The Best Full-Body Exercises for Strength, and How to Program Them

You want to get stronger, you have about three hours a week, and every program online has 14 exercises a day. The short answer: pick one solid exercise for each of six movement patterns (squat, hinge, push, pull, single-leg and carry), train them across three full-body sessions a week, and add a little weight or a rep whenever the last set feels easier than it did before.

The rest of this guide covers how to do that well: what a coach would cue on each lift, how to pick weights without guessing, and a 3-day plan.

Think in movement patterns, not muscles

Train each of these six patterns and you've covered every major muscle group, with no need for a separate "arm day". It also keeps your week balanced, so you're not doing six kinds of pressing and no pulling.

• Squat: knees and hips bend together (quads, glutes, trunk).
• Hinge: hips go back, knees stay soft (hamstrings, glutes, back).
• Push: weight moves away from your body (chest, shoulders, triceps).
• Pull: weight moves toward your body (upper back, lats, biceps).
• Single-leg: one leg does most of the work (hips, knees, balance).
• Carry: walking while holding something heavy (grip, trunk, posture).

The best exercise for each pattern

Squat: the goblet squat

Hold one dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest, feet about shoulder-width, toes turned out a little. The weight in front acts as a counterbalance, so it's easier to sit down between your hips with your chest up.

Elbows inside your knees at the bottom. Then push the floor away.

• Brace before you descend: a big breath into your belly, then tighten as if someone's about to poke you in the stomach.
• Keep your whole foot on the floor, especially the heels.
• Knees travel in the same direction as your toes.

Common fault: knees caving in as you stand up. Usually the weight is too heavy or you're rushing; slow the descent to three seconds.

Progression: box squat (sit to a bench) → goblet squat → front squat → back squat. Once you're goblet squatting about 30 kg (65 lb) for eight, your arms become the limit and it's time for a barbell.

Hinge: the Romanian deadlift

The Romanian deadlift (RDL) teaches the one skill every pulling-from-the-floor lift depends on: moving at the hips while your back stays still. Start with dumbbells or a barbell held at your thighs, knees softly bent.

• Push your hips back as if you're closing a car door with your backside.
• Keep the weight close enough to brush your legs the whole way.
• Stop when your hips stop moving back, usually just below the knee. That's your range, not the floor.

Common fault: bending the knees more as you go down, or rounding to reach lower. If you feel it in your low back instead of your hamstrings, cut the range.

Progression: dowel hinge drill → kettlebell deadlift from a low box → dumbbell RDL → trap bar deadlift → barbell RDL and conventional deadlift. We'd usually go to the trap bar before a straight bar: the handles sit at your sides, so the start position is easier to find.

Push: the dumbbell bench press

Dumbbells let each arm find its own path, which tends to suit the shoulders while you're learning, and they show you if one side is weaker.

• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down before you lower, and keep them there.
• Elbows at roughly 45 degrees from your body, not flared straight out to the sides.
• Feet planted, lower for two seconds, press back up over your shoulders.

Common fault: elbows flaring and shoulders rolling forward at the bottom. Go lighter until you own the position.

Progression: incline push-up → push-up from the floor → dumbbell bench press → barbell bench press. Add a standing overhead press once a week for your vertical push.

Pull: the one-arm dumbbell row (and a pull-up plan)

Brace one hand and knee on a bench, let the dumbbell hang, then row.

Pull your elbow to your back pocket, not your hand to your armpit.

• Keep your shoulder away from your ear at the top.
• Pause for a second with the weight against your side.

Common fault: twisting your torso to heave the weight up. If your chest turns to the ceiling, go lighter.

Row progression: suspension-trainer row (feet further forward to make it harder) → chest-supported row → one-arm dumbbell row → barbell row.

Pull-up progression: band-assisted pull-ups → slow lowerings from the top (take three to five seconds to come down) → one strict rep → sets of three to five. Your first strict pull-up can take a while, so keep rows in the plan while you work toward it.

Single-leg: the split squat

Stand in a long stride, back heel up, and lower your back knee straight down. Hold dumbbells at your sides or a kettlebell at your chest.

• Set a stance about hip-width side to side. Feet on a tightrope means wobbling.
• Keep the front foot flat and push through the middle of it.
• A slight forward lean of the torso is fine; it puts more of the work into the glute.

Common fault: too short a stride, so the front heel lifts and the knee takes all the load.

Progression: split squat holding a support → loaded split squat → reverse lunge → rear-foot-elevated split squat → walking lunge.

Carry: the farmer's carry

Pick up two heavy dumbbells or kettlebells and walk. It trains grip, upper back and trunk at once.

• Stand tall, as if a string is pulling the top of your head up.
• Crush the handles.
• Take short, quick steps instead of long strides.

Common fault: leaning or shuffling as you tire. When posture goes, put the weights down.

Progression: farmer's carry with both hands → suitcase carry with one hand (your trunk has to fight a sideways lean) → heavier or longer carries.

