Squat
Hip thrust
Farmer’s walk
Overhead press variation
Overall enjoy these movements and feel I get a lot out of them. Everything else just kinda fills in based on how long it’s been since I tried them.
Bench, curls, bench, some tricep stuff, bench, cable crossovers…
Did I say bench?
Oh, and hip thrusts. Ladies love hip thrusts.
I really seated BB OHP and DB incline, but if there was one go-to exercise that I never do without in a routine, it’s pullups of some sort. Can’t think of anything more important than being able to pull myself up. Dunno why. Love em.
A close second that I wish wasn’t my go-to for conditioning and I wish didn’t exist at all is the prowler. I hate the fucking prowler. But it is fucking useful.
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I really like the MAG grips lately for all cable lat movements. Incredible difference if you ever get a chance to try them out.
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My gym has close grip, medium and wide grip MAG attachments for the cable stations. I like the close grip mag for pulldowns, and I like the medium grip flipped upside down for underhand for cable rows.
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There’s a close grip one you can supinate your hands on Pulldowns too. Those are probably my favorite. I really haven’t tried a configuration I didn’t like though.
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Noticed those MAG attachments in a few you tube videos , look great tbh, but i don’t have cables/pulley (or the space for one 
) in my garage gym.
Am i right in thinking they help you get more MMC with the lats when preforming pulls/rows , that coupled with better grip?? Or is it simply just help your grip so you can rely less on straps for the heavy sets?
I don’t honestly know all the technical reasons they work.
I can absolutely grip them without straps, which is cool, but straps help me load in a way that feels my lats anyway - so I don’t think that’s the primary benefit.
The angles of the grips help my elbow path and the handles themselves don’t get in the way, so I can really drive all the way back/ down/ whatever - sometimes other handles run into my chest/ gut and I can’t get where I want to.
I think the open-ish hand forces me to pull in a better line (kind of like you normally would tell yourself to pull with your pinkies); it also seems to make you squeeze with your back rather than jerk on the implement.
I love all the toys in the gym, but rarely would I say one really makes a difference. So far, I think the SSB and the MAG ones really do make a difference. The trap bar probably does, too, for a lot of folks; I just haven’t fallen in love with it. That video of the gent pulling from 37 feet in the air was pretty neat, though.
All that said, none of these are the difference makers - they’re just fun variations.
I know I took us way off on a tangent. I don’t really have any “must” exercises, as my ramble probably implies. I like the concept of keeping “movements” (push, pull, etc.) in, but otherwise I think you have to use the tool for your goal and your constraints - whether that be equipment, injury, time, whatever. If you learn to create tension, you can do so with a lot of different tools.
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I would say it varies, but the ones that yielded the best results for me are:
Strength wise:
Ring Pull Ups
Ring Dips
Press
Trap Deadlift
Prehab/assistance wise:
KB Swings
Reverse Hypers
Face Pulls
GHRs
KB Squats
Push Ups
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Pull ups and dips. I’ve been doing them my whole life. They fit into pretty much every lifting iteration.
20s- I have no idea what I’m doing bro split. Add pull ups and dips.
late 20s- skinny runner guy. Add pull ups and dips.
30s- cross fitty stuff. Add pull ups and dips.
late 30s to now- Strength focus. Add weighted pull ups and dips.
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My go-to exercises have to have real world benefits and so are as follows:
Trap Bar Deads/RDL’s: (because picking shit up)
Clean and Press. (because cleans happen and sometimes presses)
Dips. (I wanna be able to get out my chair when I’m older)
Floor Press. (because no one ever gets pinned to a bench outside of the gym?)
Front/Goblet Squat. (how many people back squat anything outside of the gym?)
Pull-ups. (because climbing stuff happens)
Rows. (because pulling/dragging stuff happens)
Loaded Carries. (Farmer’s, overhead, bear hug)
Prowler/Sled. (see Rows)
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That is literally the best thing I’ve read in ages. Your logic is just amazing, love it, thanks for sharing.
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Squat, clean pull, neutral-grip pull up, bench press, overhead press.
And then cardio because I’m masochist.
Anything else after those six are fluff. I’ll do them if I had free-time, which I never do. In case I do, they’d be the machine crunch, suitcase deadlift, hammer curl, and gripper.
Special mention to the power snatch when I finally establish a solid base of leg and back strength to warrant explosive-strength training.