To get stronger, start with these 6 strength-building movements : NPR

Your strength training doesn’t need to be complicated. Researchers recommend prioritizing just a handful of exercises, including (clockwise from left to right) the split squat, row, bench press, and goblet squat.

Mike Kane for NPR

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Mike Kane for NPR

This story is adapted from Life Kit’s Guide to Building Strength, a five-day email series. Subscribe to the special newsletter here.

There are countless ways to build a workout routine to build muscle and strength, known as resistance training.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with many, moving from program to program in search of the perfect formula. If it had a fashionable name, it would be even better.

Of course, that made things interesting. But the consistent message from some of the world’s leading experts is that your workout doesn’t need to be complicated.

If you want to reap the many benefits of resistance training – for your cardiovascular health, metabolism, longevity, etc. — researchers who spoke with NPR all recommend prioritizing just a handful of exercises, at least at first.

These are called “multi-joint exercises” or “compound lifts” because they recruit one or more major muscle groups at the same time and involve at least two joints.

There’s nothing wrong with doing more focused work like a biceps curl, which is an example of a “single joint” exercise. But it may take longer and might not be necessary, research shows.

6 essential muscle strengthening exercises

Below you will find six recommended multi-joint exercises. Consider this a simple and effective template for creating your own workout routine. If that was all you did – and you did it consistently – you’d be ready.

Of course you can add something. “But 90 percent of what you need is that foundation,” says Keith Baar, a muscle and tendon researcher at the University of California, Davis.

Our guide on form and technique is Mallory Mostov. She has been training strength and conditioning for nearly two decades and is one of the owners of Loft Fitness in Seattle.

She uses dumbbells, which tend to be easier and safer than dumbbells when you’re new. You can also try variations of exercises with machines at the gym, if you prefer.

Scroll down for tips on how much weight to lift, how many repetitions to do and how often to do these exercises.

1. Goblet squat

How : Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes slightly apart. Hold a dumbbell close to your chest. Breathe deeply and engage your core. Push your hips back and squat down while keeping your weight in your heels. Try to position your hips at or below your knee height. Push your heels into the floor and squeeze your glutes as you stand up.

Form Tips: Keep your back extended and not rounded. Avoid shifting your weight toward your toes. If your heels lift when you squat, spread your feet further apart or don’t squat as low.

Variants:

2. Split Squat

How : Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Step back one foot, lifting your heel so you are on your tiptoes. Lower the back knee by tapping it on the floor (or another object like a yoga block if you can’t reach it). Lift that knee vertically, keeping your hamstrings and glutes engaged. Do a set on each side.

Form Tips: Keep your legs shoulder-width apart. If you feel it mainly in your back leg, lean your torso slightly forward to load the glutes of your front leg.

Variants:

3. Row

How : Place one knee and one hand on a bench. Hold a dumbbell in your other hand with your arm fully extended. Pull up, squeezing the side muscle of your upper back at the top. Go back down slowly.

Form Tips: Don’t round your lower back – keep it extended and your core engaged. Think about pulling the dumbbell toward your belly button, elbows close to your body.

Variants:

4. Bench press

How : Lie on the bench with your feet on the floor. Start with a dumbbell in each hand, at the level of your sternum. Lift them up; fully extend your arms. Lower them with control.

Form Tips: Don’t let your shoulders scrunch inward – lightly squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Variants:

• Body weight: push-ups against a wall or on your knees, or full push-ups
• Machine option: chest press

5. Deadlift

How : Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold dumbbells at your sides. Start lowering the weights by pushing your butt behind you as if you were closing a car door with them. Press the weights onto the floor. Push your hips forward as you stand up.

Form Tips: Keep your back extended, your neck aligned with your spine. Keep your core engaged. When you stand up, push your heels into the floor. Don’t let the weights drift in front of you.

Variants:

6. Overhead press

How : Sit on a bench holding dumbbells by your shoulders. Push them both overhead, keeping your elbows close to your ears and your wrists on your shoulders. With control, lower your arms to your shoulders.

Form Tips: Keep your lower ribs tucked in and your pelvis tucked. Avoid turning your neck and looking up.

Variants:

Some remarks:

Correct form is essential, especially to avoid injuries. So if you’re new to resistance training, take it slow.

If you don’t have dumbbells, try them with cans or other household items. If you don’t have a weight bench, use a sturdy chair, coffee table, or piano bench.

How to Choose Your Weights and Reps

Research shows that you have a lot of flexibility to use the weights and reps that work for you, as long as you push yourself enough.

Generally speaking, though, Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx, says: aim for around 8 to 12 repetitions of an exercise is a good starting point because it is effective.

Feel free to add or subtract reps to get the right amount of effort (more details below).

How often to do this workout

Even doing one set of each exercise once a week can be effective for the first three months of training. If you can, aim for two workouts and one total of 4 to 6 sets per exercise each week. (Note: Count both squat variations as one exercise since they target the same muscle group.)

Take between 30 seconds and about 2 minutes of rest between sets. Stuart Phillips, a kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Canada, says you want to rest long enough so the next set is productive and not rushed, but don’t overthink it.

Go ahead, make an effort

UK-based exercise scientist James Steele and other experts point out that effort is probably the “most important determinant” in the muscle building equation (with its appearance in the first place).

And it’s not a crazy concept.

In resistance training, effort is usually measured by proximity to failure, which is the point where your muscles are overworked so much that they stall and you have to stop to rest.

Studies show that you don’t have to go to failure to get results, but you should get there in about a few reps.

Get Stronger with Life Kit’s 5-Day Newsletter Series

There’s a lot more you can do to personalize your routine based on these exercises and evidence-based principles on how to build muscle and strength.

Sign up for Life Kit’s 5-day email series, Guide to Building Strengthfor more tips from fitness experts. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter now.

The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib, Carmel Wroth and Meghan Keane, with art direction by Katie Hayes Luke. We would love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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