Alternatives for Squats, Bench Press & Deadlifts
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging discussion, the participants explore hypothetical exercise replacements for the 'big three' in strength training: the squat, deadlift, and bench press. They consider alternatives like the front squat for back squats, trap bar deadlifts, farmer walks for deadlifts, and incline dumbbell presses for bench presses. The conversation highlights the importance of maintaining full-body strength and mobility, emphasizing exercises that promote stability and functional movement.
Takeaways
- 🏋️ Substitute for Back Squat: The transcript suggests that a front squat could be a suitable replacement for a back squat, providing similar benefits.
- 🤔 Importance of Big Three: The 'big three' exercises—squat, deadlift, and bench press—are considered fundamental for strength and muscle development, but the discussion explores alternatives if these exercises were to be removed.
- 🦵 Bulgarian Split Squat: The Bulgarian split squat is highlighted as an excellent exercise for leg strength, stability, and mobility, with significant benefits observed by the speaker.
- 💪 Front Squat vs. Back Squat: There is a debate on whether the front squat could replace the back squat, with the former being praised for its load capacity and the latter for its anterior drive.
- 🚫 Removing Deadlift: The difficulty of replacing the deadlift is discussed, with alternatives like the trap bar deadlift and farmer's walks considered but not fully satisfying the unique benefits of the deadlift.
- 🏋️♂️ Barbell Row as a Deadlift Substitute: The barbell row is proposed as a potential substitute for the deadlift, targeting the back and providing stabilization for the hips and hamstrings.
- 🤷♂️ Deadlift Uniqueness: It is acknowledged that the deadlift is irreplaceable due to the specific type of strength and body response it provides.
- 💼 Bench Press Alternatives: Incline dumbbell press and dips are suggested as viable alternatives to the flat barbell bench press, with the latter not being as essential.
- 🤸♂️ Overhead Press Importance: The overhead press is deemed crucial for full-body strength and functional movement, with the need for an exercise that allows full overhead extension.
- 🤲 Kettlebell Overhead Press: The kettlebell overhead press is mentioned as a favorable alternative to the dumbbell overhead press, offering a different load and functional benefits.
- 🎪 Circus Press as a Fun Exercise: The circus press is highlighted as a fun and challenging exercise that involves core and shoulder stability while requiring body English to lift heavy weights overhead.
Q & A
What are the 'big three' exercises usually referred to in strength training?
-The 'big three' exercises typically refer to the bench press, squat, and deadlift.
What exercise could be a comparable alternative to the back squat if it were to be removed?
-A front squat is suggested as a comparable alternative to the back squat, providing similar benefits.
What are the benefits of doing a Bulgarian split squat mentioned in the script?
-The benefits of a Bulgarian split squat include improved leg size, stability, hip mobility, and ankle mobility.
What exercise could replace the deadlift in the absence of a barbell?
-A barbell row is suggested as an exercise that could replace the deadlift, focusing on back, glute, and hamstring engagement.
What is the significance of the overhead press in a strength training routine?
-The overhead press is significant for maintaining full overhead extension, which is an important movement that can be easily lost with age or lack of training.
What exercise could replace the bench press if it were to be removed?
-Dumbbell incline bench press is suggested as a replacement for the bench press, providing a similar level of upper body strength development.
Why is the farmer's walk considered a good alternative to the deadlift?
-The farmer's walk is considered a good alternative to the deadlift because it provides a similar all-encompassing strength that requires stabilization of the entire body with heavy loads.
What is the importance of maintaining full overhead extension in one's training routine?
-Maintaining full overhead extension is crucial as it helps prevent loss of mobility and strength in the upper body, which can be common with age or inactivity.
What are some of the challenges faced when trying to replace the big three exercises?
-Challenges include finding exercises that provide similar levels of strength development, mobility, and stability without the use of a barbell or specific movements unique to the big three.
What is the role of circus press in the context of the script?
-The circus press is highlighted as a fun and effective exercise for core and shoulder stability, allowing for the use of body English to lift heavy weights overhead.
How does the script discuss the importance of overhead carries for maintaining full extension?
-The script emphasizes the importance of overhead carries, such as those with kettlebells, for practicing and maintaining full extension, which is a difficult movement to sustain without specific training.
Outlines
🏋️♂️ Alternatives to the Big Three Exercises
In this paragraph, the speaker discusses alternatives to the 'big three' exercises in strength training: the squat, bench press, and deadlift. The conversation suggests that if one had to replace the back squat, a front squat could be a suitable alternative due to its similar benefits. The Bulgarian split squat is also mentioned as an excellent choice for leg size, stability, and mobility. The discussion then moves to the deadlift, with the trap bar deadlift and farmer's walks being considered as alternatives. The importance of maintaining full extension movements, like the overhead press, is emphasized, with the suggestion of kettlebell overhead press and overhead carries as viable replacements for maintaining upper body strength and mobility.
