The squat is a two-joint beauty of an exercise. Nothing is better for strengthening the glutes, quads, and hamstrings all in one nice, fluid motion (at least it should be). I love the variations: front squat, back squat, wide stance, narrow stance...I could go on and on. My favorite thing about the squat, though is looking the knee-buckling bro's in the gym straight in the eye as I bend properly from the hips and get down past a 90 degree knee angle. And without the grunting. Okay, actually that is my second favorite thing. My absolute favorite (related) thing about the squat is how proper squat form can just make your hips...work. I don't really know a better word for it. Hip mobility is important for a wide range of activity; and one could argue that all lower extremity running injuries originate from a hip mobility/strength deficit. Squats are number one in my book.
2. Bench Press
Yes, I am aware that if I am not an offensive lineman who pushes people around in the sagittal plane all day, the bench press has no functional purpose. I suppose you could justify it if your looking for pectoral hypertrophy, but that's obviously not the reason, as I'm a girl triathlete who still desires to fit in my tri top. The reason I like the bench press is purely because there's some weird sense of satisfaction that comes along with lifting more than your body weight off of your chest. Try doing that with half the muscle, boys!
3. Renegade Row
I love rows to begin with. They are great for opening up the chest, scapular mobility, and strengthening the back and lats-two really important swimming muscles. I like all the variations: Seated, bent over, single arm or bilateral bench, standing on a bosu ball...but I LOVE the renegade row. Any chance you get to work a major muscle group plus the core, do it. This variation work on your chest and core isometrically, all the while teaching your moving arm to generate torque and power with only one contact on the ground. BOOM. Great exercise.
4. Pull ups
Nothing says "I am classy, old school, and hardcore" as knocking out set of pull ups in the gym. In a world of heavy weight cheaters, you stand alone as one who doesn't need a bench to show you've got muscles. These have many variations as well, and it's easy to manipulate if you want to hit one muscle group more than the other. It's the perfect thing to cure someone of their "too much chest exercise syndrome" (also called hyperpectoria) and is the best way to load the lats. I argue that it's best for triathletes because it better mimics the way one pulls their body over the water than a lat pulldown does.
5. The Plank
It may not look like much, but the plank is the gold star of core exercises. It's one of the few that expounds upon it's role in everyday life: keeping us upright and coordinated in movement. The role of the core is stabilization, with the exception of sports that involve rotation such as swimming, baseball, and tennis. However, to train the core for these sports you don't have train the rotation, you have to train to control the rotation. The plank, along with it's variations, should be a staple in most exercise routines. Plus, it can be used as a mental toughness tool when performed for longer than 5 minutes (not recommended, your back will sag in a way you thought not possible)
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