The 6 Best Exercises You Can Do With Only Free Weights

If Stolz had to choose a single exercise that everyone should master, this would be it. “It emphasizes core, hamstrings, glutes and low back,” she says. To perform it, stand a few steps away from a wall, brace your core and breathe while hinging your hips back. “Focus on keeping your back flat, your shoulders engaged and your neck neutral,” Stolz says. Once your form is correct, add a set of light dumbbells, keeping the tension in your lower back, shoulder blades and glutes. Increase your weight until you can perform 6 to 10 challenging reps with perfect form. “You should feel your butt and hamstrings start to fire,” Stolz says.

This exercise doesn’t discriminate: It works all of your muscle groups, enhances hip, shoulder and core stability, gets your heart rate up and more. Like many free-weight exercises, it trains the body “as interconnected systems rather than isolating individual parts,” says Sean Kuechenmeister, a certified athletic trainer at the New York Sports Science Lab in Staten Island. The move requires you to start on your back with an arm (that eventually holds a weight) toward the ceiling, stand up and lower yourself back down. Keep your eyes on the weight, your lat and core engaged and your knee aligned over the mid-foot. “This should be performed slow and controlled,” Kuechenmeister says.

This exercise also works the whole body, from the quads and glutes to the shoulders and upper back. Begin with a set of dumbbells at your shoulders and your feet hips-width apart. Squat and – while keeping your chest tall – push into your heels to resume a standing position while also pressing the dumbbells overhead. “You’ll feel your heart rate skyrocket while experiencing a full-body fatigue in both your legs and shoulders,” Stolz says. Like all free-weight exercises, you can use heavier and heavier weights as you get stronger, which is motivating, Stolz says. Another bonus? Full-body, multi-joint movements like this one are “metabolically expensive,” Stolz says, meaning they’re especially great at torching fat.

Lying on a bench with your feet on the floor, hold a pair of dumbbells with your elbows bent just below the bench. “Brace your core, squeeze your glutes and powerfully press the dumbbells toward the ceiling, stopping when the elbows are fully extended,” Stolz coaches. Lower the dumbbells and repeat so that you feel the burn mostly in your chest and a bit in your triceps. Want more of a challenge? Besides upping your weight, perform the exercise on the floor instead of a bench. “The decreased available range of motion … forces you to generate more power,” Kuechenmeister says, and it removes the risk of pain due to over-rotating.

If you work your chest and triceps, as with the bench press, balance out your muscles by also exercising your upper back and biceps with this exercise. Flatten your back and bend over – with one hand and knee on a bench if you have one – and pull a dumbbell up with the opposite hand. “Pull the shoulder joint back and away from your ears to ensure proper form and muscle engagement,” Stolz advises. Keep your core tight and the dumbbell close to your body so that your elbow brushes your rib cage and your torso stays stable.

This move involves squatting vertically – that is, without hinging your hips like you would a back-weighted squat – while holding a dumbbell against your chest. “Sit between your heels with an upright torso until you can no longer maintain your posture,” Kuechenmeister recommends. The movement should set your quads and abs on fire – and feel like you’re trying to balance a cup of water on your head, he says. If you’re not confident in this or any other free-weight moves, Stolz says, seek professional coaching. “It is critical that movements are scaled and progressed appropriately for each individual to get the true benefits and avoid injury,” she says.