🤔 Contemplating the Elimination of Deadlifts and Bench Press
This paragraph delves into the hypothetical scenario of removing the deadlift and bench press from a workout routine. The speaker contemplates the strength and benefits gained from the deadlift and suggests that farmer's walks could be a suitable replacement, offering a similar type of strength development. The conversation then shifts to the bench press, with the incline dumbbell press and dips being proposed as alternatives. The overhead barbell press is discussed, with the importance of full overhead extension movements highlighted. The speaker mentions the difficulty of finding an exercise that fully replaces the overhead press, but suggests circus presses and overhead carries with dumbbells as potential options to maintain shoulder and core stability.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Squat
💡Deadlift
💡Bench Press
💡Overhead Press
💡Front Squat
💡Bulgarian Split Squat
💡Trap Bar Deadlift
💡Farmer's Walk
💡Barbell Row
💡Incline Dumbbell Press
💡Kettlebell Overhead Press
Highlights
Discussion on the possibility of replacing the 'big three' exercises in strength training.
The 'big three' exercises are identified as the bench press, squat, and deadlift.
Suggestion to include the overhead press as part of the essential exercises.
Front squat proposed as a replacement for the back squat.
Bulgarian split squat as an alternative to back squats, offering benefits in leg size, stability, and mobility.
The importance of the back squat for its ability to handle heavy loads.
Trap bar deadlift as a potential replacement for the traditional deadlift.
Barbell row suggested as an alternative to the deadlift for back and hamstring engagement.
Farmer's walk as a comparable exercise to the deadlift in terms of strength and stability.
The difficulty of finding a direct replacement for the deadlift due to its unique benefits.
Dumbbell incline bench press as a substitute for the flat bench press.
Acknowledgment that removing the barbell bench press might not significantly impact overall training.
Overhead barbell press and its importance in full overhead extension movement.
Kettlebell overhead press as an alternative to the barbell overhead press for a different load and functional approach.
The value of overhead carries for maintaining full extension and strength.
Circus press as an underappreciated exercise for core and shoulder stability.
The need to train full overhead extension to prevent loss of mobility with age.
Transcripts
next question is from jameel
a 144 if you had to remove the big
three exercises what could you replace
them with
that would be comparable oh what are we
going to say the big three are a squat
dead overhead press
yeah they usually big threes usually
bench press squat and
uh deadlift is usually what they say
maybe we should do four
throw in some overhead press if you want
because that's when i feel like that's a
staple
yeah so do i all right this is easy for
me so back squat
um if i had to never do a back squat
again um
the exercise i would do as much as a
back squat would be a front squat in my
opinion
oh i would go bulgarian well i i see the
thing is
i that's still on the table but the
exercise to replace back squats for me
would be front squat i just feel like
it's
close enough to providing the benefits
of a back squat
um although a bulgarian is is pretty
damn
good yeah i'm trying to think of
something because first of all
why would you remove the big three the
only reason why you would remove the big
three is
maybe you don't have the barbell right
and so how can i
i think it's just a hypothetical
question just for shits and giggles
because
i mean if that's the philosophical yeah
if that's the case then
i can get on board a little bit with the
front squat although i still i
i what i experienced you know and this
was late
later in my career of really focusing on
the bulgarian split squat
the benefits that i got from that uh
were tremendous and i saw
a lot of carry over into my squat my leg
size
my stability my hip mobility from it my
ankle mobility from it
uh i just i prefer that we're already so
anteriorly driven so
doing something like a front squat you
know when i compare though you're
looking at the
the activation of the back the low back
the ankle mobility and then the you know
from watching olympic lifters who are
the best front squatters in the world
these guys are front squatting
tremendous amounts of weight and that's
what a back squat's great at a back
squat is amazing because you can load
the hell out of it
yeah so it makes it one of the best
exercises i think the front squat
is closer to that like you could load
the hell you can get
really really good at front squats
justin well
i've actually seen athletes like really
load heavy bulgarians yeah you can
yeah and so it's
it's interesting uh to to speculate
about because it
if that is like you you prize that as
much as a back loaded squat uh
i've seen athletes actually really take
off uh in their strength gains and their
stability simultaneously so
i think that like from an athletic
perspective athletic perspective and
functional perspective
sure yeah right so but i i mean i love
the front squat too
it's just i think that i would probably
lean more in the bulgarian
yeah yeah all right so uh the next
exercise would be the
deadlift that's easy for me uh and i
don't know if this is cheating but i do
a trap bar deadlift
is is that too close i know right can i
pick that yeah i feel like that's too
close
is it too close yeah yeah i see i think
it's different enough
how about a hip thrust for a deadlift oh
no no no no i wouldn't do that or or a
barbell row i mean you got to do
something you got to
we got to do something for you got to
pick something up heavy yeah well you
got to do something for the back
right so i mean you got to do a big
mover for the back deadlifts or like
hips
it's you know well yeah that's why it's
it's irreplaceable
if i had to get rid of it the barbell
row
just doing the barbell row you get some
of the glute
hip hamstring stabilization to hold that
position so it's not being eliminated so
there's
there's value in ben doing a 135 bent
over
row your hips are involved your glutes
are involved they're not moving and
they're not flexing but they're at least
in it
