Big 4 Lifts, What Muscles are Left Out?

OHP is a big 4?
I'd put pullups or dips in there way before OHP, they're right up there next to deads and squats.

I think you could trade the deadlifts for the bent over barbell row (BLASPHEMY!!!! I know.) and hit almost everything with 4 main lifts.

Except, you know, the lower back.

Bent over does not work the lower back?

OHP is a big 4?
I'd put pullups or dips in there way before OHP, they're right up there next to deads and squats.

I think you could trade the deadlifts for the bent over barbell row (BLASPHEMY!!!! I know.) and hit almost everything with 4 main lifts.

Except, you know, the lower back.

Bent over does not work the lower back?

I know that they do from doing them either before or after doing deadlifts, but deadlifts do far more for the lower back than rows. Maybe doing Pendelay Rows will hit the lower back more?

BuMp

I believe OHP is a big 4 due in part to it once being in Powerlifting and Olympic competition, and in part to those four lifts being about as close to full body lifts as you can get (Olympic lifts aside). That being said, part of why it is still considered a big 4 is that it builds shoulders and triceps directly; while indirectly building the "core", traps, and lats by forcing them to contract in order to maintain posture while pressing. You could even consider that the glutes, quads, and calves get work in a similar fashion if you are standing. I think similar arguments could be made for all of the big 4.

I think rows, chins, and dips etc... are assistance lifts because they arent competition lifts and because they are arguably less compound then the others - not less important, just less compound. They absolutely should have a place in a well rounded program. I know my lifts improved once I started adding them in.

Great post!

You could probably get quite a ways just doing those 4, but personally I like about 7.

Squat, Deadlift, Barbell OHP, Chin/Pull ups, Bench, Pendlay Rows, Dip.

Maybe doing these doesn't hit the entire encyclopedia of available muscles in the body, but I do feel like I am covering my bases pretty well.

OHP is a big 4?
I'd put pullups or dips in there way before OHP, they're right up there next to deads and squats.

I think you could trade the deadlifts for the bent over barbell row (BLASPHEMY!!!! I know.) and hit almost everything with 4 main lifts.

Except, you know, the lower back.

Bent over does not work the lower back?

If you consider Squats to "barely" work the abs, then bent-over rows do just as little for the lower back. It's a stabilizing muscle in Rows. Where as it is actively pulling the weight in deadlifts.

Mike for posterior chain I know you mentioned DL's, have you the romanian deadlift variation at all?

As soon as I drop another 30-40 lbs, I am adding pull ups, and dips to round out the big 7 as well.
:happy:

i'd say lats is the biggest muslce to missout. if you substituted pull ups for dead lifts i think it would be more well rounded

i'd say lats is the biggest muslce to missout. if you substituted pull ups for dead lifts i think it would be more well rounded

How about just add pull-ups/chin-ups? Ya know, since lower back needs to be worked too. I know it's not a vanity muscle, so people want to ignore it, but it's important.

i'd say lats is the biggest muslce to missout. if you substituted pull ups for dead lifts i think it would be more well rounded

How about just add pull-ups/chin-ups? Ya know, since lower back needs to be worked too. I know it's not a vanity muscle, so people want to ignore it, but it's important.

Deadlifts work the entire body, not just lower back. If you do a deadlift right you engage the entire body, every muscle group or nearly so. Deadlifts are too important to not do.

So I thought this would make for a good topic... in the following lifts, what muscles would you say are insufficiently worked?

Bench
OH Press
Deadlift
Squat

The way I see it...

Biceps. I know they are used to help lower the weight on pressing movements, and that they are present whenever wrist rotation is in play, but they really don't get worked unless you're doing rows (another compound lift, sure).

Abs. Abs are used to help stabalize your core on most lifts, but they act to keep things stable, they are not truely movers.

Calves. Worse than abs lol All but completely neglected.

Side & Rear Delts. Again, they are used (and if you're rowing they really come into play depending on your form), but the front delts get all the glory.

Lats. They're like the biceps of the back. They help in lowering overhead loads and stablization, but they don't get much love otherwise.

For some reason I'm going to engage on this hypothetical and address your original post. I'm all for steering this back to what it was supposed to be all about.

You could fix the Side and Rear delt issue by changing OH Press to Arnold press. I know that's a bit outside the scope of your statement, but given a choice between doing an OHP, military press or shoulder press, I'd say "none of the above" and choose Arnold Press. In theory, you engage all 3 parts of the shoulder. In theory, you engage your core and arms much better because of the coordinated movement involved. It's a better exercise IMO.

I always felt like I got a better core/abs workout doing deadlifts than any other isolation ab work. I don't feel like that one is lacking. Maybe it depends on the kind of deadlift, conventional deadlifts are what I know.

I also wouldn't say that calves are completely neglected when doing squats and deads. Not exactly a primary focus but to say they aren't developing some level of functional strength I think overlooks how good deads and squats are. But I'm probably not one to talk on this cause after I do my deadlifts the next thing I do usually is calf raises, so I'm a hypocrite.

I guess I agree with you on biceps and lats as being generally under worked in those 4 exercises. If I could only add one other exercise and it had to at least partially address these muscle groups I would say add in Face Pulls. They're a great all around general arm exercise, plus you work the rear delts you noted before and to a lesser extent the back. But its really a decent mini-compound movement that requires decent coordination and generally works the whole upper body, even the core and legs a bit for stabilization.

Or I guess pull-ups would make more sense for addressing biceps + lats.

But maybe, just maybe, biceps and lats weren't meant to get as much development attention as we sometimes give them. There's an aesthetic desire for big biceps and wide lats, but is it that important really? If you are doing really good on the 4 lifts you mention, pushing and pulling significant weight with ease, couldn't you also say that biceps and lats are probably as developed as they need to be? Anything more is just vanity.