At the gym, we talk a lot about the “Big 3” lifts — the squat, bench press, and deadlift. And with good reason. These compound movements are powerful, efficient, and proven to deliver serious results for building strength, muscle, and overall fitness.

But here’s the catch: you can’t progress on the Big 3 alone. Sticking solely to primary lifts can leave you with weak points, muscle imbalances, and even stalled progress. If your goal is to run faster, move more efficiently, build power, or dominate in your next lifting competition, you’ll need to go beyond the basics.

That’s where accessory exercises come in. These secondary movements complement your main lifts, target weaknesses, and give your body the balance it needs to keep pushing past plateaus. At AFAC gym in Thornton, Colorado, our certified personal trainers swear by accessory work to help clients achieve impressive and sustainable gains.

What Are Accessory Exercises at the Gym?

As the name suggests, accessory exercises “accessorize” your main lifts. They complete your training by addressing weaknesses and reinforcing strengths. Think of them as the fine-tuning work that takes your performance from good to great.

Main lifts (also called core lifts, big lifts, or primary exercises) are multi-joint compound movements that engage several large muscle groups at once. Examples of these include:

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench presses
• Overhead presses

These lifts build the foundation of strength and muscle mass, but they don’t cover everything. For example, a squat develops quads more than hamstrings, and a bench press may overwork the chest while neglecting stabilizing muscles. Over time, these gaps can limit progress or increase injury risk.

That’s where accessory work shines. By incorporating variations, isolations, and smaller compound movements, you can:

• Train neglected muscles
• Reinforce proper form
• Improve range of motion and mobility
• Enhance stability in the shoulders, hips, and core

Together, main lifts and accessory movements create a balanced strength training program that delivers long-term results.

What Are the Benefits of Accessory Exercises?

Accessory exercises may seem secondary, but their benefits are far-reaching.

1. Address Weaknesses

No one is perfectly balanced. Maybe your quads dominate your hamstrings, or your chest overpowers your shoulders. Accessory exercises target those weaker links, helping you lift heavier and train smarter.
Example: If you struggle to lock out deadlifts, adding hip thrusts or deficit deadlifts can strengthen the muscles needed for that final push.

2. Enhance Your Main Lifts

Stronger supporting muscles mean smoother, more efficient big lifts. Bulgarian split squats, for instance, build single-leg stability that translates to more control and power in your squats.

3. Correct Muscle Imbalances

Life isn’t symmetrical. Poor posture, repetitive movements, or favoring one side can cause imbalances. Single-leg or single-arm accessory moves — like dumbbell presses or Romanian deadlifts — help restore balance and resilience.

4. Reduce Injury Risk

Overuse of dominant muscles or ignoring stabilizers often leads to injury. Accessory exercises build up tendons, ligaments, and smaller stabilizing muscles, creating a strong foundation for heavy lifting. Face pulls, for example, strengthen rear delts and rotator cuffs, protecting your shoulders during pressing movements.

5. Overcome Plateaus

Progress comes quickly at first but slows over time. Switching things up with accessory work adds volume, variety, and new stimulus to push through plateaus.

6. Improve Functional Fitness

The Big 3 build strength, but they don’t always mimic real-life movement. Accessory exercises teach your body to move in different planes and ranges of motion, which improves everyday performance and reduces pain or stiffness.

What Are Some Examples of Accessory Exercises?

Accessory work should complement your training goals, but here are tried-and-true examples tied to the Big Lifts.

• For Squats: Bulgarian split squats, goblet squats, walking lunges
• For Deadlifts: Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, hamstring curls
• For Bench Press: Dumbbell flys, tricep dips, push-ups
• For Pull-Ups/Rows: Face pulls, bicep curls, rear delt flys

How to Do Accessory Exercises

Here’s a breakdown of 12 accessory exercises, including step-by-step instructions, the muscles they target, and why they matter for your main lifts.

1. Pull-Ups

How-To:

1. Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Engage your core and allow your body to hang with straight arms and legs slightly crossed behind you.
3. Drive your elbows down and back as you pull your chest up toward the bar.
4. Pause briefly when your chin clears the bar.
5. Lower yourself slowly until your arms are fully extended.

Muscles Trained: Lats, traps, rhomboids, arms, shoulders, grip.
Why It Helps: Builds back and grip strength, helping stabilize and control heavy bench press movements.

2. Side Lunges

How-To:

1. Stand tall with feet together and hands at chest height.
2. Step out wide to the side with your right foot, keeping your toes pointing forward.
3. Bend your right knee to about 90° while keeping your left leg straight.
4. Push your hips back and keep your chest upright as you lower down.
5. Drive through the right heel to return to the starting position.
6. Repeat on the opposite side.

Muscles Trained: Quads, hamstrings, inner thighs, glutes.
Why It Helps: Improves hip stability, mobility, and single-leg strength, all of which carry over to squats and leg presses.

3. Reverse Lunges

How-To:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart.
2. Step backward with your right foot, lowering your body until your right knee nearly touches the floor and your left thigh is parallel to the ground.
3. Keep your torso upright and weight centered on the front heel.
4. Push through your left heel to return to standing.
5. Alternate legs with each rep.

Muscles Trained: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves.
Why It Helps: Builds unilateral leg strength and core stability while reducing joint stress compared to forward lunges.

4. Stability Ball Hamstring Curls

How-To:

1. Lie flat on your back with arms at your sides, heels resting on a stability ball.
2. Lift your hips off the ground so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to heels.
3. Bend your knees and roll the ball toward your glutes, keeping hips lifted.
4. Pause and squeeze your hamstrings.
5. Slowly extend your legs, rolling the ball back out.

