Movement patterns
Programmes built on patterns are much harder to leave holes in than programmes built on muscles.
Push
Driving resistance away from the torso — horizontally in a bench press, vertically in an overhead press.
57 exercises →Pull
Drawing resistance towards the torso — horizontally in a row, vertically in a pull-up or pulldown.
45 exercises →Squat
Knee-dominant lower-body work: hips and knees bend together with the torso staying relatively upright.
40 exercises →Hinge
Hip-dominant lower-body work: the hips travel back and forward while the knees stay relatively still.
45 exercises →Lunge
Split-stance and single-leg lower-body work, one leg clearly in front of the other.
15 exercises →Carry
Holding a load and walking with it. Trains grip, trunk and shoulders in one uncomplicated package.
9 exercises →Rotation
Turning the trunk under load, or throwing and swinging across the body.
15 exercises →Brace
Holding the trunk still while something tries to bend, extend or twist it.
44 exercises →Isolation
One joint, one muscle group, no help from anywhere else.
95 exercises →Why patterns beat body parts
If you organise training by muscle, it is easy to end up with five chest exercises and nothing that loads a hip hinge. If you organise it by pattern, the gaps are obvious: a week that contains a push, a pull, a squat, a hinge, a carry and some trunk work has covered the whole body without anyone having to count muscles.
That is the entire argument. Both approaches work; the pattern-based one is simply harder to get wrong, which is why almost every strength coach uses it to audit a programme even if they write the programme by muscle.
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
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