In a previous article in this series I defined the purpose of exercise as causing meaningful results which are the product of serial adaptations; this is the idea of TRAINING Not Exercise.
In the gym, we drive serial adaptations through training. These adaptations occur when we repeat exercises challenging the body’s physical and neurological systems, leading to measurable, meaningful improvements. Training is planned and organized exercise to drive adaptations towards a client/athletes purpose.
Particular exercises are essential to truly maximize these adaptations—chief among them are the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.
When performed with a barbell, these movements represent the pinnacle of force output and play a critical role in developing functional fitness, building muscle, and increasing metabolism.
Why the Squat and Bench Press for Functional Training?
The human body evolved to produce maximum force during two key compound movements: hip extension + knee extension (lower body) and shoulder flexion + elbow extension (upper body), which make up the Squat (former) and Bench Press (later). These are the actions in which we engage the most muscle, develop maximum regional power (lower and upper body separately), and develop maximum force.
To display maximum force and power with these movements, we must use the optimal loading mechanism: the Olympic Barbell. The barbell's ergonomic design aligns its vertical force line with the athlete's center of balance and the body’s midline while placing the bulk of its mass distal to your body (at the ends of the bar) during a lift, making it the most efficient tool for loading the human biomechanical and neurological system with external force. No matter how much weight you pile on the bar, you still spatially deal with the exact mechanism (a 2.8 cm diameter bar). The barbell unites your whole body into one bilateral system of force production.
When combined, the Squat and Bench Press represent how the body produces force in a manner that aligns with our evolutionary survival mechanisms. These movements are the way we project Force away from the body.
The Squat and Bench Press (and Deadlift) are ground-based and involve the kind of force production that we display in survival situations.
In the big three, you must generate high-maximum force while standing on your feet by driving upwards against the ground while balancing yourself, the way you would in any real-life situation.
Imagine being trapped in a sealed space and needing to break free. The squat action (with legs offset for balance in the sagittal plane), combined with the bench press motion, would be how you'd most effectively push open a heavy door or escape a dangerous situation (also think of a football offensive lineman blocking and opponent or a defensive lineman pushing through the block).
Suppose you add a rotating action in the trunk between your lower body's squatting action and your upper body's pressing action. In that case, you replicate the mechanics of a punch or a heavy throw—actions critical in combat or survival situations like self-defense or hunting.
It is clear that being able to expel things forcefully from ourselves is essential to self-preservation in dangerous situations.
These movements are primal. Humans had to survive before they could dance, pose, write, play musical instruments, type, or scroll on the phone.
Our biological recovery and growth mechanisms respond most strongly to actions and phenomena crucial for survival. This primal biological adaptative response explains why squatting and pressing have the most adaptational potential for training.
The chronological intersection of the primality of squatting and pressing with the modern invention of the Olympic Barbell and its precise incremental loading system (weights) represents the perfection of purposefully driving biological adaptation, which we call training.
The Importance of the Deadlift
While the Squat and Bench Press form the foundation of strength training, the Deadlift holds a special place for advanced athletes. It represents the body’s maximum force maximorum (maximum of all maximums)—the ultimate test of pure strength.
The Deadlift also has a strong evolutionary social survival aspect. Imagine if someone was trapped under a car after an accident and you had to bend over, grasp the wreckage, set your back, and pull as hard as possible to free the person; this is the Deadlift (maximum hip and knee extension action).
When performing a deadlift, the body’s muscles work to lift the heaviest load possible. The Deadlift is the movement for athletes striving to push their total physical limits.
This is why these three lifts became the sport of Powerlifting- the sport of Absolute Strength:
Squat: Lower Body Force Maximum
Bench Press: Upper Body Force Maximum
Deadlift: Total Body Force Maximum Maximorum
Trainability and Precision
The Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift are the cornerstone exercises of any training program because of their supreme trainability compared to other exercises. These exercises offer precise control over all the key variables needed for progressive development all strength abilities.
With a barbell, you can manipulate weight, velocity, and reps in minute increments, allowing for finely tuned adaptations across the physiological ability spectrum.
Speed and Power
For example, by adjusting intensity (as % of One Rep Maximum) and limiting Reps Per Set to control the negative effects of fatigue on velocity, you can elicit the exact response needed to develop different abilities on the Velocity-Power-Force Continuum:
Reactive Ability can be developed using very light weights with minimal-suboptimal reps, developing maximal velocity.
Speed Strength is developed using light to moderate weights and minimal-suboptimal reps, developing significant velocity with considerable force.
Strength Speed is developed using moderately heavy-heavy weights and minimal-suboptimal reps, developing significant force with considerable velocity.
Regional Power is developed maximally with 70% of maximum in the bench press and squat (expressed as Strength Speed)
Peaking Rate of Force Development
Barbell squats and bench presses are the primary means of developing the underlying fundamental abilities of power, which peak the main abilities of the V-P-F continuum.
