The only essential exercises in the gym

I cringe a little when I hear people say:

“But {insert exercise here} is the king of all exercises.”

Cos here’s the thing:

Unless you’re a powerlifter, there are no essential exercises in the gym.

And this is good news.

Because it means you can choose the exercises you actually like—not the ones you think you should be doing.

Plus it gives you the freedom to change your routine when you feel bored with it, too.

The question is: does this compromise your results?

Let's find out.

Exercise is just…muscle contraction

This is what it boils down to.

Different exercises work certain muscles in a specific movement pattern.

And there are many different exercise options for each movement category:

So what does this mean for what exercises are “best”?

And does it matter if you want to maximise your strength or your muscle mass?

The “best” exercises for strength

Strength is very task-specific.

And that means your strength will improve the most in the exercises you do often.

This is where powerlifting comes in.

These athletes only need to be strong in 3 lifts:

Squat
Deadlift
Bench press

But most people don’t care what their max squat or bench press is.

They just want to:

Lift heavy groceries or move furniture without straining their back
Play with their kids or grandkids without getting tired or risking injury
Maintain their independence as they age by easily getting out of a chair or climbing stairs

So it makes sense to train movement patterns similar to tasks where you want to be strong.

But keep in mind there are many exercise options per movement pattern.

But some exercises are better for building muscle, right?

Here’s the truth:

Your muscles don’t care if you’re doing a squat, leg press, or leg extension.

If we’re talking about growth of the quadriceps, that is…

Tension is the only essential ingredient for muscle growth—and many different exercises can deliver this to a given muscle.

Movement patterns are not important here.

But for strength, improved coordination and other nervous system changes are critical to ensure the right muscles work at the right time.

The bottom line?

So long as an exercise places enough tension on a muscle, it can help it grow.

But this raises another key question:

Do you have to stick with the same exercises over time?

Does varying your exercises affect progress in the gym?

Two key principles for exercise adaptations are:

Progressive overload
Variation

Progressive overload refers to a gradual increase in stress imposed on the body.

And variation in things like intensity or volume are ways to achieve progressive overload.

But does changing up exercises help or hinder strength or muscle size gains?

To find out, a 2022 systematic review in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compiled the findings of 8 relevant studies.

Most of these studies compared groups who did the same exercises to others who varied them either:

Within the same session
Or across multiple sessions per week

The general conclusions were that varying exercises:

Had minimal impact on muscle mass, but may even benefit growth in specific muscle regions
Could even benefit strength (in a given exercise) in some circumstances, providing the variation isn’t too excessive

Now there is lots of nuance here, because most of these studies did things differently.

But the gist is:

Varying your exercises every so often can be ok, and may even be beneficial.

The impact of changing up your gym routine

A 2024 study in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport shed more light on whether varying exercises influences gym gains.

They had 70 untrained young women (aged 22 on average) undergo 10 weeks of resistance training.

One group did the same 2 exercises 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

The other group only did these 2 exercises on a Monday, but different exercises on the Wednesday and Friday.

Here was their weekly schedule:

So did varying exercises across the week impact muscle or strength gains?

As you can see, the answer was no.

Both groups had similar changes in:

Thigh muscle size
Maximum strength in the leg press and leg extension

This means you might expect similar benefits of varying and not varying your exercises.

At least in the short- to medium-term, anyway.

The bottom line

One thing is clear:

For most people, there are no mandatory exercises in the gym.

Nor are any exercises better than others for building muscle or general strength.

Sure, the exercises you choose should consider your goals.

And of course, your program should target different muscles in a balanced way.

But as for the "best" exercises?

They are the ones you will do often, of course.

As always, thanks for being here!

Until next week,

Jackson

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IMPORTANT:

The information contained herein is of general nature only and does not constitute personal advice. You should not act on any information without considering your personal needs, circumstances, and objectives. Any exercise program may result in injury. We recommend you obtain advice specific to your circumstances from an appropriate health professional before starting any exercise program.