and they're in a a isometric hole in
that position i'm just saying you're
rowing big weight on your back i'm just
trying to
think of right now the strength that you
get from a deadlift
you know i think obviously trap bar
deadlift you guys say that's cheating i
can kind of see that because it's so
similar
uh farmer heavy farmer walks would be up
there for me
because of the kind of strength that it
provides it's kind of similar to a
deadlift
uh yeah because it's a an
all-encompassing kind of a
strength that you're you're getting uh
from the deadlift like it so i think
that the farmer walk actually does sort
of
uh accomplish a similar uh
you know type of uh you know body
response because
you're stabilizing everything at once
with your heavy weight
especially if you're like really loading
it heavy i think that that's well that's
my case for the bent over barbell row
the bend over barbell row is going to
get the hamstring and glute involved in
the stabilization the lower back is
extremely is is in there it's just like
a
farmer carry the stabilization that
you're getting with heavy load you do
that with a heavy barbell you're getting
all that in the hips and the hamstrings
and then low back
and then in addition to that you're
rowing and getting the lats and
rhomboids involved
the barbell row would have to be the
exercise well but here's the thing
though i
it doesn't mean you can't do other back
exercises you know what i'm saying like
we're replacing the deadlift but does
that mean okay so let's say we
we picked a farmer's walk that means you
can still do pull-ups you could still do
dumbbell rows you could still do it's
just you never do deadlifts again
yeah that's the question and if i never
did deadlifts again but i still had
access to all these other exercises
the one that i would replace it with and
if i can't pick a trap bar
i'm thinking again farmer walk i just
just the kind of strength that i get
from the deadlift you know that's a
tough one though i think that's the
hardest one it's
a hard one bench press uh is it cheating
if i say incline
dumbbells yeah i mean is that cheating
because i feel like those are great well
you kind of got to remove the barbell i
would think
you know okay yeah so if we we do like
dumbbell
bench incline yeah i'll take i'll take
dumbbell incline bench all day
or even a dumbbell flat you know what's
funny you take out the barbell bench
press you're not missing much
i know i hate to say it but if you just
never did it and all you did were you
know
dumbbells and incline and dips you'll be
fine yeah you're going to be okay you
would miss
barbell squats and you would definitely
miss deadlifts yeah now overhead barbell
press
i mean again what are you going to say
you know dumbbell press overhead
it's kind of the same exercise well yeah
you have because there's nothing that
i'm or at least i'm drawing a blank
right now of like getting you in full
overhead extension you can't you can't
eliminate that movement that's such an
important movement that you have
and if you're saying that you can't
never do it you're screwed yeah you have
to do it and a front delt raise and a
ladder none of those come close to that
handstand push-up's not gonna cut it
yeah yeah although although
that's gonna actually although that's a
good actually that would be good i know
but like you're just dealing with body
weight is is the only thing it's
definitely
very very challenging and it sort of
obviously turns it up on its head right
but
uh yeah it's a very similar movie i like
that i
honestly that's because i was drawing a
blank on because i'm looking for
something that you're getting
your full extent you're fully extended
over your head that's the that is the
most important part
for everybody why that movement belongs
in every routine is because
we lose that just very of of all the
things too that's up there with the
the things that i think we lose the
fastest that's that's what i used to see
in my older clients yeah it was one of
the number one aside from not being able
to squat
not be able to you know do their posture
they couldn't reach
straight up above not even older i i
found this in myself
that was one of the limiting factors why
i didn't do overhead press i mean i was
in my 20s and i already
had to arch my low back to get full
extension i mean
we were just so all rounded right we're
all so forward we're always reaching
yeah and if you're not training that
it's really really tough for you to try
and get that
back you know and it takes a lot of work
to get back to that place so
yeah justin i actually think the the old
standard
doesn't make sense i can't think of
anything else that would it would
incorporate the kettlebell overhead
press count or is that still
yeah yeah and see my brain would go more
for the spiral line type of a press with
a kettlebell just because it's a
different
uh load but it's more favorable uh
functional i like the kettlebell
overhead press more than dumbbell
overhead press
if you asked me five years ago i would
have never said that but i've never done
them enough
your overhead carries overhead carries
overhead carries with the
with kettlebells sure i do those a lot
with my son you know that because that
full extension is
such a difficult thing yeah so we just
practice walking with a single dumbbell
or two dumbbells overhead
great exercise and it keeps that that
that full extension now we're
re-emphasizing like the importance of
that so your body is going to be able to
keep that
after riding strong and training strong
too i became a huge fan of circus
presses
that was not like ever a common movement
for me
i loved that i was doing them just the
other day again like that exercise
because you get you get to use a little
bit of body english to get the weight up
there so i can go
on high low and when i think about it
like
you would kind of get like to get a
really heavy weight up over your head
you kind of would you have to throw it
up you would and you would kind of you
know
use whatever leverage you could to push
over your head like you wouldn't have
this strict perfect that's a fun
exercise it is a it's a fun exercise
it's a good exercise i feel a lot of
core stability in there a lot of
shoulder stability in there
that's a up there with one of my
favorites
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