How heavy should you go? Use RIR

RIR stands for "reps in reserve": how many more good reps you could have done when you stopped. RPE (rating of perceived exertion) is the same idea from the other direction. On the 1-to-10 lifting scale, RPE 10 means nothing left, RPE 9 is one rep left, and RPE 8 is two left.

• Beginners (first two or three months): finish most sets with three or four good reps left.
• Intermediates: finish most sets with one to three reps left on your main lifts.
• "Good reps" means reps that look like your first one. When form changes, that's the real end of the set.

You don't need to go to failure to get stronger. The American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 position stand on resistance training found that training to failure didn't consistently improve outcomes for the average healthy adult. Stopping a couple of reps short leaves you fresher for the next set and the next session.

Judging RIR takes practice. To calibrate, occasionally push the last set until form starts to slip and compare that with your guess.

Warm up in 8 to 10 minutes

1. Three to five minutes of easy cardio (rower or bike) until you're warm.
2. Three moves, one round of 6 to 8 reps each: world's greatest stretch, glute bridge and band pull-apart.
3. Ramp-up sets on your first lift. If your working weight is 40 kg: 8 reps with an empty bar or light dumbbells, 5 at 20 kg, 3 at 30 kg, then start your working sets.

A 3-day full-body strength plan

Run it on non-consecutive days, like Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in about 50 to 60 minutes per session. Exercises paired with a letter (A1, A2) are done back to back: one set of each, then rest.

Day 1

• Goblet squat or front squat: 3 sets of 6–8, rest 2–3 minutes
• A1. Dumbbell bench press: 3 sets of 8–10
• A2. One-arm dumbbell row: 3 sets of 8–10 per arm, rest 90 seconds after the pair
• Split squat: 2 sets of 8 per leg, rest 90 seconds
• Farmer's carry: 3 trips of 30–40 m, rest 60–90 seconds

Day 2

• Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 6–8, rest 2–3 minutes
• A1. Standing dumbbell overhead press: 3 sets of 8–10
• A2. Pull-up progression: 3 sets of 3–6, rest 90 seconds after the pair
• Reverse lunge: 2 sets of 8 per leg, rest 90 seconds
• Side plank: 2 sets of 20–30 seconds per side

Day 3

• Trap bar deadlift or kettlebell deadlift: 3 sets of 5, rest 2–3 minutes
• A1. Push-up or incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 8–12
• A2. Chest-supported row: 3 sets of 10–12, rest 90 seconds after the pair
• Goblet squat: 2 sets of 10, rest 90 seconds
• Suitcase carry: 3 trips of 20 m per hand

How to progress it week to week

Use double progression: work up through the rep range first, then add weight.

• Week 1: pick weights that let you hit the bottom of the range with three reps left, e.g. dumbbell bench 3 x 8.
• Weeks 2–3: same weight, more reps: 3 x 9, then 3 x 10.
• Once every set hits the top of the range with at least one or two reps left, add the smallest jump available next session. That's usually 1–2.5 kg (2.5–5 lb) per dumbbell, or 2.5–5 kg (5–10 lb) on a barbell squat or deadlift. Then start again at the bottom of the range.
• Every five or six weeks, or whenever you're feeling run down, take a lighter week: same exercises, about half the sets, nothing near your limit.

Write down every set: the weight, the reps, and roughly how many reps you had left. If a lift stalls for three weeks, check sleep, food and stress first, then try a close variation for a few weeks.

How often should you train?

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that adults do muscle-strengthening activities using the major muscle groups at least twice a week, along with at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity. Adults 65 and over get the same strength recommendation, plus activities that challenge balance.

The ACSM's 2026 position stand agrees: hitting all major muscle groups at least twice a week matters more than finding a "perfect" plan. For strength it suggests 2–3 sets per exercise at around 80% of your one-rep max, which is where the 5–8 rep sets above end up.

So twice a week is the floor. We'd recommend three full-body sessions for most beginners and intermediates: more practice on each pattern, and a missed day still leaves you above the guideline.

If you have a medical condition, an injury or are pregnant, check with your doctor or a physiotherapist before you start a new strength program.

When it's worth getting a coach

You can make good progress on your own. A coach is worth it when:

• You're unsure of your technique and filming yourself hasn't helped.
• A lift has stalled for more than a month despite good sleep and eating.
• You keep skipping sessions when no one is expecting you.
• You're back from an injury, cleared by your physio, and want a plan built around it.

At Fit Factory there are two ways to get that. Our coach-led group classes include Build sessions (Full Body, Upper Body and Lower Body) where a coach runs the strength work and gives modifications for every level. If you want a plan written just for you, Personal Strength Coaching puts up to six people with one coach, each on their own program, with two or three coached sessions a week plus unlimited group classes.

Start this week

Pick Day 1, choose weights that leave three reps in the tank, and write down every set. In two weeks you'll have real numbers to beat.

If you'd rather learn the lifts with a coach watching, try our intro week: unlimited group classes for one week at $39 + HST, at Downtown (373 King St W) or Midtown (161 Eglinton Ave E). Book a few Build classes and bring your questions.