10 Best Old School Exercises for a Classic Workout Routine

This is very different from doing barbell squats, but I still recommend heading to the squat rack.

Your starting position is to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold on to an Olympic plate on your chest.

On the other hand, hold onto the frame of the rack for support.

Now squat down while leaning back as far as you can and push your hips forward.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, this will transfer most of the strain to the quads both as you lower down and push back up again [3].

3. Decline Push-Ups

Instead of doing a weighted push-up, a lot of old-school bodybuilders took the decline push-ups to the extreme.

Start by getting into a plank position with your arms straight and feet on a workout bench.

Now slowly lower your chest down as far as you can and push back up again.

You can even hold the bottom position for a second to add more strain.

Even the triceps of some of our bigger team members came under some serious strain.

And the higher you raise your feet, the better the effect will be.

Here is one of my favorite upper arm workouts, and if you’re one of my clients, then you’ll be used to doing these.

A study published in the Open Access Journal for Life and Environment Research found that the EZ curl variant elicited the highest EMG activity in the biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles, showing a 7% increase compared to the barbell curl and an 11% increase over the dumbbell curl [4].

Grab an easy bar and load it up with enough weight to limit your reps to less than eight.

Get comfortable on the preacher pad and adjust it to your height before you get started.

Slowly pull the bar up until your forearms are vertical, and then lower it back down again.

Eight reps of preacher curls should bring on serious burning sensations, and you want to struggle to complete the last one.

5. Straight Barbell Rows

It doesn't get much more traditional than this rowing exercise.

You can load up the Olympic bar with heavy plates and then lift it up into a standing position at the top of a deadlift.

From here, pull the bar up to your chest and slowly lower it back down again.

It’s a simple but highly effective movement that will target your delts and traps.

And when you avoid a lighter weight, you can achieve much greater hypertrophy than with a cable rowing machine, as stated in WebMD [5].

“Hypertrophy training focuses mostly on developing your muscles. You’ll focus on increasing the size of your muscle fibers, developing large muscles in areas that you work out the most.“

- Dan Brennan, MD

Athletes often get carried away with doing incline and decline bench presses, but sometimes it’s best to go back to basics.

What I generally suggest is that bodybuilders should work on their form and a full range of motion before making changes [6].

If you can lower the bar down to your chest slowly and push it back up slowly as well, with the movement taking 5-7 seconds, then you’ll achieve more than that by piling on more weight and trying to rush the reps.

Additionally, as a study from Plos One showed, unstable loads may increase the muscle activation of the deltoid posterior, biceps brachii, and external oblique [7].

Related Articles:

• Best Barbel Bench Press Alternatives
• How To Do A Close Grip Bench Press
• How To Do The Landmine Press

7. Calf Raises

One thing I’ve always found when looking at old-school bodybuilding videos from the 60s and 70s is that those athletes focused on their legs a lot more than people do these days.

And doing calf raises with variations of toes pointing inward and outward is one of the best ways to avoid the lollipop effect of skinny legs and a bulky upper body.

Rather than head to a chest machine, get yourself set up on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand.

With your arms extended above you, slowly lower the weights down to each side.

The slower you make this move, the more strain you’ll put on your chest muscles.

And that’s how bodybuilders used to get those huge pecs.

9. T-Bar Rows

This is another simple setup using an Olympic bar with weight plates only on one end.

Place the bar between your legs and slightly bend down to grab hold of it with both hands. Pull up the bar as close to your chest as possible and then lower it down again.

It’s a great way to stretch out the lats during the movement and pile on a heavy load for maximum effect.

I also like T-bar rows as they can be safer than bent-over dumbbell rows, and the setup helps you maintain better spine alignment.

This is a variation of the traditional one-arm extension, and I prefer doing it with both hands on a heavy dumbbell.

Lay down on a bench or lean up against the side of it with your back.

Bring the dumbbell up and over your head until your chest is fully stretched out.

Now pull the dumbbell back up over your chest while keeping your arms straight. It’s a fantastic way to shape your upper pecs.