There is no mandatory exercise for athletes.
You don’t HAVE to power clean.
You don’t HAVE to bench.
You don’t HAVE to squat (although we won’t be friends).
Adaptations matter more than exercises.
That said, these 9 “buckets” cover most of what athletes need to develop: size, strength, power, speed, fitness and skill.
Fill all 9 and you’ll be flying.
I break down why each of these nine buckets matters in the video below. This article is the practical follow-up: the exercises I actually use to fill each one.
Now, onto the exercises.
1. Squat
If I could only pick one squat variation, I’d choose the high-bar back squat.
I could squat everyday. I just bloody love it.
But I don’t think everyone has to.
If I had to pick one:
- High Bar Back Squat
Personal favourites:
- Pin Squats
- Smith Machine Bulgarian Split Squats
- Box Squats
Also worth using:
- Zercher squats
- Hack Squats
- Front Squats
- Lunges
- Leg Press
Don’t get religious about the variation.
The goal is strong legs.
2. Sprint
If you want to get fast, you actually need to run fast.
Top-end sprinting gets my number-one spot. It’s arguably the most potent stimulus for getting faster and, importantly, something your sport rarely exposes you to.
If I had to pick one:
- Top End Sprinting
Personal favourites:
- Acceleration Sprints
- Hill Sprints
- Sled Sprints
Also worth using:
- Curved Sprints
- Sprints into Rapid Deceleration
- Multidirectional Sprints
- Down Hill Sprints (tiny decline)
- Assisted Sprints (tiny assistance)
3. Hinge
For athletes, my default hinge is the RDL.
(I perform/coach mine closer to a stiff-leg deadlift technique)
It provides better hamstring loading at long muscle lengths than conventional deadlifts.
If I had to pick one:
- RDL
Personal favourites:
- Stiff-leg deadlifts (greater hamstring bias than RDL)
- Smith Machine Single Leg RDL (2-1)
- 45degree Back Extensions
Also worth using:
- GHD Back Extensions
- Deadlifts
- Landmine Single-leg RDLs
- Single Leg Back Extensions
- Zercher Good Mornings
4. Pull
If I’m getting fat. My chin ups get worse. They keep me accountable.
That’s why I prefer them to lat pulldowns, but I don’t think they’re a “better exercise”.
Pick what you enjoy, but include one vertical and one horizontal row.
If I had to pick one:
- Weighted Chin Ups
Personal favourites:
- Seal Row
- Close Grip Lat Pulldown
- Machine Chest Supported Row
Also worth using:
- Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
- Wide Grip Pull Ups
- Bent Over Rows
- Pendlay Rows
- Neutral Grip Pull Ups
5. Plyometrics + Jumps
This category gets butchered online because jumping and plyometrics aren’t necessarily the same thing.
A maximal broad jump is an excellent power exercise.
A hop or bound involves rapidly storing and releasing elastic energy.
Both are valuable.
If I had to pick one:
- Sprinting
Personal favourites:
- Broad Jump
- Bounding (plyometric)
- Hops (plyometric)
Also worth using:
- Box Jumps
- Box-to-box Jump (plyometric)
- Zig Zag Bounds (plyometric)
- Double Broad Jump (plyometric)
- Single Leg Box Jump
6. Upper-body Power
I think most athletes’ upper-body power exercise selection is poor.
I want exercises that allow you to accelerate throughout the movement rather than having to slow down towards the end. That’s why I don’t love landmine punches or speed bench.
If I had to pick one:
- Smith Machine Bench Throw
Personal favourites:
- Partner Drop MB Throw
- Band Assisted Plyometric Push Ups
- Reactive Smith Machine Bench Throw
Also worth using:
- Clapping Push Ups
- Step-in MB Scoop Toss
- Landmine Throws (not punches)
- Depth Drop Push Ups
- Supercat Overhead Throws (I wish I owned one)
7. Push
Nothing unique here.
If I had to pick one:
- Bench Press
Personal favourites:
- Push Press
- Dips
- Incline Bench Press
Also worth using:
- Dumbbell Bench Press
- Close-grip Bench Press
- Weighted Push Ups
- Overhead Press
- Chest Press Machine
8. Conditioning
The best conditioning is playing your sport.
You can also set rules/constraints to bias conditioning: make the pitch bigger, fewer players or less rest.
However, most athletes still need extra conditioning.
In-season: favour off-feet work to reduce impact my favourite being the airdyne or wattbike.
Off-season: use more on-feet conditioning.
The method matters less than fitting it intelligently around the rest of your training.
I’ve got plenty of conditioning sessions I use with my athletes.
If there’s enough interest, I’ll put them into an email – just reply “conditioning workouts.”
9. Skill
I can’t give you a list of gym exercises here.
Your physical training develops the hardware.
Playing your sport develops the software.
As I tell my athletes: Be a PhD in Your Sport.
Study footage. Do hundreds of hours of skill work. Attend training. Reflect on games.
You can have the engine of a Ferrari, but if you can’t drive it, it’s pointless.
What Else Should Athletes Training? (The Extra’s)
Those nine categories cover most of the foundations.
But they aren’t an exhaustive checklist.
Your sport, position, injury history and individual weaknesses may justify additional work.
Here’s some common exercises I program:
- Bent-leg Hamstring: seated hamstring curls (2-1), GHR, nordics
- Neck: incline plate flexions, harness neck extensions, 4-way manual resistance
- Lower limb: Smith machine calf raise (2-1), seated calf raise, calf raise machine
- Trunk: GHR sit ups, anchored bent-over cable rotations, roll outs
- Hip Work: Single leg hip thrusts (machine), cable hip flexion, and kickbacks
- Leg extension: Leg extensions.
- Adductors: Adductor machine, copenhagen variations, zercher lateral split squats.
Stop looking for the perfect exercise
Athlete A does high-bar back squats.
Athlete B does Zercher squats.
Then they walk onto the field to compete.
Nobody cares which squat variation they did.
Can they produce force?
Are they fast?
Are they fit?
Are they robust?
Can they actually play?
That’s what matters.
Fill these nine buckets well and you’ll have almost everything you need.
Jack
