Barbell exercises with all the loaded weights at either end look tough to do, don’t they? But you will be surprised at how much fun and easy they are once you get the hang of it. Do you know how much you get to benefit from making them part of your routine at the gym? Read ahead!
Burning fat is almost always one of the main reasons we hit the gym. Aren’t we eager to exercise our late-night partying and binge eating away by working extra hard at keeping ourselves fit and healthy? Barbell exercises are really the go-to exercises for that very reason with an added benefit of full body muscles work-out.
What is a Barbell?
A barbell is a long metal bar of exercise equipment with adjustable weight disks attached to either end. They are usually used in weightlifting, bodybuilding, and powerlifting. It is also a non-competition piece of sports equipment often used in weight training for athletes.
Can you build muscle with just a barbell?
Since barbell exercises are designed to affect and build all your muscle groups, you can certainly build muscle with just a barbell. It is one of the most crucial and handy pieces of equipment you will find in every gym.
What muscle does a barbell work?
That is the wonder of barbells; you can work all your muscle groups with barbell exercises. It covers your chest, back, hamstrings, quads, stomach, and calf muscles. You can engage all your muscles when you work out with barbells.
How do barbells build muscle?
Barbells are the foundation of all resistance-based work-outs that help your muscles pull and stretch and get stronger and bigger in the process. They are a good exercise regimen to increase mass gains. When you can progressively lift heavier weights during your barbell exercises, it maximizes your muscle tension and helps avoid strength plateaus.
What does the barbell do to your body?
As you workout regularly with barbells, your body begins to repair and replace damaged muscle fibers with new muscle strands to promote thickness and growth of the muscles known as hypertrophy.
Do you really need a barbell?
Quite simply – yes, you do. A barbell is the best friend you need at the gym along with your determination and your focus to build muscles and burn fat to stay fit.
Best barbell exercises to burn fat
You can do wonders for your fitness with barbells. Not only are the barbell exercises easy and fun to do but also provide the motivation you need to keep pushing through at the gym because the results of doing them are spectacular.Here is a list of barbell exercises you can include in your routine at the gym to not only burn fat but also build muscle strength.
Squat
Doing squats with a barbell is an excellent way to exercise several muscle groups at the same time. It is one of the basic barbell exercises you can do even at home.
First and foremost, stand tall with your chest pushed up while holding the barbell with a tight grip across the back of your shoulders. Now squat down as low as possible and then slowly push back up with your heels to a standing position. You can do 12 reps without rest.
Benefits of squats
Stronger hamstrings – We need the strong hamstrings to jump, bend our legs, even walking and sprinting, and motions that propel our body forward. Stronger our hamstrings easier these tasks become. Squats help strengthen the hamstrings.
Rock hard glutes – squats directly affect and build the largest muscle on the human body responsible for power, the gluteus maximus. It also strengthens the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus that are responsible for our lower body strength.
Builds calf size – our calf muscles help in keeping our ankles stable, move quicker, and support proper mobility of our lower extremities. We need strong calves to jump, run, and even lift. Squats add strengths to calf muscles thereby increasing our range of motion.
Bench Press
Bench Press is one of the most beneficial barbell exercises for chest. You need to first lie on your back on the bench and grasp the barbell on either side with both your hands in a medium grip. Now lift the barbell straight up until your elbows lock in place and then slowly lower it back after a brief hold.
Benefits of Bench Press
Increased upper body strength – Bench press significantly improves the amount of weight you can press or push. It is often used as a measure of an athlete’s upper body strength.
Bigger Pecs – Pec Major adds glamour to your chest and is one of the main beneficiaries of bench press. This is the muscle that gets noticeably bigger and stronger when benching.
Strong triceps – Bench pressing with barbells helps build and strengthen all three heads of the tricep – long, lateral, and medial thereby improving your range of motions during lifts.
Deadlift
Deadlifts are the perfect barbell exercises for back and lower body. To do a traditional deadlift you first need to stand with your feet apart, shoulder-width, broaden your shoulders and push your hips back a bit before you bend forward and lift up the bar to your shins, then to your hips before placing them back on the floor.
During Romanian deadlift, you hold the bar at a hip level using an overhand grip and then slowly lower the bar toward your feet before coming to a standing position bringing up the barbell in front of your things.
Benefits of Deadlifts
While traditional deadlifts are terrific for your lower back, Romanian deadlifts are highly recommended for those who wish to increase their hip mobility to help with movements like bending down and squatting.
Hang Clean
Hang clean is one of the most powerful strength-building exercises you can do with barbells. Though not a competitive lift, hang clean is often used in preparation for Olympic lifting like the ‘clean and jerk’ technique. It comprises a series of quick and explosive power movements that creates momentum for the weightlifters to lift more than usual. It is the most effective full-body barbell workout you can get.
Benefits of Hang Clean
Improves overall functional fitness – You can certainly do better at your day-to-day activities when you include Hang clean barbell exercises in your gym routine.
Better balance and strength – You will see improvement in your gain and posture and most importantly you will be able to pick up heavier objects without breaking a sweat or risking injury.
Added to these there are several other benefits such as increased agility, speed, and body coordination.
Overhead Press
The overhead press is one of the best barbell exercises and Transition Personal Training to improve your mobility and build your upper body strength. Do check your shoulder mobility before you proceed with this exercise. Keep completely still before you slowly lift your arms overhead. Ensure that your arms can quite easily get in line with your ears and then lift the barbell off the rack and rest it in your hands around your collarbone.
To pass the bar over your forehead, squeeze butt and tilt your head back before driving up the barbell towards the ceiling. Return your head back to the neutral position and then slowly lower the bar back down onto your shoulders.
Benefits of Overhead Press
The benefits of the overhead press are several and varied. They increased the size and strength of the shoulder muscles, the triceps, abdominal muscles, lower back, and trapezius muscles besides improving your core strength and stabilizing your spine. This is one of the small barbell exercises you can include in your routine even while working out at home.
These are a few barbell exercises you can do either at home or at the gym to burn fat easily once you do them regularly.
