Resistance Training

Every resistance training entry in the Typed movement library. Each one is a full page: what it does, stage by stage, and what the evidence says.

• 21sThe seven reps that burn most are the seven that load the biceps least.
• Ab Wheel RolloutThe difficulty does not rise evenly as the wheel travels — the last few inches are far harder than the first foot.
• Archer Push-UpThe straight arm is not resting — it is holding a large part of your weight with the shoulder pulling inward towards your body.
• Arnold PressThe dumbbells start tucked in front of the chin and end facing forward overhead, so the shoulder rotates through the press instead of only lifting.
• Assisted Pull-UpThis is the one machine in the gym where a bigger number on the stack means an easier set.
• Atlas Stone LiftA sphere has no handle, so the stone can only be held by squeezing it against your body — and that decides everything about how the lift is done.
• B-Stance Hip ThrustThe rear foot is a kickstand, not a second working leg.
• Back ExtensionWhere the pad sits on your hips decides whether this is a lower-back exercise or a glute exercise.
• Back SquatHow deep you sit decides how much of the lift your hips take and how much your knees take.
• Band Chest PressThe band pulls hardest when it is longest, so the lowering half of every rep is helped rather than resisted.
• Band Pull-ApartThe band gets harder the further it stretches, and the further it stretches the closer the shoulder blades are together — so the resistance peaks exactly where the muscle is strongest.
• Banded DeadliftThe band pulls hardest exactly where your leverage is best, so the lift never gets easier on the way up.
• Barbell Bench PressThe bar path is not straight up — it travels back towards your face as you press, and that curve is what keeps the shoulders comfortable.
• Barbell CurlA straight bar fixes both palms fully turned up, and that is the position the biceps is already trying to hold before the first rep starts.
• Barbell RowThe set usually ends because your lower back stops holding position, not because your lats gave out.
• Batwing RowThe top of a row is the position most people can barely hold for two seconds; here that position is the entire set.
• Bear CrawlOnly two limbs are on the ground at any moment, so the body spends the whole time stopping itself from twisting.
• Behind-the-Neck PressThe bar path is shorter and straighter than a front press, but reaching it needs shoulder and upper-back range most adults do not have.
• Belt SquatHanging the weight from your hips puts the load below your centre of mass, so nothing is pushing your chest towards the floor.
• Bench DipYour hands cannot move once they are on the bench, so the shoulder has to absorb whatever the descent asks of it.
• Bicep CurlThe curl is hardest exactly halfway up and nearly free at the top, because gravity only ever pulls straight down.
• Bird DogRaising the arm and the opposite leg is the same crossed pattern the body uses on every walking stride, held still instead of moving.
• Bodyweight TrainingResistance training without equipment. The hard part is adding difficulty as you get stronger.
• Box SquatThe box makes every rep stop at exactly the same depth, and takes away the bounce that normally helps you out of the bottom.
• Bradford PressEvery rep stops just short of straight arms, so the moment where the triceps and the joint would normally take a rest never arrives.
• Bulgarian Split SquatThe bench behind you is not there to help — it takes the back leg out of the lift so the front one does almost all of the work.
• Cable Chest FlyA cable pulls sideways the whole way, so there is no point in the movement where the chest gets a rest.
• Cable CrossoverA dumbbell fly gives you nothing at the top; a cable is still pulling when your hands meet.
• Cable CrunchA floor crunch loses tension exactly where you finish; a cable does not.
• Cable CurlA dumbbell gets easy at the top because the weight ends up directly under your elbow; a cable never lets that happen.
• Cable Front RaiseA dumbbell weighs almost nothing at the bottom of a front raise; a cable pulling from behind your hip is hardest exactly where the dumbbell is easiest.
• Cable Hip FlexionA cable keeps pulling at the top of the movement, where lifting your own leg has stopped being hard.
• Cable Internal RotationSubscapularis is the largest muscle of the rotator cuff and the only one this movement trains directly.
