Gym equipment

Barbell exercises

The standard 20 kg bar plus plates. Best tool for loading a movement heavily and adding weight in small steps.

What this kit can actually load

54MOVEMENTS

Covering 15 muscle groups as prime movers and 8 of the 9 movement patterns, and the gaps are named further down rather than glossed over.

SOURCE·Published exercise references·COVERAGE COUNTED FROM PRIME MOVERS ONLY·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How the barbell list is built

Start from the joint action, not the sensation. A muscle is credited when the action it produces is the one being resisted.
Credit exactly one role per exercise: prime mover, or synergist and stabiliser. Nothing is listed twice.
Rank by technical demand on a 1–5 scale — how much practice the movement needs to be done safely, not how hard the set feels.
Credit a movement to a piece of kit only when that kit supplies the resistance — a bench you lie on is not the load.
Attach the published MET category so the energy figure on every card traces back to the same table.

The attribution rules in full →

SOURCE·Published exercise references·ATTRIBUTION BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026

All 54 barbell movements

Exercises using barbell, easiest first.REVIEWED · JUL 2026
Exercise	Primary muscle	Pattern	Level
Barbell Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Barbell Shrug	Trapezius	Isolation	Beginner
Barbell Wrist Curl	Forearms	Isolation	Beginner
21s Barbell Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Behind-the-Back Barbell Wrist Curl	Forearms	Isolation	Beginner
Drag Curl	Biceps	Isolation	Beginner
Inverted Row	Upper back	Pull	Beginner
Landmine Press	Front deltoid	Push	Beginner
Landmine Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Beginner
Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Barbell Floor Press	Triceps	Push	Intermediate
Barbell Hip Thrust	Glutes	Hinge	Intermediate
Barbell Pullover	Lats	Isolation	Intermediate
Barbell Reverse Lunge	Quadriceps	Lunge	Intermediate
Barbell Split Squat	Quadriceps	Lunge	Intermediate
Barbell Upright Row	Side deltoid	Pull	Intermediate
Box Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Intermediate
Close-Grip Bench Press	Triceps	Push	Intermediate
Decline Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Incline Barbell Bench Press	Chest	Push	Intermediate
Landmine 180	Obliques	Rotation	Intermediate
Landmine Row	Upper back	Pull	Intermediate
Rack Pull	Trapezius	Hinge	Intermediate
Romanian Deadlift	Hamstrings	Hinge	Intermediate
Seated Barbell Overhead Press	Front deltoid	Push	Intermediate
Single-Arm Landmine Press	Front deltoid	Push	Intermediate
Standing Barbell Overhead Press	Front deltoid	Push	Intermediate
T-Bar Row	Upper back	Pull	Intermediate
Trap Bar Deadlift	Quadriceps	Hinge	Intermediate
Underhand Barbell Row	Lats	Pull	Intermediate
Barbell Back Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Barbell Bent-Over Row	Upper back	Pull	Advanced
Barbell Good Morning	Hamstrings	Hinge	Advanced
Barbell Rollout	Abs	Brace	Advanced
Barbell Thruster	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Conventional Deadlift	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced
Front Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Hang Clean	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced
JM Press	Triceps	Isolation	Advanced
Meadows Row	Lats	Pull	Advanced
Pause Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Paused Bench Press	Chest	Push	Advanced
Pendlay Row	Upper back	Pull	Advanced
Push Press	Front deltoid	Push	Advanced
Seated Good Morning	Lower back	Hinge	Advanced
Snatch-Grip Deadlift	Upper back	Hinge	Advanced
Stiff-Leg Deadlift	Hamstrings	Hinge	Advanced
Sumo Deadlift	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced
Z Press	Front deltoid	Push	Advanced
Zercher Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Deficit Deadlift	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced
Overhead Squat	Quadriceps	Squat	Advanced
Paused Deadlift	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced
Power Clean	Glutes	Hinge	Advanced

Muscles you can cover with barbell

Chest 4 Lats 3 Upper back 6 Trapezius 2 Front deltoid 6 Side deltoid 1 Biceps 3 Triceps 3 Forearms 2 Quadriceps 11 Hamstrings 3 Glutes 7 Abs 1 Obliques 1 Lower back 1

Not covered: rear deltoid, calves, adductors, hip flexors, rotator cuff. That is the honest gap — fill it with another implement or with bodyweight work.

Programmes that run on this alone

Push Pull Legs (PPL)Full gym · 3 days a week (one cycle) or 6 days a week (two cycles). Both work; the six-day version needs the recovery to match.Upper / Lower splitFull gym · 4 days a week — upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, rest, rest.Full-body, 3 days a weekFull gym · 3 non-consecutive days — Monday, Wednesday, Friday or equivalent.Bro split (one muscle a day)Full gym · 5 days a week.5x5 barbell strengthBarbell, rack, bench · 3 days a week, alternating A and B sessions.Home workout, no equipmentNone · 3 days a week, with at least a day between sessions.

Other equipment

Dumbbells 68 Kettlebell 17 Cable machine 36 Machine 42 Smith machine 8 Resistance band 31 Bodyweight 121Pull-up bar 17 Bench 49 Medicine ball 3 Suspension trainer 5 EZ bar 5 Dip bars 3 Ab wheel 2 Weight plate 11 Box or step 10 Landmine 6

The questions that come up on the floor

What can I train with barbell?

54 exercises on this site use barbell, covering 15 muscle groups as prime movers and 8 of the 9 movement patterns. 42 of them are compound movements, which is the number that decides whether a piece of equipment can carry a whole programme on its own.

Is barbell enough to build muscle?

Yes. With 54 exercises across 15 muscle groups, barbell covers enough of the body to run a complete programme. Muscle growth responds to effort, load progression and volume — not to which brand of resistance supplied them.

Can I use barbell at home?

Usually not: this is gym equipment. Every exercise page here lists a home substitute that trains the same prime mover through the same pattern, so nothing on this list is a dead end for a home trainer.

How do I make barbell exercises harder over time?

Add weight in the smallest increment available whenever you reach the top of the target rep range with clean technique, and keep the range of motion and the tempo identical as the load climbs.

Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.

SOURCE·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The people behind these sites

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This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.

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