Filter strength exercises by muscle group and equipment, then build a simple workout programme.
Choose muscle groups, equipment, goal, and level to see suitable exercises and a simple programme outline.
This tool gives general strength training suggestions, not personalised medical, physiotherapy, or coaching advice.
Always start conservatively and prioritise technique over load. Consider working with a qualified trainer or physiotherapist if you are new to strength training or are returning after injury.
Filters out advanced moves.
2 exercises match your filters
Place your hands on a sturdy bench, step, or low wall and walk your feet back into a straight body line. Higher hand positions reduce the load and are a common way to build up to a floor push-up.
Set your hands a little wider than your shoulders, keep your body in one straight line from heels to head, and lower your chest toward the floor while your elbows track back at about a 45-degree angle.
Beginner full body · Beginner · Standard (5–6)
Spend 5–8 minutes on light cardio (brisk walking, easy cycling, or rowing), then run through 1–2 light warm-up sets of the first compound lift before adding load. The aim is to raise body temperature, ease into the patterns of the session, and give the joints a chance to settle.
Many people add a small amount of load, an extra rep, or a slightly harder variant from one session to the next, rather than chasing large jumps. Small, gradual increases over weeks and months are what tends to shift strength forward.
2–3 non-consecutive days per week. Sample week: Mon — full body, Wed — full body, Fri — full body.
This tool gives general strength training suggestions, not personalised medical, physiotherapy, or coaching advice. Programme suggestions are general guides — load, range of motion, and exercise selection should be tailored to your ability and any medical advice you have received.
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The Strength Training Exercise Finder filters a curated list of about 60 strength exercises by muscle group and equipment, then assembles a simple programme outline using general set, rep, and rest ranges from your chosen goal. It is a general reference for planning a session, not personalised training advice.
If you are pregnant or post-natal, have a heart condition, high blood pressure, recent surgery, back pain, joint pain, an injury, or any other medical condition, please consult a GP, physiotherapist, or other qualified healthcare professional before starting a new training programme. Older adults, complete beginners, and people returning to exercise after a long break may benefit from supervised sessions for the first few weeks.
This tool is not a personalised training plan. It selects exercises from a curated list and applies general set, rep, and rest ranges. It does not assess your individual strength, mobility, injury history, or training history.
For the nutrition side of training, see the TDEE Calculator, the Protein Calculator, and the Macro Calculator.
This page helps you narrow down a long list of strength exercises into something workable for a single session. Pick the muscle groups you want to target, tap the equipment you actually have, and the result panel shows matching exercises grouped by muscle group and equipment type. The programme outline assembles a deterministic ordered list with general set, rep, and rest guidance from your chosen goal — the same inputs produce the same suggestions on every render.
The filters above narrow a curated list of about 60 exercises. Each entry is tagged with one or more primary muscle groups, a single equipment type, a difficulty level, a movement pattern, and short original technique and common-mistake notes. The result panel groups matches first by muscle group, then by equipment type.
The programme outline applies a small deterministic algorithm: for each selected muscle group it picks compound-first, then matches difficulty to your experience level, caps the per-group count, and truncates the final list to the chosen session length. Set, rep, and rest ranges come from the selected goal. No randomisation is used, so the same inputs return the same suggestions.
Most well-rounded sessions cover the major movement patterns rather than chasing a single muscle. A common starting point is to pick one push, one pull, one squat or lunge, one hinge, and one core or carry exercise, varying the equipment week to week as suits the session.
Bodyweight options in the curated list include push-ups and incline push-ups for the chest; inverted rows, pull-ups, and chin-ups for the back; pike push-ups for the shoulders; bodyweight squats, lunges, and glute bridges for the lower body; planks, side planks, dead bugs, and bird dogs for the core; standing calf raises for the calves; bench dips and close-grip push-ups for the triceps; and dead hangs for grip endurance. A bodyweight-only filter is a useful way to plan home or outdoor sessions.
Dumbbell options in the list cover most major movements: dumbbell bench press and dumbbell fly for the chest; one-arm dumbbell rows for the back; dumbbell shoulder press and lateral raises for the shoulders; dumbbell biceps curls and overhead triceps extensions for the arms; goblet squats, dumbbell forward lunges, and dumbbell Romanian deadlifts for the lower body; and farmer's carries for grip and core. A pair of adjustable dumbbells covers a lot of ground if you train at home.
Barbell options include the bench press for the chest, bent-over row for the back, overhead press for the shoulders, barbell curl for the biceps, back squat for the lower body, Romanian deadlift and barbell hip thrust for the posterior chain, and the conventional deadlift as a full-body compound. The compound lifts in particular reward time spent learning the pattern at lighter loads first.
Machine options in the curated list include the chest press machine, lat pulldown, machine shoulder press, leg press, leg extension, hamstring curl machine, back extension bench, and seated calf raise. Machines are commonly used by beginners because they constrain the movement pattern and make load adjustments simple.
Resistance band options include band chest press, band row, band lateral raise, band biceps curl, band squat, band glute bridge, and band leg curl. Bands travel well, suit home training, and provide useful resistance for beginners and people returning to training after a break.
Set and rep ranges vary by goal. General strength is commonly trained at lower reps with longer rests, hypertrophy at moderate reps with moderate rests, and muscular endurance at higher reps with short rests. The defaults this tool applies are:
These are reference ranges informed by published guidance from bodies such as the American College of Sports Medicine, not personalised prescriptions. Many people stay at the lower end of the rep range when load is heavy and the upper end when load is lighter.