• Cable KickbackStraightening the arm behind you finishes with the triceps as short as it ever gets, which is the hardest place for any muscle to produce force.
• Cable Lateral RaiseA cable pulls along its own line rather than straight down, so you can choose where in the arc the exercise is hardest.
• Cable Pull-ThroughThe resistance comes from behind rather than from above, so the glutes are still working at the top of the rep where a deadlift lets them off.
• Cable ShrugA shrug trains the top of the trapezius and essentially nothing else of it — the middle and lower parts of the muscle do a different job entirely.
• Cable WoodchopThe cable pulls in a straight line the whole way, so the resistance never drops off at the top of the arc the way a swinging weight would.
• Cable Y-RaiseThe arms finish overhead in a wide Y rather than out to the sides, and that angle is what shifts the work down to the lower part of the trapezius.
• Calf RaiseWhether your knee is straight or bent decides which of the two calf muscles is actually doing the work.
• Chest-Supported RowIn a bent-over row your torso quietly rises as you tire; against a pad it cannot.
• Chin-UpTurning your palms towards you lets the biceps pull from the position it is strongest in, which is why most people manage a few more chin-ups than pull-ups.
• ClamshellFeet stay together and the pelvis stays still, so the only thing left that can move is the hip rotating outwards.
• Clean and JerkTwo lifts share one bar: the first is limited by how hard you can pull, the second by how well you can hold weight overhead.
• Close-Grip Bench PressNarrowing the grip makes the bar travel further, which is why the same weight feels heavier than on a normal bench.
• Concentration CurlBracing the elbow on the thigh does two things at once: it stops you swinging, and it puts the biceps in a shortened position from the very first rep.
• Conventional DeadliftNothing lowers the bar for you — every rep starts from a dead stop, with no bounce to help.
• Copenhagen PlankThere is no weight to add — the difficulty is set entirely by how far your support point is from your hip.
• Cossack SquatOne leg squats deep while the other stays straight out to the side, which loads the inner thigh in a position almost nothing else in the gym reaches.
• Cross-Body Hammer CurlThe brachialis sits underneath the biceps and attaches to the forearm bone that does not rotate, so turning your wrist can neither help it nor hinder it.
• CrunchThe short range is the design — past about thirty degrees of curl, the hip flexors take over and the abdominals stop being the ones working.
• Cuban PressThree movements in one rep, and the middle one is where the weight has to stay small.
• Curtsy LungeCrossing one leg behind the other puts the standing hip where the side of the glute has to stop your pelvis dropping.
• Dead BugThe straighter the leg gets, the harder the stomach has to work to keep the back on the floor — and that is where people fail.
• Dead HangHanging with the shoulders relaxed and hanging with them pulled down are two different exercises that look identical from a distance.
• Decline Bench PressTipping the bench head-down lines the arms up with the fibres that run from the lower chest to the arm, and takes the shoulder out of a deep overhead position.
• Deficit DeadliftStanding on a low platform does not just add height — it forces your chest further down over the bar before you pull.
• Devil PressEach rep moves two dumbbells from the floor to arm's length overhead — a bigger vertical distance than almost any other repeated gym movement.
• Diamond Push-UpMoving the hands together does not add weight — it moves the effort onto the triceps by taking leverage away from the chest.
• DipAt the bottom the upper arms end up behind the body — a position almost no other pressing exercise reaches.
• Donkey Calf RaiseThe weight sits over the hips rather than on the shoulders, so the calves get loaded without the spine being pressed down on.
• Donkey KickKeeping the knee bent stops the hamstring helping, which is exactly why the glute has to do the lifting.
• Drag CurlIn an ordinary curl the weight gets easy near the top; dragging the bar up the body keeps it hard the whole way.
• Dumbbell Bench PressTwo separate weights means neither arm can quietly borrow strength from the other.
• Dumbbell RowLoading one side at a time means your torso has to stop itself twisting, so the trunk gets work the barbell version hides.
