Want to feel tough, and look as tough as you feel? Look no further than this eight-move barbell workout.
Utilizing straight sets, where you finish all sets of one exercise before doing the next, this workout starts with your heavy lower-body moves. First you’ll begin with the lunge and squat to prep your legs for the challenge of the full-on deadlift, before tackling bodyweight calf raises to really burn out your lower legs. Later, you’ll perform four upper-body exercises that attack your back, biceps, shoulders, and triceps in different ways. Notice that your biceps exercise is followed by the row, and the extensions are before the presses. This arrangement utilizes the pre-fatigue principle by exhausting your smaller supportive muscles (your bis and tris) prior to working your larger muscle groups (your lats and delts) to help spark hypertrophy, also known as muscle growth.
One word of warning: take as much time as you need between sets so you can fully push yourself in your next one. One to two minutes should do the trick—and your muscles should be demanding it!
Equipment: Loadable barbell with plates, adjustable bench, short step (optional)
How to Do It: Follow the reps and sets as laid out for each exercise. Allow yourself a generous amount of rest between sets so you can do the same number of reps, with the same amount of weight, the next time you lift the bar.
1 Reverse Lunge
Reps: 10 to 12 (each leg), Sets: 3
Hold a loaded barbell across your upper back and stand with your feet under your shoulders. Keep your chest tall and upright as you step one foot behind you. Bend both legs to lunge, stopping when your rear knee is an inch or two from touching the floor. Press through the sole of your front foot to return to the start. Continue, alternating legs.
2 Front Squat
Reps: 10, Sets: 3
Grab a lightly loaded or unloaded barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Rack it in front of your shoulders as shown, lifting your elbows to help support the weight. Space your feet slightly wider than your hips, brace your core, and bend your knees and hips to drop your glutes. Pause when your thighs are level with the ground, then press through your heels to extend your legs and stand.
3 Deadlift
Reps: 10, Sets: 4
Place a loaded barbell on the ground and stand behind it with your toes just under the bar, feet spaced shoulder-width apart. Bend your legs to squat down, keeping your hips low, and grab the bar with a mixed grip (one palm facing you and the other facing away). Extend from your hips, then your knees, to stand, pressing your pelvis forward at the top. Pause, then slowly reverse, first leaning your chest forward, followed by bending your knees, to return the bar to the ground. Finish your set, rest, then switch the position of your hands before starting your next set; this will help ensure your grip doesn’t tire before your legs give out.
4 Calf Raise
Reps: 15 to 20, Sets: 4
Place the balls of your feet on a step or plate and hold a vertical bar for support. (Hint: if using a plate, anchor one end of the barbell in the center.) Without locking out your knees, press up onto the balls of your feet, moving as far as your range of motion will allow. Hold for two counts, then lower your heels, allowing them to drop below the surface of the step for a greater stretch. Continue for the remainder of your set.
5 Biceps Curl
Reps: 12 to 15, Sets: 3
Stand tall with your feet under your hips, holding a loaded barbell with an underhand grip (palms facing away from you). Keep your elbows tucked tight to your sides as you flex, bringing the bar toward your shoulders. Pause at the top, then slowly reverse, being careful not to lock your arms out at the bottom.
6 Incline Bench Row
Reps: 10 to 12, Sets: 3
Set an incline bench to a 45-degree angle and lean your chest and pelvis against the back padding. Grab a loaded barbell with an overhand grip (have a partner hand you the bar, if you find it awkward) and extend your arms toward the ground. Pull your elbows up and back to row the bar as far up as you can. Pause, then slowly extend your arms to return to the start.
7 Skull Crusher
Reps: 10 to 12, Sets: 3
Lie face-up on a flat bench, holding a barbell above your chest with an overhand shoulder-width grip. Bend only from the elbows to slowly lower the bar toward your forehead or slightly beyond the top of your head; your upper arms should remain perpendicular to the ground from the beginning to the end. When you feel a stretch through your triceps and you can’t move any farther, extend your arms to return to the start.
8 Seated Overhead Press
Reps: 10 to 12, Sets: 3
Sit on the end of a bench with your feet planted, holding a loaded barbell with an overhand grip in front of your shoulders. Press the weight directly overhead until your arms are straight, pushing your head between your arms at the top and ensuring you don’t lock your elbows. Slowly lower the bar, and repeat.