We can use the StratFit Explosive Strength device (automatically unloading weight system) to overload the eccentric (negative) phase of the squat or bench press to cause a neuromuscular “explosion” out of the hole to peak Starting Strength and Accelerating Strength—>Explosive Strength, the abilities underlying speed strength and strength speed.
Training these fundamental abilities increases your Rate Of Force Development, increasing your potential explosiveness in throws, punches, kicks, jumps, and all other sporting actions.
The StratFit Acceleration strength device (chains) can also be added to the bar to layer a Force Acceleration neuromuscular pattern onto the Explosion.
When each chain link gradually reloads onto the barbell (increasing weight with each link) in the concentric phase (upstroke), and you maintain a stable external velocity, your muscles must accelerate force production, training you to follow through with full power on all your movements.
Strength, Mass, and Endurance
Additionally, the bug three lifts are critical for developing strength across the Force-Structure-Vegetative Continuum. For example:
Absolute Strength can be developed using submaximal-maximal weights with optimal-maximal reps, driving neural integration, quick energy (phosphagen) storage, and bone density.
Sarcomeric/Myofibrillar Hypertrophy (muscular protein growth) is achieved using moderately heavy to heavy weights and optimal-maximal reps, targeting structural muscle mass.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (the bodybuilding "pump") is developed using moderate weights for optimal-maximal reps.
Muscular Endurance is built with light weights and optimal-maximal reps, which help increase lactate tolerance and endurance (the “burn”).
Foundational Core Strength
In common gym lingo, we refer to the trunk muscles as the "core." The core is are responsible for stabilizing and supporting your spine, pelvis, and torso. The core's primary function is to maintain posture, balance, and stability while the upper and lower body limbs articulate movment for the body to produce force.
During squats, the core muscles must produce a very strong isometric contraction to stabilize the spine so the working muscles of the lower body can transfer force to and move a heavy barbell while balancing on your own two feet. Moving a heavy weight on your shoulders with your legs requires turning your truck into a solid bar.
A similar effort in the trunk occurs with the Deadlift. Squatting and Deadlifting are foundational to a strong core. Hanging leg raises, crunches and other direct core exercises supplement a functional barbell program.
Infinite Trainability
The beauty of using a barbell for these exercises is its almost infinite trainability, which allows it to elicit biological responses across the entire physiological ability/attribute spectrum.
The ability to adjust weights in such small increments means a lifter can progressively overload their muscles and nervous system over the course of their entire career—and even their lifetime. This allows for continuous improvement to all of your organism’s subsystems and every movement ability, from absolute strength to muscular endurance.
All powerful movements (like those executed in sports) require a certain level of electrical neuromuscular output. The Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift represent your body’s absolute output; they are your 100%. Every other movement you do is a percentage of this 100.
The big three lifts are the rising tide of the neuromuscular system, raising the boats of all your other movements. The body’s function refers to the neurological aspect. By increasing the integration and extension of your neuromuslcular system (increasing the size the active network) with the big three you potentially give yourself more active motor units in your sport-specifc actions. Building and maintaining absolute strength with the big three while incorporating special exercises to trans-mutate it into specific strength is the essence of functional training.
The big three perfect the body's function and are also the best means of developing its structural aspects for performance.
When you train the body’s primary survival movements (shoulder flexion-elbow extension (Bench) and hip extension-knee extension (Squat) ) through an extensive range of motion with heavy weight, you naturally develop rational-optimal muscular hypertrophy in the most advantageous way for performance.
These exercises perfect the leverage your muscles can place on the skeletal system for movement. They turn your musculoskeletal system into an optimal force and power production mechanism, which will be most effective in executing all movements in sports and life.
When you progressively improve your body's functional (neuromuscular) and structural (bones, joints, muscles) systems, you improve your total contractile capacity, making every movement you make or pose you hold easier. This not only improves athletic performance but also day-to-day well-being.
Conclusion
In summary, the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift are the foundation of any effective functional training program. A program with these lifts as the foundation is essential for maintaining movement hygiene throughout life. With the barbell as the primary tool, they provide the most efficient process for developing your body's health, wellness, and performance capacity. These exercises are not just essential for powerlifters; they represent the key movements that can elicit meaningful, lasting adaptations for anyone seeking to live their life to the fullest, regarless of age or purpose.
Stay Tuned For The Whole Picture
This article starts a blog series detailing the ins and outs of fitness training science. If you're a training client or athlete or a potential one, this series will provide you with some info so you will go into your fitness journey armed with the power of knowledge- you'll know what needs to happen. If you are a trainer or coach, this will give you more insight into your process for improving your client's lives and your athlete's performance. The schematic below shows the whole picture of training science; the highlighted part is the idea in this article. Stay tuned to learn all the ins and outs to take your practice to the next level and beyond!
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