• External RotationThese are small muscles with a small job — holding the ball of the shoulder centred in its socket while bigger muscles move the arm.
• EZ-Bar CurlThe bend in the bar exists for your wrists, not for your biceps.
• Face PullThe useful part is the last few inches — pulling the hands apart and back past the ears, not just dragging the rope to your face.
• Farmer's CarryThe weight hangs at your sides, so every single step tries to bend you sideways and your trunk has to refuse.
• Fire HydrantLifting the knee sideways is the only part of this that counts — the moment your hips turn open, a bigger muscle has taken over.
• Flat Dumbbell FlyGravity pulls straight down, so the chest works hardest at the bottom and almost not at all at the top.
• Floor PressThe floor stops your arms before the chest reaches full stretch, so every repetition starts from a dead stop with no bounce and no help from your legs.
• Frog PumpTurning the knees out and putting the soles together takes the hamstrings and lower back out of a bridge almost completely.
• Front SquatHold the bar in front and the squat corrects itself — lean forward and it simply falls off you.
• Front-Rack CarryHolding weight against your chest makes breathing hard, and the walk usually ends when the breathing does.
• Glute BridgeIt is the rare hip exercise that is hardest at the very top, where the glutes are shortest.
• Glute KickbackIt is hardest at the end of the movement, which is also where the glute is shortest and weakest, so the weight has to stay light.
• Glute-Ham RaiseYour hamstrings have to bend the knee and hold the hip straight at the same time, which is why almost nobody can do one at first.
• Goblet SquatThe weight in front acts like a counterweight, so sitting down between your heels stops feeling like falling backwards.
• Good MorningThe bar sits on your back and travels forward, so the further your chest drops the harder your lower back and hamstrings have to fight.
• Guillotine PressIt is the flared elbow position, not where the bar lands, that decides how much the front of the shoulder takes.
• Hack SquatYour back is held by a pad, so the quads fail before anything else gives out.
• Hammer CurlTurning the palms to face each other takes the biceps off its strongest grip and hands work to the muscles underneath and alongside it.
• Handstand Push-UpYou cannot pick a lighter weight — the load is your bodyweight, so the way to scale it is to change the angle.
• Hang CleanStarting with the bar already off the floor removes the run-up, so the hips have to produce the whole lift from standing still.
• Hanging Knee RaiseThe abs only really enter the movement at the end, when the pelvis curls up — everything before that is hip flexors.
• Hanging Leg RaiseThe abs only start working once your hips curl upwards — everything below that point is your hip flexors lifting your legs.
• Heavy Strength TrainingLow reps and heavy loads train your nervous system as much as your muscle.
• Hip Abduction MachineWhen you walk, these muscles hold the pelvis level while the leg stays put; this machine asks them to do the reverse — move the leg while the pelvis stays put.
• Hip Adduction MachineThe adductors are the only major muscle group in the leg that no squat, lunge or deadlift trains as a prime mover.
• Hip ThrustThe weight sits across your hips and pushes down, so the hardest point is the top of the movement rather than the bottom.
• Hollow Body HoldYour hip flexors attach to your lower spine, so straightening your legs actively tries to pull your back off the floor.
• Incline Bench PressTilting the bench changes the direction your arms travel, and the chest fibres running down from the collarbone are the ones best lined up to move them that way.
• Incline Dumbbell CurlLeaning back leaves the arm hanging behind your body, so the biceps starts each rep already stretched — and you cannot swing your way out of it.
• Incline Dumbbell FlyA fly is hardest at the bottom and nearly weightless at the top — tilting the bench moves where in that arc the difficulty sits.
• Inverted RowDifficulty is set by an angle rather than a weight — walk the feet out and the same body suddenly weighs more against the bar.
• Isometric TrainingProducing force without moving, which builds strength mainly at the angle you held.
• Jefferson SquatWith the bar between your legs, one hip is in front of it and one behind, so the load tries to twist you as you stand.
