The “Single Best” Exercise for Each Major Muscle Group (If You Had to Choose Just ONE)

Most of us have very limited time and want to make the most of each second of training. As a personal trainer, I’m constantly asked about the best exercises for each muscle group to help maximize gains.

We see a ton of new machines and equipment each year that promise to target the muscles from unique angles and unlock new growth. Over time, lifters end up cluttering their workouts with ineffective exercises, leading them to a rut.

After training hundreds of athletes and sifting through even more research papers, I’ve landed on the ultimate exercises for each muscle group. These would be the exercises you’d do to keep yourself jacked if you were stuck on a deserted island with a barbell.

I took things one step forward and considered electromyography (EMG) data, which measures muscle activation, with respect to the biomechanics of each exercise for optimal muscle fiber stimulation.

In this article, I’ll reveal the eight most effective exercises you can do and explain the criteria leading to their selection. You’ll also learn how to perform them correctly to unleash new strength, size, and muscle definition.

Why Choose Just One Exercise?

Choosing a single exercise per muscle group might sound like a bodybuilder’s nightmare, but it makes you cut out the noise and focus on what truly works.

A streamlined routine pushes you to go full-send in each workout, potentially igniting new gains. It also makes tracking your progress easier. Most of my clients perform better in each exercise when we trim the fat off their programs.

I used EMG and biomechanics data to determine which exercises fire up your muscles most effectively while limiting injury risk and maximizing force production. Accessibility is also an integral part of this process. The movements must be suitable for lifters of all experience levels, and we must stay away from exercises that require specialized equipment.

I want to put out a disclaimer before we go any further. Don’t expect to see popular exercises like leg presses and cable tricep extensions on this list, as they often fall short in activation or scalability.

The goal here isn’t to please a particular faction. My picks will ruffle feathers, and that’s okay. Debate sharpens knowledge.

Selection Criteria for the “Best” Exercises

Choosing one exercise per muscle group can’t be a whim. I’m sharing the three factors that shaped my picks for full transparency:

EMG Data

Think of electromyography (EMG) as a lie detector test for your muscles. It measures electrical activity to show how hard a muscle works during an exercise. A higher activation means more fibers firing, driving growth and strength.

I relied on peer-reviewed data to determine moves that light up the major muscle groups like a Christmas tree.

Biomechanics

Biomechanics is essentially how your body moves. Each individual is unique, and so is their biomechanics, which depends on factors like limb length, bone structure, and joint mobility.

The best exercises maximize the range of motion, leading to optimal muscle tension while limiting joint strain. I leveraged my experience coaching hundreds of clients to choose moves that align with natural biomechanics, boosting efficiency and slashing injury risk.

Practicality

I won’t lie; there are some blockbuster exercises that fire up every molecule in a muscle fiber. However, they involve specialty equipment that can only be found in fancy gyms, which are out of budget for most.

I wanted to keep this list practical, so people can maximize muscle stimulation and subsequent growth with minimal equipment. Plus, the movements should be versatile enough for newbies and elite athletes.

With all this said and done, you must remember that no single move is a magic bullet. While my selections aim for broad effectiveness, they might not be the right fit for you due to injuries or other such factors.

The Single Best Exercise for Each Major Muscle Group 

Without further ado, below are the eight most effective exercises that you can make a part of your arsenal, including why these movements rule and how to nail them:

Chest: Barbell Bench Press

EMG studies show that the barbell bench press fires up the pectoralis major (the biggest chest muscle) like no other, making it the most effective exercise to build a Superman chest. This exercise also engages your triceps and front delts, developing overall pushing strength. (1)

Unlike its other variations, the flat bench angle optimizes the pressing line of pull, hitting your pecs through a full range of motion. It doesn’t strain the joints like the steeper incline angles when done correctly.

Common Mistakes While Performing the Bench Press

Many tend to bounce the bar off their chest, as it helps generate momentum in the most challenging part of the lift. This significantly increases the risk of sternum injuries, which can take a very long time to recover from.

You must also avoid flaring your elbows more than 45 degrees to minimize the risk of shoulder rotator cuff strains and tears.

Why Alternatives Fall Short

Dumbbell presses allow a bigger range of motion, but you can’t go as heavy on them as they lack stability. Barbell bench presses balance scalability and raw power, making it the most effective chest-building movement.

Back: Deadlift

There is something innately primal about lifting heavy stuff off the floor and putting it back down.

EMG readings confirm deadlifts bias the lats, traps, and spinal erectors while engaging the entire posterior chain. I’ve firsthand witnessed the power of this move in building strength and muscle mass and improving posture.

This hip-hinge movement involves generating force through your hips, which can improve your training performance and overall functionality.

How To Perform Deadlifts Correctly:

1. Stand upright with a shoulder-wide stance with a loaded barbell resting against your shins.
2. Flex your knees slightly, hinge at the hips, and grab the bar with an overhand or mixed grip while maintaining a neutral spine.
3. Brace your core and perform a triple extension to lift the bar off the floor.
4. Avoid leaning back at the top of the movement to avoid unnecessary lower back strain.
5. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for the recommended reps.

Why Pull-Ups Don’t Top It

Some people think that pull-ups are all you need to build a jacked back. However, this is a misconception. Pull-ups engage the lats but miss the mark when it comes to traps and lower back engagement. Deadlifts get you the best bang for your training buck.

