell towards the middle of your chest just above your sternum and then lift it again.
2. 2. Barbell back squat: Perform back squats by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Unrack a weighted barbell, holding it on your upper back. Keep your chest up as you hinge your hips and knees to lower your body into a squat position.
3. 3. Front squat: A front squat is a compound exercise that activates muscles throughout your body. It is also known as a barbell front squat. Perform front squats by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift a barbell and hold it in a rack position in front of your shoulders. Keep your torso in an upright position and engage your core as you lower your body into a squat position. With proper squat form, front squats can increase your core strength and quad strength. For an easier variation, use a kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells rather than a weighted barbell.
4. 4. Barbell deadlift: A deadlift is a strength-training exercise characterized by lifting a barbell with a hip hinge movement pattern. Deadlifting is a type of compound exercise, meaning it engages multiple muscle groups at once. In particular, deadlifts work the posterior chain, a group of muscles that includes the glutes, lower back muscles, trapezius, hamstrings, and the erector spinae muscles.
5. 5. Sumo deadlift: The sumo deadlift is a variation of the conventional deadlift with a wider stance and a shorter range of motion. The benefits of the sumo deadlift include the strengthening of your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, as well as lessening pressure on your lumbar spine. For some lifters, the wider stance of the sumo deadlift variation allows for heavier weight on the barbell.
6. 6. Barbell row: The barbell row, also known as the barbell bent-over row, is a full-body compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups in your body, including the lower back, upper back, legs, and arms. In particular, the barbell row works several muscles in your back, including the latissimus dorsi, the infraspinatus muscle, the rhomboids, the erector spinae muscles, and the posterior deltoid muscles (also called the rear delts). The barbell row is more than simply a back exercise; it also works your triceps, hamstrings, and glutes.
7. 7. Barbell lunge: Barbell lunges are a weighted variation of the forward lunge, a bodyweight exercise that involves stepping forward and lowering yourself until your front leg and back leg are both bent at a roughly 90-degree angle. Barbell lunges are a great supplementary exercise to other lower-body exercises such as deadlifts, walking lunges, reverse lunges, lateral lunges, and split squats.
8. 8. Barbell overhead press: A barbell overhead press, also known as a barbell shoulder press or a standing barbell overhead press, is a compound exercise that works muscle groups throughout your upper body and lower body. Perform barbell overhead presses by standing in front of a weighted barbell. Unrack the barbell and hold it on your upper chest and front shoulders. Lift the bar overhead and slowly lower it again. Repeat this movement for the desired amount of repetitions.
9. 9. Good morning: The good morning exercise is a weightlifting exercise that activates muscle groups across your whole body. Perform good morning exercises by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Unrack a weighted barbell and rest it on your upper back using a similar bar position as a back squat. Take a deep breath, engage your core, and hinge your hips backward. After lowering your upper body, hinge forward and return to a standing position.
10. 10. Clean and jerk: The clean and jerk is one of two official lifts in the sport of Olympic lifting. The other Olympic lift is the snatch. To perform the clean and jerk, start in the standing position with your feet hip-width apart. Squat down to lift the barbell off the floor and lift it to a front rack position. Raise the bar overhead with a range of motion similar to that of a push press.
11. 11. Barbell snatch: Perform the barbell snatch with one explosive movement as you lift a weighted barbell from the floor to above your head while lowering your body into a full squat position. With proper form, Olympic lifts provide a full-body workout that activates muscle groups across your body—including the glutes, quads, hamstrings, delts, triceps, and lower-back muscles.

If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs. Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement. When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.

To see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program. Your results will ultimately be based on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. Rest for 24 to 48 hours before training the same muscle groups to allow sufficient recovery.

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