• JM PressAiming the bar at the chin rather than the forehead keeps the elbows under load without the wrenching stretch a skull crusher puts on them.
• Keg CarryThe liquid inside keeps moving after you do, so the brace you set at the start is never quite the brace you need mid-stride.
• Kettlebell SwingThe bell is nearly weightless at the top; the work is at the bottom, catching it and reversing it.
• Kettlebell TrainingThe swing is a hip movement, not a squat or an arm raise — and that is most of the technique.
• Kroc RowSets of fifteen or twenty with a dumbbell heavier than most people row for five — the high reps are what make it a grip exercise as much as a back one.
• L-SitStraightening the legs is what makes it hard, because the further your feet are from your hips the more the position weighs.
• Landmine 180The bar is hinged at one end, so it gets heavier the further round and the higher you take it — the hardest point is out to the side, not overhead.
• Landmine PressOne end of the bar is pinned to the floor, so the floor carries part of the weight and the arc curves inward on its own.
• Landmine RowThe bar is fixed at one end, so it can only travel on a curve — the pull comes up and in rather than straight up.
• Lat PulldownIt is the one vertical pull where you can pick a weight lighter than you are — which is what makes it trainable before you can do a pull-up.
• Lateral Band WalkWhere you put the band decides how hard it is — around the ankles is far harder than above the knees, at the same band.
• Lateral LungeThe leg that stays straight is doing as much as the one that bends — it is being stretched under load.
• Lateral RaiseThe weight feels light at the bottom and brutal near the top, because your arm is a long lever and it gets longer the higher you go.
• Leg CurlBending the knee against resistance is the one hamstring job that squats and deadlifts never ask for.
• Leg ExtensionIt is hardest at the very top, because that is where the pad on your shin has the most leverage against your knee.
• Leg PressThe machine fixes the path of the weight, so the only thing left that changes what gets trained is where you put your feet.
• Loaded CarriesPicking up something heavy and walking with it — arguably the most transferable exercise there is.
• Machine Chest PressNothing has to be balanced, so the chest is what runs out — and you can safely keep going until it does.
• Machine Shoulder PressThe seat height, not the weight, decides where your shoulder is when the handles start — and that is the one setting people skip.
• Man MakerThe dumbbell you can use is set by the weakest movement in the chain, which is nearly always the clean or the press at the end.
• Meadows RowOne end of the bar is pinned in a sleeve, so the weight on the plates is not the weight in your hand.
• Medicine Ball SlamThere is no lowering phase — the ball leaves your hands, so every rep is pure acceleration with nothing to catch.
• Monster WalkThe band gets harder the further apart your feet go, so the hardest instant of every step is the moment before the foot lands.
• Mountain ClimbersThe hard work is done by the leg that stays back, holding the hips level while the other knee drives in.
• Neck CurlYour head already weighs about as much as a bowling ball, so lying with it unsupported is a real load before any plate is added.
• Neck ExtensionYour head already weighs about as much as a bowling ball, so the neck extensors are working all day — this just adds a little to what they already do.
• Neck Lateral FlexionSideways is the direction the neck is weakest and least trained, and it is the direction a head takes most of its unexpected knocks from.
• Neutral-Grip Pull-UpWith the palms facing each other the two forearm bones lie parallel instead of crossed, and that single change is the whole difference.
• Nordic Hamstring CurlThere is no lifting phase at all — the whole exercise is losing to gravity as slowly as the hamstrings can manage.
• Olympic WeightliftingThe most technical barbell training there is — and speed matters more than raw strength.
• One-Arm Cable RowA cable pulls with the same force wherever your arm is, so there is no easy point in the rep the way there is with a dumbbell.
• Overhead Carry (Waiter's Walk)The weight sits at the top of a long lever, so every step is a small correction the shoulder has to catch before it becomes a fall.
• Overhead PressThe bar has to get past your head, so your body moves out of its way and then back under it.
