10 Highly Effective Strength Exercises That Deliver Serious Gains – Muscle & Fitness

There are many cool and highly effective strength exercises and it’s impossible to do them all. Between all the variations of deadlifts, presses, rows, squats, and carries, you should never run out of ways to challenge yourself in the gym. But here’s the thing—progress isn’t always about variety; it’s about finding variations that fit your goals, level of experience, and body type. That’s where the concept of “same but different” comes in.

Take the deadlift, for example. It’s a member of the hinge family and is excellent for building total body strength. But pulling from the floor requires hip mobility and upper back strength, which not everyone has. Enter the Romanian Deadlift (RDL): a hinge variation that lets you build those key areas without pulling from the floor.

It’s the same but different.

With that in mind, let’s highlight ten highly effective strength exercises. These aren’t just hidden gems—they’re tried-and-true exercises to help you break plateaus and keep progressing.

Let’s dive in.

Why These 10 Highly Effective Strength Exercises

These 10 exercises were picked out of hat because they deliver results and are not seen in many programs. Each one adds a twist, helping you build strength, muscle, and power while addressing weak points and keeping your workouts fresh.

Take the Zercher Squat—a full-body challenge that strengthens your core and legs while forcing you to keep your torso upright. The snatch-grip deadlift is a grip and upper-back powerhouse, and the Push Press combines brute force with speed, making it a great strength and power builder.

The Jefferson deadlift is unconventional but trains balance and unilateral strength, unlike a few other lifts. With the front-foot elevated Bulgarian split squat, you tackle single-leg balance and strength head-on. The Pendlay Row keeps it simple and powerful for serious back development.

The JM press blasts your triceps for targeted lockout strength, while the Barbell Overhead Carry challenges your core and shoulder stability. Kirk shrugs and Meadows rows build rock-solid traps and lats, giving you the size and strength edge.

The 10 Highly Effective Strength Exercises For Serious Muscle Gains

When you are ready to step out of your strength comfort zone, these ten exercises will await you. Let’s dive in.

Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat involves holding the barbell in the crook of your elbows rather than on your back or shoulders, forcing your upper body and core to keep it there. If you love uncomfortable exercises, you’ll love this one. It builds core and upper back strength, leg strength, and power while promoting an upright torso, making it a more quad-dominant exercise. It may have you walking funny the next day.

You have been warned.

Programming Suggestion: Start with 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps, focusing on depth, core bracing, and keeping an upright torso.

Snatch-Grip Deadlift

The Snatch-Grip deadlift’s wider grip increases the range of motion and emphasizes your upper back, traps, and grip more. It means less weight, but it will improve your regular deadlift. It strengthens the entire posterior chain, improves grip strength, and enhances pulling power for deadlift performance. This will leave your forearms and upper back wondering what happened.

Programming Suggestion: Perform 3-5 sets of 4-6 reps with light to moderate weight.

Push Press

The Push Press uses a slight knee dip to generate power and drive the bar overhead, blending strength and power. Strict overhead pressing is an excellent exercise, but many people don’t have the core and back strength to pull that off, which is when the Push Press steps in. It builds explosive power and upper body strength while building bigger delts.

Programming Suggestion: Try 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps into your upper-body or full-body day, focusing on a smooth transfer from your legs to pressing overhead.

Jefferson Deadlift

The Jefferson deadlift is a unique deadlift variation in which you straddle the barbell, promoting improved muscle development and unilateral strength. While both legs are involved, the front leg plays a larger role in generating force, especially during the initial pull. It improves hip mobility and core stability and encourages a straighter pulling path, making it easier on the lower back.

Programming Suggestion: Perform 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps per side, focusing on maintaining a neutral spine.

Front-Foot-Elevated Bulgarian Split Squat

Front foot-elevated Bulgarian split squats elevate the front foot and increases the range of motion, putting a greater stretch on your working leg. This makes it harder to rise from the squat. You’ll love this exercise if you’re an all-pain, all-gain person. It enhances single-leg strength, improves hip mobility, and addresses muscle imbalances between sides. Don’t worry, you can thank me later.

Programming Suggestion: Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps per leg with dumbbells or bodyweight. Good luck.

Pendlay Row

The Pendlay row, named after coaching great Glen Pendlay, involves rowing the barbell from a dead-stop position. Your torso is parallel with the floor, not 45 degrees like with the bent-over row. Unlike the regular bent-over row, the bar starts and resets on the ground between each rep, ensuring an explosive pull. Doing that enhances the size and strength of the upper back and rear delts, improving pulling power.

Programming Suggestion: Include 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps as your main pulling variation for the day.

JM Press

The JM Press is a hybrid exercise, part skull crusher, and part close-grip bench press. It focuses on the triceps and helps improve lockout strength on the bench and overhead press. Because of the short range of motion and the involvement of the chest muscle, you can load up and build fantastic horseshoe triceps.

Programming Suggestion: This exercise is tough on the elbows, so limiting it to four—to six-week cycles is advisable. For strength, try 3-5 sets of 4-6reps or 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps for muscle.

Barbell Overhead Carry

The barbell overhead carry involves holding a barbell overhead while walking. It engages every muscle from head to toe, particularly your core and shoulders. Every step is a single-leg balance, strengthening core stability, shoulder strength, and total-body coordination. If you like a bit of fear in your workouts, this one is for you.

Programming Suggestion: Walk 20-40 yards for 3-4 sets, focusing on every move you make.

Kirk Shrugs

Kirk Shrugs, named after world champion powerlifter Kirk Karwoski, is a shrug variation in which you slightly bend your elbows and “row” the bar as you shrug till lockout, targeting the upper back, traps, and forearms. These muscles are essential for keeping a neutral spine while performing deadlifts, providing a ‘shelf’ for barbell squats, and improving shoulder strength. And yeah, your traps will explode in size, too.

Programming suggestions: These make for a great “finisher” at the end of the upper body training session. Perform three sets of eight 12 reps and flex away.

Meadows Row

The Meadows Row, named after the late bodybuilder John Meadows, is a single-arm row variation performed with a landmine. It stretches the lats and allows for a smoother rowing path. The setup will enable you to load this row heavier than a dumbbell to strengthen imbalances and add muscles to the upper back while increasing grip strength. Say hello to Wing City.

Programming Suggestion: This move is best used to strengthen imbalances and improve upper back muscle. Three to four sets and six to 15 reps per side work well.