The 101 Greatest Exercises for Size & Strength By Jason Ferruggia Lower Body Exercises Dead Lift- The dead lift is probably the single greatest exercise there is. Dead lifts work your traps, upper back, lats, lower back, biceps, forearms, glutes, hamstrings, and quads. If you could only choose one exercise, this would be the one to do. A proper dead lift begins with the right bar placement and grip and stance width. Set the bar about an inch away from your shins, taking a shoulder width grip and a slightly narrower stance. With your head up and back arched, your body should be at approximately a 45 degree angle in the starting position. Start the lift by pulling up and back towards you, being sure to get a strong leg drive. Return to the starting position by sitting back and then lowering the bar, trying not to squat down until the bar clears your knees. Reset your position and repeat. Trap Bar Dead Lift- This is performed like a standard dead lift except for the fact that your weight and center of gravity is distributed differently. This bar allows lifters who can not get into a proper dead lift position because of flexibility or other issues to dead lift with relative ease. It is easier to maintain an upright posture with the trap bar and thus it is less stressful to the lower back. Rack Dead Lift- This is a standard dead lift performed off pins in a power rack. The pins can be set anywhere from an inch off the ground all the way up to upper thigh height. The higher you set the pins, the more weight you will be able to lift. These will do wonders for your upper, middle and lower back development and greatly aid in helping your full range dead lift. For those who crave incredible trap development, this is one of the greatest exercises you can do. Snatch Grip Dead Lift- This is a dead lift performed with an extremely wide grip. Your index fingers should be in the outside rings when doing this exercise. This will increase the range of motion and add slabs of muscle to your hamstrings. Dead Lift off mats, plates or boxes- Stand on a stack of rubber mats, forty five plates or a three to four inch box to perform this exercise. This will obviously increase the range of motion and put more stress on the lower back and hamstrings. Be sure to start light on this exercise and keep your back arched tightly. Romanian Dead Lift- With an extremely tight arch in your lower back, begin by sticking your glutes straight back and out as far as you can. Be sure to keep your chest out and your shoulder blades squeezed together. Descend until your upper body is parallel with the floor and then return to the starting position by explosively pushing your hips forward and squeezing your glutes. Dumbbell Dead Lift- This is done exactly like a standard dead lift except instead of holding a barbell you hold dumbbells in each hand. Begin the same way by standing up tall with your shoulder blades back and your chest out. Begin the descent by breaking at the hips and sitting back and down. Dumbbell Romanian Dead Lift- This is executed in the exact manner of a barbell Romanian Dead Lift with the only difference being that you hold dumbbells at your side instead of holding a barbell in front of you. Squat: The squat is known as “the king of all exercises,” for good reason. Aside from dead lifts, no other exercise will stimulate growth throughout your entire body like squats will. Squats will develop tree trunk legs and stimulate the release of testosterone while simultaneously jacking up your metabolism. In the early days of weight training, squats were one of the only exercises done on a regular basis. It is one of the most basic exercises you can do and one that we all perform nearly every day of our lives without even thinking about it. Begin the exercise by getting into the proper setup. Before unracking the bar, make sure to take an even grip and squeeze your shoulder blades completely together. Try to take as close a grip as comfortably possible in order to create a bigger shelf to place the bar on. Rest the bar somewhat high on your traps and be sure to squeeze it as hard as you can. Take a slightly wider than shoulder width stance and point the toes out slightly. Keeping your chest held high and your head up inhale deeply and fill your abdomen with air. This is a key point and must be practiced. You do not want to breathe in through your chest and allow your shoulders to rise. Start the descent by breaking at the hips and sitting back and down. Go all the way down to below parallel, making sure to keep your back tightly arched and refrain from looking down. Once you have hit rock bottom, explode back to the top. Cambered Bar Squat- This is performed exactly like a regular squat except with a different bar. This bar is great for those with shoulder problems who can not get into the proper squatting position with a regular bar. Since the weights are lower and will be in front of you in the bottom position, the cambered bar will work your lower back harder and is great for improving your straight bar squat. Safety Bar Squat- This is also performed exactly like a regular squat and has the same benefits of the cambered squat bar including allowing those with shoulder problems to squat without pain. The safety bar will work your lower back harder than a standard back squat but and will also tax the upper back to a much greater extent than any other kind of squat. This is great for packing on mass in the upper back area. Box Squat- This exercise is performed with a wider stance than most squats. You begin the ascent the same way except that you exaggerate sitting back even further than normal and try to keep your shins perpendicular to the floor without allowing your knees to travel forward at all. Sit down on the box and keep your entire body tight except for your hip flexors which should be relaxed briefly. After a slight pause, explode back up by driving your traps back into the bar and pushing out on the sides of your feet, while simultaneously driving your hips forward. Barbell Lunge/ Split Squat - With a bar on your back, step forward until as far as comfortably possible and descend until your hamstring touches your calf. Pause for a second before pushing back to the start position. Be sure to keep your toro perfectly erect and get a good stretch in your hip flexor of your back leg. Dumbbell Lunge/ Split Squat- This is performed exactly like the barbell lunge/ split squat except that you hold dumbbells at your sides. Safety Bar Lunge/ Split Squat- This is also performed exactly like the standard barbell version with the exception being that you use the safety squat bar. This allows users with shoulder problems or range of motion limitations to do the exercise without pain. Note: The difference between a lunge and a split squat is that in a lunge you step forward and backward, alternating legs that you step with on each rep. In a split squat you remain stationary throughout the movement and push yourself back up only until your forward leg straightens. After you reach lockout you immediately descend back into the bottom position with the same leg. Do all of the prescribed reps on one leg before starting the other leg. Barbell Step Up- Stand in front of a 10-20 inch high box (depending on your strength, flexibility and height) with a barbell on your back and step up on to it. Step up on to the box with one leg and push down through the box. Be sure to only use the leg that is on the box to push with and keep your other leg locked. Safety Squat Bar Step Up- This is exactly like the barbell step up except for the fact that you use the safety bar.