• Overhead SquatThe legs are rarely what stops the lift — the bar must stay balanced over the middle of the foot, and the shoulders decide whether it can.
• Overhead Tricep ExtensionOne of the three triceps heads attaches above the shoulder, so only lifting your arm overhead puts it on stretch.
• Pallof PressThe arms move so that the twisting force gets stronger, not so that anything about your body turns.
• Pause DeadliftStopping dead an inch off the floor removes the free bounce that hides how much force you can actually produce from a standstill.
• Pause SquatSitting still at the bottom for even one second throws away the bounce, and the bounce turns out to have been doing a lot of the work.
• Pec Deck FlyBecause the elbows stay at a fixed angle, the chest cannot hand any of the work over to the triceps.
• Pendlay RowThe bar returns to the floor between every rep, so nothing is stored up and each pull starts from a genuine stop.
• Pistol SquatThe leg held out in front is not dead weight — it is the counterbalance that lets you sit that far down at all.
• PlankHow hard a plank is depends on how long your body is between the supports, not on how long you hold it.
• Plate Front RaiseThe front of the shoulder is already working hard in every press you do, which makes this a small addition rather than a staple.
• Power CleanYou do not lift the bar to your shoulders — you throw it up and then drop underneath it.
• Preacher CurlThe pad puts the hardest part of the curl at the bottom, which is the opposite of a standing curl.
• Prone Y-T-W RaiseThree arm positions in one exercise, each aimed at a different part of the muscle sheet that holds the shoulder blade.
• Pull-UpIt gets harder as you rise, because the last few inches are where your arms have the worst leverage and the back has already shortened.
• Push JerkCatching the bar in a shallow squat rather than a lunge means the legs have to throw it higher before the body can get underneath it.
• Push PressThe legs do not press the bar overhead; they throw it upward so the arms only have to finish the job.
• Push-UpYour hands are fixed to the floor, so your shoulder blades are free to move — which a bench press does not allow.
• Rack PullWhere the pins sit decides what the exercise is — an inch or two of pin height is the difference between a deadlift variation and a shrug with a barbell.
• Rear Delt FlyThe rear shoulder is a small muscle sitting next to much larger ones, so the moment the weight gets heavy the back takes over.
• Renegade RowThe weight you can row is set by how well you stop your hips twisting, not by how strong your back is.
• Resistance BandsResistance that increases as you stretch it, which changes where the movement is hardest.
• Reverse CrunchThe abdominal part of this is only the first few inches — lifting the pelvis. Everything above that is hip flexors.
• Reverse CurlTurning the palms down takes the biceps out of its strongest position and hands the job to muscles a fraction of its size.
• Reverse HyperextensionThe trunk is pinned to a pad and only the legs move, so the hips do the work the lower back usually gets blamed for.
• Reverse LungeThe front foot never moves, so there is no forward momentum for the front knee to absorb.
• Reverse Pec DeckWith the elbows locked, the whole arm becomes one long lever, which is why the weight that feels right here is far lighter than on any rowing machine.
• Reverse Wrist CurlThe muscles on the top of the forearm hold your wrist steady every time you grip something, but they almost never get to move against resistance.
• Reverse-Grip PushdownTurning the palms up means the hand can no longer clamp down on the bar, so the weight you can use is set by how well your wrist holds position.
• Ring RowThe rings can go anywhere, so before you can pull yourself up you have to stop them moving.
• Romanian DeadliftThe bar stops at the hamstrings, not at the floor — how far it goes down is decided by how much stretch you can hold with a flat back.
• Russian TwistMost of the work is holding the lean, not making the turn — the side muscles are fighting gravity long before the weight moves sideways.
• Safety Bar SquatThe pads sit high and the weight hangs forward of them, so the bar is constantly trying to tip you over — and your upper back is what stops it.
• Sandbag CarryThe sand moves after you do, so every correction you make is a fraction of a second behind the load.
