8 movement patterns to include in your training program

The type of program you follow will greatly depend on your fitness experience, abilities, goals, and training availability. This is why I recommend refraining from following a random IG fitspos workout routine. But, when you do have a specified program for YOU, based on what I mentioned above, there are several types of exercises to consider. This goes beyond just saying "quads" or "compound exercises". Background Info When following a program, you/your trainer will likely (hopefully) have you on a plan that is built for 6-12 months. During this time, you would go through phases of Stabilization, Endurance, Hypertrophy, Strength, and Power. Note that Stabilization and Hypertrophy could potentially be omitted based on your fitness level and goals. Each of these phases would last anywhere between 4-16 weeks. Within each of these phases, you would still focus on having compound, accessory, and isolation exercises. I talk more about compound and isolation exercises here. To get even more specific, you would follow a workout split based on your training availability and goals. Examples could include: Full Body / Full Body / Full Body Push / Pull / Push / Pull Lower / Upper / Lower / Full Body + many other variations Within the entirety of your program, regardless of split and likely regardless of frequency, you will want to train the following movements both bilaterally (both limbs) and unilaterally (single-sided). *Notice I say movements, not muscles. Movement patterns to include in your program: Vertical Push Shoulder Press Incline Press Horizontal Push Bench Press Push-Ups Vertical Pull Lat Pull Down Pull-Ups Horizontal Pull Rows Inverted Rows Hinge Deadlift Hip Thrust Glute Bridge Good Morning Squat Squats Bulgarian Split Squats Lunges Lateral Lunges Carry Farmer Carry Suitcase Carry Overhead Carry Core Plank (Prone) Dead Bug (Supine) Wood Chop (Rotation) Cable Anti-Rotation Hold (Anti-Rotation) Hopefully you will see most or all of these exercises in different variations throughout your program. Assuming the volume of your strength training is not more than 4x/week, you likely won't see all of these exercises in one week or even in one phase due to specificity. Learn more about my online programming here.