Do you think there are mandatory exercises for an athlete who wants to maximize muscle gains?

As bodybuilders, we select our exercises based on the tissues we want to stimulate, then use them as a vehicle to generate adaptations (manipulating load, sets and repetitions). However, it is also up to us to customize these movements to allow for more comfort, stability, mobility and overall hypertrophy.

It's no secret that most people in the gym do the most popular exercises:

• “Are you going to train chest? You have to barbell bench press”;

• “Are you going to train legs? You have to do barbell back squats.”

Sometimes it seems to be the law for a training plan, and a lot of people get attached to certain moves because they feel they should be mandatory. Yes, compound exercises are kings when it comes to building a good physique! The foundation of a great physique is built through these movements (squat variation, hip hinge, vertical and horizontal press/pulls), while isolated exercises are implemented to fill in gaps. However, the selection of an exercise must be done individually and not by the most popular route.

This social pressure can sometimes hamper our progress. We are putting these movements in our training when they are not always the most favorable to potentiate hypertrophy. The trade off is not always positive, having the cost of producing more fatigue and potentiating injuries, generating the same or even less stimulus in the target muscle than other exercises.

Of course if your goal is to get stronger at the bench press, squat and deadlift, then obviously you're going to have to do bench press, squat and deadlift. But if that's not the main focus, there are several other ways to enhance muscle gain.

Obviously this selection is very individual. If athlete A has incredible results doing barbell free squats, he should continue to do so. But it's not the law, and it won't be ideal for athlete B. Athlete B implemented an alternative (such as a squat hack), being able to intensify his training more, have more comfort and reduce the probability of degradation in the quality of movement.

By this I mean, if you want a great physique, bet on compound exercises. But be smart and specific in what you choose.