Shoulders: Overhead Barbell Press

Broad and capped shoulders are an indispensable part of a jacked physique. They are also essential for carving a V-taper. If you could only choose one exercise to achieve this goal, it should undoubtedly be overhead barbell presses.

Pressing overhead follows your shoulder’s natural arch and promotes mobility and joint health when done with control. This compound lift also engages the triceps and core stabilizers.

Leaning back during the concentric phase is one of the most common mistakes people commit while performing this exercise. Brace your core and press the bar straight up to avoid shoulder impingement. You might need to work on your shoulder mobility to achieve this, so stay patient and perform mobility flows daily until you can perform this exercise correctly.

Biceps: Barbell Curl

It’s no secret that curling exercises are the most effective for building bigger, stronger, and aesthetically-appealing biceps.

Barbell curls target the biceps brachii and are simple enough to be done by lifters across the spectrum using varying loads. In fact, I’ve helped clients build sleeve-busting arms with nothing but this move.

Bicep curls optimize elbow flexion and forearm supination, hitting both bicep heads and maximizing the tension right where you want it.

How To Perform Bicep Curls For Best Results:

1. Stand erect holding a barbell with a supinated grip against your thighs.
2. Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides and back steady, curl the bar to chest level.
3. Pause and contract your biceps in the top position.
4. Lower slowly to milk the eccentric phase.

Triceps: Close-Grip Bench Press

Most people prefer isolation exercises when it comes to training their triceps. However, this might not be the most effective approach. EMG data shows close-grip bench press is the most effective movement for targeting all three tricep heads (long, lateral, and medial) in a single exercise. (3)

Furthermore, this compound movement also hits your chest and shoulders, ensuring overall size and strength gains.

This bench press variation involves a narrower than shoulder-width grip, shifting the focus to elbow extension, which is the triceps’ primary job. Lying on a bench for this exercise offers stability, allowing you to push heavier weights.

Keep your elbows tucked throughout the movement to load the triceps optimally and limit shoulder rotator cuff engagement. Hold the peak contraction for a couple of seconds for maximum target muscle activation.

Exercise Comparison:

Dips hit the triceps but stress the shoulders, whereas skull crushers and tricep extensions isolate well but lack the compound benefits and heavy loading potential.

Quads: Barbell Back Squat

Barbell squats are the king of all exercises. This full-body movement primarily trains the lower body, including the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, but it also engages the back and core muscles. (2)

Barbell squats mimic every movement, improving your workout capacity and performance in day-to-day activities.

A full ROM is key when trying to maximize muscle stimulation during this exercise. Aim for maximum knee flexion (hamstrings touching the calves) at the bottom of the movement to fully engage the quad and glute fibers.

However, beginners or people dealing with joint issues can limit the ROM and descend until their thighs are parallel to the floor.

Form Cues for Safety and Effectiveness:

You must maintain an upright torso throughout this exercise to load the lower body optimally and limit spinal strain. Keep your core braced throughout the exercise for better stability. I also recommend wearing a weightlifting belt while performing this exercise, as it improves thoracic pressure generation.

Leg presses hit quads but lack the core and stabilizer engagement of squats. Lunges build balance but limit heavy loading due to unilateral stress.

Hamstrings: Romanian Deadlift

Developing the posterior chain muscles is usually more challenging than carving the mirror muscles, as you cannot see them directly in the mirror while training them. This makes it difficult to establish a mind-muscle connection, which can hamper strength and muscle gains.

RDLs are a deadlift variation that focuses on the hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae muscles. Making this exercise a part of your training routine can improve your training and athletic performance.

Think of your hamstrings as chains that help you lift and lower the loads. Keep your knees locked in position to prioritize the hip-hinge motion.

Keep the bar close to your legs and maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement to load the hammies. Use a restricted range of motion if you don’t feel the target muscles fire at the top or bottom of your ROM.

Leg curls isolate the hamstrings but miss the glutes and lower back, rendering it inefficient if you only want to perform one exercise per muscle group. Nordic hamstring curls are great, but tough for beginners and hard to scale.

Core: Plank (Weighted Variation)

The weighted plank is the most potent core exercise as it fires up the entire midsection, including the rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis.

Its bodyweight variation might not be too effective for elite athletes, but the weighted version gets the most hardcore lifters to their knees.

Form Tips:

Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels while performing this exercise. Avoid sagging or piking your hips as they remove tension from the core muscles and transfer it to the shoulders and other secondary muscles.

Brace your glutes and core as if you’re prepping to take a gut punch to maximize core engagement.

Conclusion

The ‘single best’ exercise has been a pipe dream for a very long time, but not anymore. These eight simple, scientifically-backed movements will optimize your training and help achieve your training objectives in record time. Best of luck!

References:

1. López-Vivancos A, González-Gálvez N, Orquín-Castrillón FJ, Vale RGdS, Marcos-Pardo PJ. Electromyographic Activity of the Pectoralis Major Muscle during Traditional Bench Press and Other Variants of Pectoral Exercises: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(8):5203. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13085203
2. Slater LV, Hart JM. Muscle Activation Patterns During Different Squat Techniques. J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Mar;31(3):667-676. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001323. PMID: 26808843.
3. Daniels RJ, Cook SB. Effect of instructions on EMG during the bench press in trained and untrained males. Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Oct;55:182-188. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2017.08.010. Epub 2017 Aug 24. PMID: 28841536.

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