Best Exercises That Start With Each Letter: 217 Exercises From A to Z

Exercise can help the strength of bones and muscles, improve the cardiorespiratory system, control weight, and lower your risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease.^[1]

It can also reduce anxiety and depression and relieve stress.^[1] When you exercise, the body produces a relaxation response.^[2]

Even activities that don’t seem like workouts — such as yard work, dancing, or swimming — can be very beneficial to your health.^[3]

There are many different types of exercises to try out, whether you’re looking to build strength, improve flexibility, or keep your heart healthy.

Below, we list the exercises that start with each letter, A to Z!

We also provide some tips for creating your own workout plan.

A

1. Ab wheel rollouts
2. Arm circles
3. Archer row
4. Ankle flexion

B

1. Bar dip
2. Burpee
3. Bench press
4. Barbell front raise
5. Barbell rear delt row
6. Barbell upright row
7. Barbell curl
8. Bench dip
9. Barbell triceps extension
10. Barbell lunge
11. Bicycle crunch
12. Body weight lunge
13. Box squat
14. Back extension
15. Barbell row
16. Bicycling
17. Barbell shrug
18. Butterfly sit-up
19. Block snatch
20. Banded side kicks
21. Barbell wrist curl
22. Bar hang
23. Barbell wrist extension

C

1. Crunch
2. Calf raise
3. Cable chest press
4. Close-grip bench press
5. Close-grip feet-up bench press
6. Cable lateral raise
7. Cable rear delt row
8. Crossfit
9. Cable curl
10. Cardio
11. Chair squat
12. Cross reach sit-up
13. Cable close grip seated row
14. Cable wide grip seated row
15. Chin-ups
16. Cat stretch
17. Cross leg stretch
18. Cross arm stretch
19. Cross punches

D

1. Deadlifts
2. Double-leg side lifts
3. Decline bench press
4. Dumbbell chest fly
5. Dead hang
6. Dumbbell chest press
7. Dumbbell floor press
8. Diving
9. Dumbbell pull-over
10. Dumbbell front raise
11. Dancing
12. Dumbbell lateral raise
13. Dumbbell rear delt row
14. Dumbbell shoulder rotations
15. Dumbbell shoulder press
16. Dumbbell curl
17. Dumbbell triceps extension
18. Dumbbell lunge
19. Dumbbell squat
20. Dumbbell shrug
21. Dumbbell wrist extension
22. Downward-facing dog:
    yoga pose
23. Dynamic push-up
24. Donkey kicks

E

1. Elbow roll outs
2. Elevated heel touch
3. Elbow plank

F

1. Feet-up bench press
2. Floor press
3. Front squat
4. Floor back extension
5. Full jump squat
6. Flutter kicks
7. Frog jump

G

1. Goblet squat
2. Glute bridge
3. Good-morning:
   involves holding a barbell or two dumbbells on the shoulders behind your head, then bending forward to bow at the hips as though greeting someone

H

1. Heel raise
2. Hammer curl
3. Half squat
4. Hip adduction
5. Hanging leg raise
6. Hip abduction
7. HIIT:
   high-intensity interval training
8. Hip raise
9. Hanging knee raise
10. Hanging sit-up
11. High to low wood chop
12. Horizontal wood chop
13. Handstands
14. Hurdle stretch
15. Hook punches
16. Hanging L-sit

I

1. Incline bench press
2. Incline dumbbell press
3. Incline push-up
4. Inverted row
5. Inchworm
6. Inverted shoulder press
7. Iron cross push-up

J

1. Jumping jacks
2. Jumping rope
3. Jumping lunge
4. Jogging
5. Jab punches
6. Jumping squat
7. Jumping push-up

K

1. Kickbacks
2. Kneeling push-up
3. Knee-to-elbow crunch
4. Kneeling incline push-up
5. Kettlebell swing
6. Kneeling ab wheel roll-out
7. Kneeling hip hitch

L

1. Lunges
2. Leg curls
3. Lying dumbbell shoulder rotations
4. Landmine squat
5. L-sit holds
6. Leg extension
7. Leg press
8. Lap swimming
9. Lunge jump
10. Lying leg curl
11. Lateral walk with band
12. Lying leg raise
13. Landmine twist
14. Lateral medicine ball toss

M

1. Machine chest fly
2. Machine chest press
3. Mountain climbers
4. Machine lateral raise
5. Machine shoulder press
6. Machine crunch
7. Monkey Row

N

1. Narrow squats
2. Navasana:
   boat pose in yoga

O

1. Overhead press
2. Overhead cable triceps extension
3. One-handed cable row
4. One-handed lat pulldown
5. Oblique crunch
6. Overhead arm pulls
7. One-arm push-up

P

1. Push-up
2. Pull-up
3. Power jerk
4. Pilates
5. Push press
6. Plank
7. Preacher curls
8. Plank twist

Q

1. Quarter jump squat
2. Quadraplex

R

1. Running
2. Resistance band chest fly
3. Reverse machine fly
4. Reverse dumbbell fly
5. Rack pull
6. Reverse crunch
7. Reverse lunge
8. Russian twist
9. Raised leg crunch

S

1. Sit-up
2. Standing cable chest fly
3. Seated dumbbell shoulder press
4. Seated barbell overhead press
5. Squat
6. Squat jerk
7. Seated leg curl
8. Shallow body weight lunge
9. Split jerk
10. Swimming
11. Seated forward fold
12. Spider curl
13. Safety bar squat
14. Side lunges
15. Seated machine row
16. Shrugs
17. Sumo deadlift
18. Side plank
19. Single-leg press
20. Sitting twist
21. Shoulder tap
22. Stair climbing

T

1. Tricep pushdown
2. Trap bar deadlift
3. Triangle push-up
4. Tricep dips
5. Tai chi
6. Tricep extension

U

1. Upright rows
2. Unicycling
3. Uppercut punches

V

1. V-ups
2. V-sit
3. Vaulting

W

1. Walking
2. Weight lifting
3. Weighted pull-up
4. Wall sit
5. Walking squats
6. Wrist flexion
7. Warm-up stretches
8. Warrior:
   yoga pose

X

1. X-punches:
   also known as “cross punches”

Y

1. Yoga
2. Y stretch
3. Y raises
4. Y dumbbell press

Z

1. Z press
2. Z drills
3. Zig zag run

How to Design an Exercise Plan

With so many different exercises to explore, it can be difficult to narrow down your options and find a plan that works for you!

Use these tips to design your exercise plan:

• Make a list of goals. Are you looking to maintain your health or improve it? Do you want to build a certain amount of muscle or increase your flexibility? Setting specific goals early will help you determine which exercises suit your needs best.
• Rotate different types of workouts between days. Movement in general is good for the body, and doing something like going for a jog every morning isn’t harmful. However, there are benefits to switching up your workouts each day. For example, you might focus on upper-body exercises Mondays and Thursdays, lower-body exercises Tuesdays and Fridays, and go for a swim or yoga class on Wednesdays. You’ll work out more of your muscles, get proper rest in between rotations, and will be less likely to see your progress plateau.^[4]
• Be flexible. The best way to find the workouts you like most is to try a lot of different things! Don’t be afraid to change your routine as you learn more about what you enjoy and what works best for your body and fitness goals.
• Make a playlist. Studies show that working out with music can increase your performance during workouts,^[5] so load up your favorite music app with your favorite upbeat songs before you begin your workout plan!