Top 5 Lifts to Build a Foundation of Muscle & Strength
(If You Could Only Pick 5 Exercises or if you were limited on time)
When you’re new to lifting - or even if you’ve been in the gym for years - it’s easy to get lost in the sea of machines, cables, and fancy exercises. I know because I hopped from routine to routine for years inspired by fitness influencers and youtubers alike.. it’s tempting to mix it up and that makes things incredibly difficult to measure.
The exercises that build the most muscle and strength are the big, simple, brutally effective compound lifts.. At least in the beginning and yes there are great machines now but I’d still sooner have people learn the fundamentals of the barbell or at the very least the same movement patterns be it a machine or dumbbells.
If I could only pick five lifts to build a strong, athletic, muscular physique - these are the ones I’d choose. These lifts are the bulk of your program… everything else is bonus work and the good news is you can start super light and they’re the easiest to micro load.
Let’s break them down.
1. The Squat
The ultimate lower-body builder
The squat is the foundation lift for building real strength. It hits your quads, glutes, and core like nothing else. It’s primal, it’s powerful, and it teaches you how to move your body under load in a way that carries over into every sport, every activity, and just makes life easier in general - the squat indirectly carries over to a lot of other lifts, ie leg drive in the bench press, trunk strength and core stability in the deadlift and overhead press. You’ll notice a lot of old school programs have the Squat as a cornerstone usually with a 2-3x per week frequency.
Why the Squat is a staple in a lot of old school programs:
Massive quad and glute growth – deep, loaded squats stimulate alot of lower body muscle growth.
Builds a rock-solid core without doing a single crunch, the squat will teach you how to brace.
Improves mobility when performed with good range and control.
A foundation for athletic power - jumping, sprinting, lifting and even carrying and resisting movement.
If you want strong legs and a strong body, the squat and its variations are a great place to start.
Jack Bradley (me) Demonstrating the Barbell Back Squat in York’s Leisure Centre.
2. The Deadlift
The king of the lifts
The deadlift is the king of full-body pulling strength. It works your hamstrings, glutes, lats, traps, and lower back all in one massive movement. You grip the bar, brace, and lift - simple… but brutally effective. You can check out my comprehensive deadlift guide
Why the Deadlift is essential:
Insane posterior chain activation — the entire back of your body gets stronger.
Huge carryover to sports, performance, and picking up heavy things safely.
Easy to progressively overload — You’re using a lot of muscles so you can move a lot of weight.
Builds grip, power, and mental toughness — try it and you’ll see what I mean.
The deadlift’s benefits are endless.
Jack Bradley - Demonstrating a Barbell deadlift at York Leisure centre Gym - 200kgx5
3. The Bench Press
“What can you bench?”
The bench press is the go-to upper-body strength exercise for a reason. the Gym bro’s are right when it comes to this one.. It targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps in one smooth movement. It’s simple, measurable, and responds well to volume and high frequency actually.
Why the Bench Press deserves a spot:
Excellent chest builder when done with good form.
Trains shoulders + triceps simultaneously will strengthen all of your ‘pressing’ muscles.
Progress is easy to track — add weight, add reps, add sets.
Your pressing strength goes up everywhere - push-ups, dips, overhead pressing.
When someone asks “How strong are you?” they still want to know what you can bench.. and for the record.. 140kg is my best bench press..I have also taken a client from rotator cuff surgery to 100kg quickly.
Jack Bradley demonstrating the barbell bench press 110kgx5
4. The Overhead Press
“The lift that looks the most badass”
Pressing a weight over your head is one of the most functional, athletic movements you can do. There is something pretty primal about throwing a weight overhead, we rarely do it in day to day life. The overhead press builds powerful shoulders, strong triceps, an engaged core, and teaches you how to stabilise weight through your entire body.
Why the Overhead Press is powerful:
Best compound movement for shoulder strength
Reinforces posture and stability — great for anyone who sits a lot.
Fantastic core activation when pressed standing and upper back when pushing the head through at lockout.
Carries over to all overhead work — from handstands to sports to upper body strength in general.
Shoulders benefit from being strong and mobile and progressing this with good form will help get you there.
Jack Bradley demonstrating the Barbell Overhead Press - 82.5kgx1
5. The Pull-Up
“If you want a wide, strong back work towards the pull-up”
The pull-up is the ultimate upper-body pull. It builds incredible lat width, upper back thickness, strong biceps, and great grip strength. If you can do heavy pull-ups, your back will look good. I also did a guide on the pull-up and how I approach getting clients to their first pull up
Why Pull-Ups are essential:
Unmatched lat and upper-back stimulation.
Teaches real strength relative to your bodyweight.
Easily progressable — add reps, add weight, change grips.
Massively improves posture, shoulder stability, and upper-body balance.
Strong pull-ups = strong back.. Most strong people have a muscular back!
Jack Bradley demonstrating the Weighted Pull-Up - Bodyweight +25kg
Why These Five? (The Philosophy)
If you want muscle and strength, you want exercises that:
Use the most muscle
Allow the most progressive overload
Improve real-world movement
Make the rest of your lifts stronger
These five exercises cover every major pattern:
Squat → Hinge → Horizontal Push → Vertical Push → Vertical Pull
They’re simple, they’re tough, and they work.
Everything else — curls, tricep work, machines — is brilliant accessory volume, but this is your foundation.
If I could add a 6th it would be a horizontal pull in the form of a row as it works the mid back and traps a little more than a vertical pull however the deadlift stimulates some of the muscles in these regions.
Final Thoughts
If your goal is to build a strong, healthy, muscular physique - keep training simple.
Master these five lifts. Progress them patiently. Do them consistently.
If I could train 3x per week I’d probably try and squat with sub-maximal weights 2x per week, deadlift 1-2x per week pull ups 1-2x per week and then overhead press/bench 3x per week picking 1 per workout. I’d focus on a 5-8 rep range and leave a few reps in the tank so you have room to increase the weight week to week / month to month. I’d also add a chest supported row in as the first accessory for complete back development and shoulder health perhaps 2x per week.
