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Looking for ways to boost your strength training? Grab a barbell, and incorporate the following full body exercises in your workout routine.
Although bodyweight exercises have their benefits and are effective too, to gain strength and challenge your muscles from every angle, it is important to use free weight, especially a barbell in your full body exercises.
A barbell challenges the joints and muscles and also helps improve balance. Various studies also suggest that barbell training can lead to massive strength and muscle gains in only 5 weeks.
Moreover, full body exercises using a barbell can make you stronger, reduce chances of chronic pain and illness, and amp up overall sports performance.
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Full Body Exercises Using a Barbell
The following full body exercises include compound movements, meaning they can target multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously.
Here are the five essential full body exercises that you can do using only a barbell. Before starting, though, do not forget to do a 10-minute warm-up to charge up your muscles. Let's look at the exercises.
1. Barbell Deadlift
The barbell deadlift is one of the best full body exercises and targets major muscle groups, including the glutes, hamstrings, trapezius, lower back, and core.
How should you do it?
- Hold a barbell with both hands, and keep your palms facing inward. Position your feet and hands at shoulder width, and keep your chest up throughout the exercise.
- Engage your core, hamstrings, and glutes, and allow the barbell to rest safely on your thighs.
- Hinge at your waist, and bend your torso to lower the barbell until it reaches your feet.
- Push your hips back, and engage your quads to stand back up to the starting position.
- Complete three sets of 10 reps with 10 seconds of rest between each set.
2. Barbell Bent-Over Row
The bent-over row is an excellent functional exercise that primarily targets the glutes, upper arms, upper back, shoulders, and core. Including this exercise in your strength training routine can also help ease chronic low back pain.
How should you do it?
- Stand straight with a barbell in your hand. Hold the barbell with your palms turned out, and keep your hands at shoulder width.
- Slightly bend your knees, and roll your shoulder blades back.
- Hinge at your waist, and bend your torso forward while keeping your glutes and abs engaged at all times. Keep your gaze on the floor.
- With your elbows close to your body, pull the barbell up towards your chest, and lower it back to the starting position.
- Complete two sets of 10 reps, and take 20 seconds of rest between each set.
3. Barbell Back Squat
The barbell back squat is one of the best full body exercises that hits the hamstring, glutes, and quads in the lower body, and strengthens the shoulder, back, arm, and core in the upper body.
How should you do it?
- With your feet positioned shoulder-width apart or slightly wider, place a barbell on your trapezius (muscles at the bottom of your neck and the top of your back).
- Hold the bar with both hands, with your elbows pointing down and fingers facing forward.
- With your spine straight and abs engaged, push your butts back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat until your butt gets parallel to the floor.
- Push firmly through your heels, and get back up to the starting position.
- Complete two sets of 10 reps each.
4. Barbell Rollout
The barbell rollout is an effective functional full body exercise that not only engages the core muscles but also targets the hamstring, lats, shoulders, and glutes. It also increases core stability and promotes mobility and coordination.
How should you do it?
- Kneel on the floor, and place a barbell in front of you.
- Bend your upper body forward to grip the bar with both hands. Position your hands shoulder-width apart, and keep your palms facing towards you.
- With your glutes and abs engaged, push the barbell, and slowly roll it forward. As you roll the barbell, move your torso with it, but keep your spine straight.
- Roll back to the starting position, and repeat.
- Complete three sets of 8 reps.
5. Barbell Lunge
Lunges are a popular full body exercise that strengthen and tone the upper and lower body muscles, including the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core. Additionally, they enhance sports performance and also support the hips and the back.
How should you do it?
- Place the barbell on your shoulders, and stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- With your glutes and core muscles engaged, take a step forward with your right leg. Immediately, bend your knees, and lower your body towards the floor for a full lunge position.
- Exhale and bring your right foot back to its starting position.
- Take a step forward with your left foot, and repeat the exercise.
- Do ten reps on each side, and complete three sets.
Takeaway
The aforementioned full body exercises target all the important muscle groups and help strengthen them by improving their functionality. Using a barbell can challenge the muscles further and helps develop lean muscle mass.
As a rule of thumb, though, you must do these exercises no more than thrice a week, as overtraining can lead to muscle strain and injury. Most importantly, it is important to practice under the guidance of a trainer.