For people new to strength training, a common starting point is a short full-body session two or three times per week, focused on learning the movement patterns at conservative loads. Two or three sets of 8–12 reps per exercise is a widely used range. Bodyweight or light dumbbell variants are often the easiest place to start; heavier compound lifts come in later, once the patterns feel settled.
The NHS, the Mayo Clinic, and other respected health bodies consistently emphasise technique over load, gradual progression, and consulting a qualified professional if you are unsure. None of those points changes once you become more experienced — they simply become easier to apply because you have a base to work from.
A short general warm-up — about 5–8 minutes of light cardio followed by a couple of warm-up sets on the first compound lift — is a common starting point. The aim is to raise body temperature, ease into the patterns of the session, and give the joints a chance to settle.
Progression is gradual. Many people add a small amount of load, an extra rep, or a slightly harder variant from one session to the next, rather than chasing large jumps. Small, gradual increases over weeks and months are what tend to shift strength forward.
This tool gives general strength training suggestions, not personalised medical, physiotherapy, or coaching advice. Always start conservatively and prioritise technique over load. Consider working with a qualified trainer or physiotherapist if you are new to strength training or are returning after injury.
If you are pregnant or post-natal, have a heart condition, high blood pressure, recent surgery, back pain, joint pain, an injury, or any other medical condition, please consult a GP, physiotherapist, or other qualified healthcare professional before starting a new training programme. Older adults, complete beginners, and people returning to exercise after a long break may benefit from supervised sessions for the first few weeks.
Programme suggestions are general guides. Load, range of motion, and exercise selection should be tailored to your ability and any medical advice you have received. Heavy compound lifts (squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press) carry meaningful injury risk if performed with poor technique. Beginners are strongly encouraged to learn these movements with qualified supervision.
This tool is not a personalised training plan. It selects exercises from a curated list and applies general set, rep, and rest ranges. It does not assess your individual strength, mobility, injury history, or training history.
A common starting point is to pick one movement per major pattern — a squat or lunge, a hinge, an upper-body push, an upper-body pull, and a core or carry exercise — choosing variants that match the equipment you have and a difficulty you can control. This tool filters the curated database by muscle group and equipment to make that choice easier; the suggestions are general guides, not a personalised plan.
Set and rep ranges vary by goal. General strength is commonly trained with lower reps and longer rests, hypertrophy with moderate reps and moderate rests, and muscular endurance with higher reps and shorter rests. The programme outline applies a default range from your selected goal — these are reference ranges informed by published guidance, not personalised prescriptions.
Many people rest 90–180 seconds between heavy compound lifts and 45–90 seconds on lighter accessory work. The programme outline shows a default rest range from your selected goal. Resting at the lower end is more common for endurance work and the upper end for strength work; adjusting by 15–30 seconds to suit how you feel on the day is reasonable.
Yes — particularly when starting out. Push-ups, inverted rows, squats, lunges, glute bridges, planks, and similar movements can build a meaningful base of strength. As they become easier, harder variants or added equipment may suit a continuing progression.
Resistance bands can build strength and muscle for many people, especially beginners and those returning to training. They differ from free weights in how the resistance changes through the range of motion and in how much load is available. Many people use a mix of bands and free weights rather than picking only one.
Compound exercises involve multiple joints and muscle groups — squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, pull-ups. Isolation exercises focus on a single joint — biceps curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises. Many programmes place compound lifts first in the session and isolation work later, since the compounds tend to demand the most coordination and energy.
Two to three times per week per muscle group is a commonly used range. The UK Chief Medical Officers' guidance suggests adults aim for muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days per week. Higher frequencies suit some people; the right frequency depends on volume per session, recovery, and total weekly time available.
A common starting point is to learn the movement patterns at conservative loads first, with technique-first messaging from sources such as the NHS, Mayo Clinic, and ACSM. Heavier loads can come in later as control, range, and confidence build. Heavy compound lifts in particular benefit from qualified supervision when you are still learning the patterns.
Progressive overload is the general principle that to keep adapting, training has to keep asking for slightly more over time — more reps, more weight, better technique, less rest, or a harder variant. It does not have to happen every session; small, gradual increases over weeks and months are typically what shifts strength forward.
Neither is best for everyone. Upper / lower splits two-thirds of the week across two session types and often suits 3–4 training days. Push / pull / legs splits work three ways and often suits 3–6 training days. Both are widely used. The best split is usually the one that fits the schedule you can stick to.
Start conservatively, prioritise technique over load, build volume gradually, and rest when you need to. Sources such as the NHS and Mayo Clinic consistently emphasise good technique, warm-ups, and progression over chasing big loads. Consider working with a qualified trainer or physiotherapist if you are new to strength training or returning after an injury.
Working with a qualified trainer can be especially helpful for learning compound lifts. A physiotherapist is the right starting point if you are returning from injury or experiencing pain. This tool is not a substitute for either — it gives general suggestions, not personalised assessment of your strength, mobility, or injury history.
Please consult a physiotherapist or GP first. Some forms of strength training are commonly used in back-pain rehabilitation, while others may not be appropriate for an individual at a given time. The right choice depends on the specific history and current symptoms, and is best made with a qualified clinician, not an online tool.
No. This tool selects exercises from a curated list and applies general set, rep, and rest ranges from the selected goal. It does not assess your individual strength, mobility, injury history, or training history. A personalised programme is something a qualified coach, trainer, or physiotherapist provides after evaluating you in person.
For the nutrition side of training, see the TDEE Calculator, the Protein Calculator, the Macro Calculator, and the BMI Calculator.
General fitness information only. Not medical advice, not physiotherapy advice, and not a personalised exercise prescription. If you have any medical condition or are unsure whether a movement is safe for you, please consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting a new training programme.