Muscles Trained: Hamstrings, glutes, abs, lower back.
Why It Helps: Strengthens hamstrings, a common weak link in squats and deadlifts.

5. Dead Bugs

How-To:

1. Lie on your back with arms extended toward the ceiling and knees bent at 90°.
2. Engage your core to press your lower back into the floor.
3. Slowly lower your right arm back and left leg toward the ground at the same time.
4. Stop just before they touch the floor, then return to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the opposite side.

Muscles Trained: Deep core, abs, spinal stabilizers, pelvic floor.
Why It Helps: Builds rock-solid core stability, improving posture, balance, and control in all main lifts.

6. Bent-Over Rows

How-To:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell or dumbbells.
2. Hinge at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor, keeping a flat back and soft knees.
3. Let the weight hang at arm’s length.
4. Pull the barbell/dumbbells toward your torso, squeezing shoulder blades together.
5. Slowly lower the weight back down under control.

Muscles Trained: Lats, traps, rhomboids, hamstrings, glutes.
Why It Helps: Strengthens the pulling muscles of the upper body, improving deadlift stability and bench press performance.

7. Kettlebell Swings

How-To:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of you.
2. Hinge at the hips and swing the kettlebell back between your legs.
3. Drive your hips forward explosively to swing the kettlebell up to chest or eye level.
4. Let the kettlebell swing back down naturally, maintaining control through your core and hips.
5. Repeat in a continuous motion.

Muscles Trained: Glutes, hamstrings, quads, shoulders, abs, grip.
Why It Helps: Develops explosive hip drive, which transfers directly to squats and deadlifts.

8. Dips

How-To:

1. Sit on the edge of a bench and grip the edge next to your hips.
2. Extend your legs out in front of you with heels on the ground.
3. Slide your hips off the bench and bend your elbows to lower your body until arms are at about a 90° angle.
4. Push through your palms to return to the starting position.
5. For progression, elevate your feet or use parallel bars.

Muscles Trained: Triceps, delts, pecs, rhomboids.
Why It Helps: Strengthens pressing muscles for heavier bench press and overhead lifts.

9. Glute Bridges

How-To:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
2. Press through your heels to lift your hips toward the ceiling.
3. Squeeze your glutes at the top so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
4. Hold briefly, then slowly lower back to the ground.

Muscles Trained: Gluteus maximus, abs.
Why It Helps: Builds strong glutes, critical for squats, lunges, and deadlifts.

10. Good Mornings

How-To:

1. Place a barbell across your upper back, hands gripping just outside your shoulders.
2. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
3. Hinge at the hips, lowering your torso forward while keeping your back flat.
4. Continue until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor.
5. Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to return to standing.

Muscles Trained: Hamstrings, glutes, lower back.
Why It Helps: Reinforces the hip hinge pattern, improving deadlift and squat performance.

11. Kirk Shrugs

How-To:

1. Hold a barbell with an overhand grip with your hands shoulder width apart.
2. Without bending your elbows, shrug your shoulders upward as high as possible.
3. Pull the barbell to belly button level.
4. Hold briefly, then lower slowly.
5. Focus on maintaining a tight grip throughout.

Muscles Trained: Upper traps, forearms.
Why It Helps: Builds a solid “shelf” for squats and strengthens grip for deadlifts.

12. Hyperextensions

How-To:

1. Position yourself on a hyperextension bench with your ankles secured and thighs resting against the pad.
2. Cross your arms over your chest or hold a weight plate against your chest.
3. With a straight back, hinge at the waist to lower your torso toward the floor.
4. Engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso back until it’s in line with your legs.
5. Avoid overextending at the top.

Muscles Trained: Glutes, hamstrings, lower back.
Why It Helps: Strengthens the posterior chain and teaches proper hip hinging for squats and deadlifts.

Who Should Do Accessory Exercises?

The short answer: everyone.

• Beginners: Build a solid foundation and correct imbalances early.
• Intermediate Lifters: Break through plateaus and strengthen weak points.
• Advanced Lifters: Fine-tune performance, increase efficiency, and prevent injuries.

Even if heavy lifting isn’t your goal, accessory exercises improve functional fitness, athletic performance, and overall health.

Tips for Accessory Exercises

To get the most from your accessory work, keep these guidelines in mind.

• Stay Focused: Choose movements that directly complement your main lifts.
• Master the Basics: Nail proper form before progressing to advanced variations.
• Use Progressive Overload: Gradually increase weight, reps, or volume.
• Be Consistent: Stick with a routine long enough for your body to adapt.

Build Strength Beyond the Basics at AFAC Gym

Accessory exercises might not get the spotlight like the squat, bench, or deadlift, but they’re the secret weapon of lifters who want to train smarter, lift heavier, and stay injury-free. Whether you’re just starting out or chasing a new PR at AFAC gym, incorporating these movements can be the difference between hitting a wall and breaking through it.

So don’t just train harder, train smarter with accessory work. Your strongest self is waiting.

We hope you’ll visit AFAC gym today to speak to our team about our affordable memberships. AFAC gym is committed to supporting your health and wellness efforts, so you’ll see the results you’re working so hard for. That’s why we were voted the best gym in Thornton, Colorado, and have hundreds of 5-star reviews.

To learn more about our top-rated gym and our incredible array of strength training and cardio equipment — as well as our unique offerings and amenities like daily group classes, cryotherapy, InBody 770 assessments, hydro massage, personal trainers, and our rock climbing wall and cave — please contact us or visit for a personalized tour. Our team will be happy to help you. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.