Building muscle with only barbell exercises

To build muscle you don't necessarily need a lot of machines or dumbbells. One barbell is enough to build significant muscle. If you train in your home gym, it's almost impossible to have countless training tools anyway.

In today's article we will explore a great workout plan for beginners. With this, you can effectively build muscle using only barbell exercises.

Workout planning

We have selected the experience level "Beginner" and the gender "Male." The equipment consists of a barbell, an adjustable bench, and a squat rack.

You complete a medium-length workout 3 times a week. No muscle groups are focused or neglected. This way you build up your different muscle groups evenly as a beginner. The plan duration is 6 weeks. You can also train longer with this plan.

Your training plan

The plan is a full body hybrid plan. That is, you train your whole body twice a week and your upper body once a week.

Day 1: Full body

The first training session starts with squats. With this exercise you train your quads and glutes. Your lower back, abs, and calves will also be lightly targeted.

You'll move your body down as low as possible and then back up to the starting position.

The second exercise is the Romanian deadlift. This exercise focuses on the hamstrings.

In the start position your body is upright and your legs are very slightly bent.

By pushing your hips backward, you move the bar down in a line over the center of your feet until your hamstrings are maximally stretched.

By moving your hips forward, you move the bar back to the start position.

The next exercise, the incline bench press, will primarily target your chest.

In the starting position, your arms should be extended or slightly bent. Lower the bar to the top of your sternum and then push it all the way back up.

Next, work out your upper back with the bent-over single-arm wide-grip row.

Grasp the top of the bar with one hand. With your upper arm pointing outward, bring the bar all the way up and pull your shoulder back. This will ensure a full contraction. Return the bar to the starting position by lowering it and bringing your shoulder forward.

The next exercise for your upper back is seal rows with an underhand grip.

In this exercise you lie down on the bench facing the ground. In the starting position your arms are extended and your shoulders point forward.

Move the bar as high as possible towards your belly button and pull your shoulders back. Then lower the bar back down to the starting position and bring your shoulders forward again.

Next come the upright rows, which will train your lateral delts.

Bring your upper arms up until they form a 90° angle with the torso. Then return your upper arms to the starting position in a controlled manner.

The last exercise of the first training session is the standing calf raise.

In the starting position, your body is so far down that your calf muscles are stretched to the maximum. By extending your feet, you push your body up as far as possible and then lower it back down to the starting position.

Day 2: Upper body

The second training session begins with the bench press.

This exercise is performed almost exactly like the incline bench press. However, the bench remains straight and the bar is lowered onto the lower part of the sternum rather than the upper part.

With the standing shoulder press you primarily train your anterior delts.

In the starting position, the bar touches the upper part of your sternum.

Press the bar up close to your face, in a straight line if possible. As you do so, bring your head forward under the bar. Then lower the bar back to the start position and push your head back slightly.

The third exercise is seal rows.

The execution is identical to the seal rows with underhand grip. However, your palms face backward and not forward.

Next come the bench pullovers, which will train your lats.

The bar is in the starting position in a line above your neck. Move the bar backward until your lats are fully stretched. Then bring the bar forward again to the start position.

The bench dips train your triceps.

Place two benches with similar heights parallel to each other.

Lower your body until your shoulders are at about elbow height and push yourself back up to the starting position. If the exercise becomes too easy for you over time, you can place weight plates or similar on your legs as additional weight.

With the last exercise, the spider curls, you train your biceps.

Lie on the bench facing down so that your chin is at the top of the backrest. In the starting position, your arms should point vertically downward and your palms should be facing forward. Raise the bar all the way up in a controlled manner without swinging and then lower it back down to the starting position.

Day 3: Full body

The first exercise of the last training session is the deadlift.

The execution here will be similar to that of the Romanian deadlift. However, your legs are not bent and your body is not upright.

Instead, you move your glutes down until your back is straight or slightly arched. Your starting position is now lower than in the Romanian deadlift.

Before the actual movement begins, grip the bar firmly to build up tension. This is followed by pushing your hips forward and backward.

After that you do front squats.

Unlike with normal squats, you don't place the bar on your traps, but rather on your anterior delts. To do this, cross your arms or use the more challenging weightlifting grip.

The third and fourth exercises are bench pullovers and the bench press (info on how to do them can be found above).

You will then train your biceps with barbell curls.

In the starting position, your arms should be extended and your palms should face forward. Guide the bar all the way up without swinging and lower it again in a controlled manner.

Next come the skullcrushers.

The bar should be in a line above your shoulders. Lower the bar almost to your forehead and then press it back to the starting position.

Finish out the workout with sit-ups.

Fix your feet on the floor and bring your upper back as close as possible to your knees until your upper body is perpendicular to the floor. Then move your upper back back to the start position.