• Scapular Pull-UpNothing bends except the shoulder blades — the arms stay straight and the body rises only an inch or two.
• Seal RowWith your chest pinned to a bench, your lower back is doing nothing at all, so it can no longer be the thing that ends the set.
• Seated Barbell Overhead PressSitting down does not just remove the leg drive — it takes away the pelvis, which is how most people quietly get under a bar they cannot press.
• Seated Cable RowThe cable pulls horizontally the whole way, so unlike a dumbbell row the load does not go slack when your elbows reach your ribs.
• Seated Calf RaiseBending the knee takes the big calf muscle out of the job and hands it to the flat one underneath.
• Seated Dumbbell PressTwo separate dumbbells means each arm has to find its own path — nothing is holding them together, and nothing hides a weaker side.
• Shrimp SquatHolding the back foot behind you removes the counterweight a pistol squat gives you, so the ankle has to do what the outstretched leg used to do.
• ShrugsThe shoulders only travel a few centimetres, which is why the weight looks absurd next to the movement.
• Side PlankNothing moves, and that is the point — the muscles down your side are being asked to stop the hips sagging towards the floor.
• Single-Arm Dumbbell PressThe weight sits to one side of your body, so your trunk spends the whole set stopping you rolling towards it.
• Single-Arm Lat PulldownOne handle lets the torso lean and turn with the arm, so the lat pulls through a range a fixed bar will not allow.
• Single-Arm Overhead PressThe hardest part for your waist is the bottom of the press, not the top.
• Single-Leg Calf RaiseEven carrying your whole bodyweight on one calf is less than the load that same calf handles on a single running stride.
• Single-Leg Glute BridgeLifting one leg does not halve the base — it puts the load off to one side, so the hip has to stop the pelvis tipping as well as lift it.
• Single-Leg Hip ThrustLosing the second leg costs more than half the load, because one hip now has to stop the pelvis dropping as well as lift it.
• Single-Leg PressA two-leg press can hide a strength difference between your legs indefinitely; this one cannot.
• Single-Leg Romanian DeadliftBecause the weight hangs to one side of the leg you are standing on, the muscles on the outside of that hip end up working as hard as the hamstring behind it.
• Sissy SquatHips stay straight while the knees bend, which stretches the one thigh muscle that crosses both joints at both ends at once.
• Sit-UpThe muscles that bend your hip attach to your lower spine, which is why the second half of a sit-up feels different from the first.
• Skater SquatThe forward lean is not a fault here — it is what brings the glutes and inner thigh into a movement that would otherwise be nearly all quad.
• Skull CrusherBecause the long head of the triceps also crosses the shoulder, angling the arms back over your head is what loads it — a pushdown never gets there.
• Smith Machine Bench PressThe bar cannot go where your shoulders want it to, so you have to move the bench until the two agree.
• Smith Machine SquatThe bar cannot move forwards or backwards, so instead of the bar following you, you have to place your feet to suit the bar.
• SnatchNobody pushes a snatch overhead — the lifter drops underneath the bar and catches it there.
• Snatch-Grip DeadliftWidening the grip effectively shortens your arms, so the hips must start lower and the bar has further to travel to reach the same lockout.
• Spider CurlWith the arms hanging straight down, the curl is almost free at the bottom and hardest halfway up.
• Split SquatHow far apart the feet are decides whether this is a quad exercise or a glute exercise.
• Spoto PressStopping an inch above the chest holds you still at the exact height where a bench press usually fails, with nothing underneath to lean on.
• Standing Calf RaiseThe big calf muscle crosses the knee as well as the ankle, so keeping the knee straight is what keeps it in the game.
• Standing Knee RaiseThe hard part is the last few inches above waist height, where the muscle pulling the knee up is at its shortest and weakest.
• Static Split SquatBecause the feet never move, the length of your stance is a dial: short and upright loads the front thigh, long and leaning loads the hip.
• Step-DownThere is no push-off anywhere in it, so the working leg only ever gets to lower — never to drive.
