Chapter 2

What are Key Lifts?

There are so many exercises that you can do that can help you get into better shape. But there are actually only a few lifts that you need to put most of your focus into to see a massive difference in your physique.

As you start progressing on these and increasing strength, you will notice a dramatic difference in overall athleticism, as well as it will carry over into other exercises you will be doing. You want to be tracking progress for everything, but especially these exercises as these are the main focus.

Key Lifts

1.) Incline Dumbbell/Barbell Press

When it comes to bench press, there is flat bench and incline bench. Both are good in their own remarks – flat bench is best for overall pec development, while incline bench puts more focus on the upper chest which will help overall aesthetics and proportion.

I personally prefer incline dumbbell press, but barbell press works just the same. It’s all up to personal preference.

2.) Weighted Dips

Weighted dips are one of my favorite exercises. These are fantastic at building your upper chest and triceps. Even if you can’t do much weight starting off, for some reason this exercise is extremely easy to start adding on weight.

When I started working out in January of 2019, I could only do 25lbs added for four reps. By the end of 2019, I worked my way up to 115lbs for five reps!! (And that isn’t counting the 30 pounds of muscle I put on during that time frame!) Crazy improvement in my triceps and chest from this exercise.

3.) Weighted Chin-ups/Pull-ups

Chin-ups and pull-ups are perfect exercises to build your back and biceps. Just like weighted dips, these can be very easy to add weight as long as you have your form down solid.

I’ve seen massive improvement in my back from doing these… so much so that I built up to over 100lbs on the chin-ups. This is a great determining factor of strength.

4.) Shoulder Press

The shoulder press can be one of the most difficult exercises to increase weight consistently. However, it does an amazing job at not only building the shoulders but working the traps, triceps, and abs for stabilization. This requires a great deal of strength in other muscle groups because it takes a lot to stabilize the weight as you’re pressing it.

5.) Bulgarian Split Squats

The Bulgarian split squat is a variation of a regular squat that’s done with one leg. With your rear foot elevated on a box (bench, chair, etc), it helps build your lower body muscles without the possibility of back injury that accompanies traditional squats – you can also train these without a spotter which makes them even safer than traditional squats. These Bulgarian Squats strengthen the glutes and upper leg muscles.

6.) Deadlifts

Now, last but not least, are the deadlifts. Contrary to popular belief, this exercise is more than just a lower body exercise and hits more than your hamstrings. Deadlifts work your hamstrings, glutes, all of your back muscles, abs, arms, shoulders, forearms, calves… you name it!