Full Body Workout With Barbells

Barbells are a versatile piece of exercise equipment. The weight is adjustable, so they grow with you as you advance and can be used for a variety of exercises. While barbells are typically used to perform upper body exercises like bench presses, they can also be use to exercise the rest of the body, including the arms, back, core and legs.

  1. Awesome Arms

    • There are many arm exercises you can do using a barbell to target the biceps, triceps and forearms. Barbell biceps curls using close, medium and wide grips can help you exercise your biceps muscles at the front of your upper arms. Lying barbell triceps extensions and standing overhead triceps extensions tone the triceps muscles at the back of your upper arm. Barbell wrist curls and barbell wrist extensions work the forearm muscles in the lower arm.

    Upper Torso Antagonists

    • You can exercise your pectoral muscles in your chest using a variety of barbell presses and pullovers. Standard barbell bench presses as well as close- and wide-grip presses, performed lying flat, at an incline or decline, all help develop the chest. Bent-arm and straight-arm pullovers work the chest as well. You can also use a barbell to work your back muscles by performing wide-grip bent over barbell rows, prone wide-grip barbell rows, good mornings, dead lifts, barbell shrugs and high pulls.

    Cut Core

    • Not all ab exercises need to be done lying on your back. You can use a barbell to work your midsection alone, or with other muscle groups. Do barbell roll outs to tone your stomach; they work the core in the same way crunches do and give you an intense ab workout. Perform uneven barbell side bends using weight on only one side of the barbell for a weighted oblique workout. Hold a barbell over your head and engage your core to do overhead squats; these will work your abs as well as your legs and glutes.

    Lifting for Legs

    • You can work your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves by using a barbell. You can do squats, single-leg squats, lunges and Romanian deadlifts using a barbell to help tone your legs. These are compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups with one move, working the glutes, hamstrings and quads simultaneously. To work your calf muscles, do calf raises with a barbell by holding it behind your head the same way you would while doing squats, then lift up on your toes.

    The All-In-One

    • The barbell push press is a full-body exercise that recruits multiple muscle groups throughout your body. This exercise works the shoulders, back, arms, core, glutes, hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves and shins. Start with your feet hip-width apart while holding the barbell at chest height. Your hands should be positioned slightly wider than shoulder-distance apart, palms facing out and elbows pointed down. Squat down until your thighs are nearly parallel with the ground. Hold for a moment, then come back up. Continue the movement by coming up on your toes as you press the barbell over your head. Hold for another moment before returning to the starting position.