• Step-UpThe height of the box decides more about which muscles work than the weight in your hands does.
• Straight-Arm PulldownWith the elbows locked, the whole arm becomes a long lever, so a light weight feels heavy and the lats get no help from the biceps.
• Suitcase CarryNothing about the carry looks like core training, but the weight is trying to bend you sideways for the entire walk and something has to stop it.
• Sumo DeadliftWidening the stance lowers the hips and shortens the trip the bar makes to lockout.
• SupermanThe floor limits how far you can go, which is exactly why this is a safe way to train the muscles that hold the spine straight.
• Suspension TrainingYou change the difficulty by changing your body angle, which makes progression very smooth.
• Svend PressThe plates are not the resistance — the plates falling apart is the resistance.
• T-Bar RowOne end of the bar is anchored to the floor, so the weight travels on a fixed arc and you only have to supply the pull.
• ThrusterTwo exercises share one breath — the bar sits on the throat at the bottom and finishes overhead, so breathing is squeezed at exactly the moment it is most needed.
• Tibialis RaiseThe muscle down the front of your shin does most of its daily work slowing the foot down, not lifting it up.
• Tire FlipThe tyre gets lighter the further it rotates, so the whole exercise is decided in the first few inches off the ground.
• Toes to BarMost people fail this because their hands or shoulders give out, not because their abs do.
• Trap Bar DeadliftStanding inside the weight instead of behind it moves the load in line with your hips, and that single change is what turns a back-heavy pull into a leg-heavy one.
• Trap Bar ShrugStanding inside the bar puts the weight in line with your own body instead of hanging out in front of it.
• Tricep Dip MachineOn a bodyweight dip the load is your bodyweight, take it or leave it; here it moves in five-kilo steps.
• Tricep PushdownThe cable pulls the same amount at every point of the rep, so there is no easy top where a dumbbell would go slack.
• Turkish Get-UpThe arm never bends and the weight never leaves vertical — everything else about the body changes underneath it.
• Upright RowTwo settings decide whether this is an ordinary shoulder exercise or an uncomfortable one: how wide you grip, and how high you pull.
• V-UpMost of the movement is the hips folding, not the spine bending — the abs' actual job is stopping your lower back arching off the floor.
• Walking LungeEach step is a landing before it is a lift — you catch your own weight moving forwards on one leg, then push out of it.
• Wall Ball ShotHolding the arms overhead at the end of every rep is what drives the heart rate up, more than the weight of the ball ever does.
• Wall SitNothing moves, so the muscle never gets the momentary release a rep gives it — blood flow is squeezed down for the whole hold.
• Weight MachinesThe fixed path removes the balance demand, which is both the advantage and the cost.
• Weighted Decline Sit-UpThe decline matters most at the bottom, where your torso is furthest from your hips and the weight has the longest lever.
• Weighted PlankWhere the weight is placed matters as much as how heavy it is — the further it sits from your shoulders, the harder your middle has to fight.
• Wide-Grip Lat PulldownA wider grip mostly buys a shorter pull, not a different muscle.
• Wrist CurlLetting the bar roll down to the fingertips before curling it back turns this into two exercises: one for the wrist, one for the fingers that do your gripping.
• Wrist RollerRolling up and rolling back down train opposite sides of the forearm, and skipping the way down halves the exercise.
• Yates RowStanding more upright shortens the lever your lower back has to hold, which is why heavier weights feel manageable here.
• Yoke WalkFor half of every step you are holding a near-maximal squat load on one leg.
• Zercher CarryHeld in the crook of the elbows, the weight sits out in front of you — so the abs have to stop you folding forwards with every step you take.
• Zercher SquatThe bar sits in the crooks of your elbows, and how long you can stand that is usually what ends the set.
• Zottman CurlOne dumbbell, two exercises: the way up is a biceps curl, the way down is a forearm exercise, and the weight is chosen for whichever is weaker.

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