Over 20 years of working in the industry, I can honestly say this question is one of the most frustrating to myself and probably every other coach. Usually, the question is framed more as what’s the best exercise to get rid of my tummy? Or what’s the best exercise to get big arms? Or some other version along the same lines. The reason this is so frustrating however, is because it shows a complete lack of understanding as to what exercise is actually for. It’s common now to approach exercise like medicine. I have a bad knee, what exercise can I do that will fix that? I will do it for a few sets and all will be better right? Exercise in fact is what you are supposed to be doing to then avoid needing medicine and medical treatments. It’s a lifelong journey where you work in ever changing conditions and adjust based on your current situation.
The problem with the question…
Despite the somewhat misguided nature of the question, there is actually an answer though. There are certainly exercises that make a stronger case than others when it comes to delivering broad health and performance benefits. Although I am not just going to come out and say what they or it is. Unfortunately, more reading is required. The reason for that is that I believe it is essential that you understand that exercises do more than just work a muscle or group of muscles. They are strengthening movements, balance, coordination, blood supply, blood pressure control, energy storage, contractile strength, recovery speed, joint stability, weight distribution, tendon and ligament health and the list goes on and on and on… Too often now we think of training and exercise just as a way to burn fat or change how we look when really so much more has to be considered.
Olympic Lifting: The Ferrari Enzo
So, what is the most important area that a specific exercise should improve? That sort of depends on the person. I’d love to say strength, but strength is balance, coordination, neuromuscular control etc etc. So, when I say strength, I mean strength encompassing all the areas within it that can affect the output and that makes it a very all-encompassing term to use. Let’s say strength though and then ask the question as to which builds the most strength and also improves all the elements underneath that. If the judgement was made purely on power output, coordination and whole-body integration, Olympic lifts would make a very strong case. So, there you have it, end of the discussion, Olympic lifting wins and that’s that. Except, is it the best? I mean I’ve been training for years and I am happy to admit my ability at these moves is very limited. Even with all the training I have under my belt I would really struggle to have any kind of decent output using these exercises. So, although it’s the best, it maybe isn’t the most appropriate for those that aren’t able to put thousands of hours of coach led practice into place. I also think a Ferrari Enzo is one of the best cars but with a wife, 3 kids and 2 dogs it’s certainly not the best car for me and my circumstances.
The Finalists
So back to the drawing board. We need to look at something now that is actually practical for most individuals to be able to go into a gym and benefit from. It’s actually not that hard to get the right outcome here. The strength of Olympic lifting is that it utilises a huge amount of muscle in multiple movements. There is something in the fitness industry called a triple extension. This is essentially used to describe an exercise that involves multiple joints moving at the same time in unison with one another. So Olympic lifting hits this for sure, but so do a few of more commonly done exercises. The main two that hit this are the squat and deadlift where the ankles, hips and knees are all working together to generate big strength output yet maintain balance whilst exerting force. This is a big win and strong argument for these two moves to feature in the debate. They hold real world functionality. We are forever picking things up, sitting down and standing up. We rehearse these moves multiple times in a typical day. There is also one more positive for both of these which makes them seriously beneficial to most people. The pelvic tilt and hip hinge. Not many people know what these are or how they are beneficial but these two rarely focussed on aspects of movement are likely to blame for a large number of back issues. A hip hinge is simply bending at the hips and mastery of this means you use your hamstrings and glutes primarily and not the lower back. A pelvic tilt means tucking your hips under like doing a crunch or backwards to hyper extend. It’s not uncommon for me to find that a lot of people and in particular those with present or historic back pain can’t really move their lower back and tilt the pelvis. Instead, they tend to move the lower back as a block and lack the ability to move vertebrae individually. Both the squat and the deadlift must include pelvic tilt in order to achieve a neutral spine alignment (flat back) and heavily use the hip hinge motion too which allows for safer movement outside of the gym once mastered.
So, I’m pretty firmly set on one of these two. Personally, I hate doing squats and have never been the best at them, so I am trying my best to not allow that emotional aspect influence my final choice. The squat has a lot going for it/ the weight is loaded high and as you perform the movement you centre of gravity actually moves out from within your body. I’ve already mentioned about pelvic tilt and hip hinging. It’s great for aerobic benefits (Heart and lung-based improvements you would assume you can only get doing cardio) too given the major muscle contributors are far from the heart so blood pressure and cardiac output improve very well from squats. It’s also a big improver of the Central Nervous System (CNS) for multiple reasons such as amount of muscle involved, top weight being heavy, distance for signals to travel etc etc. However, for me, it’s still second.
Why Deadlifts Get My Vote
For me, when asked what’s best for most people? Deadlift gets my vote and the reason for that is simple. Not only does it provide all the same benefits as squats, the centre of gravity is outside the body, CNS improvements, aerobic improvements, hip hinge, pelvic tilt, even Latissimus Dorsi engagement etc, it wins simply because you can lift more. Deadlift will always be the strongest lift. You will be able to put more weight on the bar and if you can lift big weight and maintain good movement then you’ve done very well. As I said earlier, strength covers so many different aspects of health and Deadlift ticks all the boxes and even where it could struggle, the heavy weight will do you good anyway and if you can pull a big weight on a Deadlift, nothing in life is really going to compare or feel heavy to you.
How Should You Train Them?
Now when it comes to how we train, the generally accepted view currently is that for maximum muscle adaptation we need to be lifting a weight to within 3 reps of failure. If you stop and could have done 5 more, the weight was either too light or you did too few reps. Simple then, all you need to do is Deadlift until you can’t anymore. Wrong, Deadlift comes with risks, all free weight moves do. So does sneezing when using your laptop as I found out a few years back. The risk of injury is always around. As fatigue accumulates, movement quality can deteriorate, particularly during technically demanding free-weight exercises. This is one reason many coaches prefer low rep ranges. Unfortunately, the risk of doing the lift incorrectly or losing position increases dramatically the more reps you do. But we still need to lift to within 3 reps of failure. So that answers another question, do you increase reps or weight? On free weights always increase weight. BUT!!! Make sure you really take the time to understand the movement fully. It’s not just about picking up the biggest weight you can. So many positives come from even just learning to perform this exercise well before you get anywhere near your real max lifting capacity.
Final Thoughts
So, what is the best exercise?
As frustrating as it may be, the answer is still: it depends. The best exercise is one that is appropriate for your current ability, supports your goals and is performed consistently over time. If I had to cast my vote, the deadlift would edge it because of the strength, coordination and practical benefits it offers when performed well. However, the real lesson is that training is rarely about finding the perfect exercise. It’s about understanding movement, applying the principles correctly and continuing to improve over the long term.
Can you hip hinge well? Do you have good pelvic control? Are you training hard enough to challenge yourself while maintaining good technique? Are you progressing your programme in a way that supports your goals? These are the questions that matter.
Remember, training isn’t about finding the perfect exercise. It’s about consistently applying the right principles, challenging yourself appropriately and continuing to improve over time. Get those things right and the results tend to take care of themselves.
If you’d like support with your training, whether that’s in-person personal training or online coaching, I’d be happy to help.
Website: www.jamesonnfitness.co.uk
Email: jamesonnfitness@gmail.com