When it comes to fitness and sports science, achieving peak performance isn’t just about mastering the big lifts, including primary exercises. While main lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are crucial, there’s something else that can really take your training to the next level—accessory exercises. These often-overlooked movements play a key role in building overall strength, preventing injuries, and ensuring balanced muscle development.

So, what exactly are accessory exercises? In simple terms, they are supplementary movements, considered some of the best accessory exercises designed to support and improve your performance in those major lifts. They target specific muscle groups, often training the same muscles that are engaged during the major lift, helping to address weaknesses and create a more well-rounded strength profile. While they might not be the focus of your workout, their benefits to strength, conditioning, and injury prevention are clear.

In this blog, we’re diving deep into the world of accessory exercises. Whether you're an athlete aiming for peak performance, a student in sports science or kinesiology, or a fitness professional, understanding how and why to incorporate these exercises can help you gain strength and make your training more effective and balanced. Let’s explore how accessory exercises can transform your fitness journey!

What Are Accessory Exercises?

Accessory exercises are movements that complement primary lifts, targeting specific muscles or movement patterns to address weaknesses and enhance overall performance.

While primary lifts like squats and deadlifts engage multiple muscle groups, accessory exercises focus on specific areas, such as weak hamstrings ensuring balanced development and addressing potential imbalances, including improving hip mobility .

These exercises aren't the main focus but serve as crucial support, aiding in shoulder stability, muscle activation, stability, and injury prevention.

Difference Between Main and Accessory Lifts

In any well-rounded strength training program, it is important to understand the distinction between main lifts and accessory lifts in relation to your fitness goals . Main lifts, also referred to as compound lifts, are the primary movements that engage large muscle groups and the specific muscles trained, forming the foundation of a training session. These exercises are generally high-intensity movements that focus on building strength and power, and they often serve as the core lifts in a strength program.

Benefits of Accessory Lifts

Incorporating accessory lifts into your training regimen offers a variety of benefits that are often overlooked in the weight room :

• Improved Movement Patterns: Accessory exercises help refine the mechanics of your main lifts, leading to more efficient movement patterns and better performance.
• Balanced Muscle Development: They allow you to target specific muscles or movement patterns that might be underdeveloped in your primary lifts.
• Reduced Injury Risk: By addressing weaknesses, muscle imbalances, and improving stability, accessory exercises can help reduce the risk of injury, especially for athletes involved in heavy lifting or intense sports.

Categories of Accessory Exercises

Accessory exercises can be classified into different categories depending on their functionality and training goals. Understanding these categories is essential for building a well-rounded training program.

1. Hypertrophy-Based Accessory Work

• Purpose: The primary goal of these exercises is to increase muscle size by focusing on the targeted muscle group with high volume and moderate intensity.
• Examples:
  
  • Leg Extensions: A machine-based exercise that isolates the quadriceps.
  • Bicep Curls: Focuses on the biceps, using either dumbbells or a barbell.

Hypertrophy-focused accessory exercises, such as kettlebell swings, are ideal for bodybuilders or athletes seeking to increase muscle mass and improve muscle definition, including variations like leg presses .

2. Corrective or Rehab Accessory Exercises

• Purpose: These exercises address muscular imbalances and can help rehabilitate injuries. They are essential in rehabilitation programs or for athletes recovering from injuries.
• Examples:
  
  • Clamshells: Helps activate and strengthen the hip abductors.
  • Banded Shoulder Rotations: Focuses on improving shoulder mobility and activating rotator cuff muscles.

Corrective exercises, when performed correctly, aim to restore function and prevent injury recurrence by targeting areas with weakness or dysfunction.

3. Mobility-Focused Accessory Movements

• Purpose: These exercises enhance joint range of motion and increase flexibility, which is crucial for both performance and injury prevention.
• Examples:
  
  • Hip Openers: Stretching exercises that target the hip flexors and the groin area.
  • Thoracic Spine Rotations: Mobilizes the upper back to improve thoracic spine mobility and flexibility.

Regular inclusion of mobility exercises can help improve overall performance by ensuring joints are properly aligned and functioning optimally.

4. Stability and Balance Exercises

• Purpose: These exercises focus on improving proprioception (the sense of body position) and core stability, which are essential for injury prevention and maintaining proper form in compound movements.
• Examples:
  
  • Single-Leg Stands: Improves balance and strengthens stabilizing muscles in the legs.
  • BOSU Ball Exercises: Challenges core stability while engaging multiple muscle groups.

These exercises, including box jumps, are particularly beneficial for athletes who require exceptional balance and control in their sports or for general fitness enthusiasts who want to enhance stability.

5. Sport-Specific Accessory Drills

• Purpose: These exercises mimic specific movements required in a given sport. Sport-specific drills help athletes enhance performance by training the body in ways that closely resemble their sport’s demands.
• Examples:
  
  • Ladder Drills: Used in football to improve footwork and agility.
  • Wrist Curls: Helps strengthen the forearms, which is crucial for sports like tennis.

These drills focus on skills and movements particular to the athlete’s sport, contributing to improved coordination and performance.

Examples of Accessory Exercises

Incorporating accessory exercises into your routine helps create a more balanced and functional body, ultimately contributing to increased muscle mass . Below are some specific examples of accessory exercises, categorized by body part or movement pattern.

Lower Body:

• Romanian Deadlifts: Primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes, helping improve posterior chain strength, which is crucial for deadlifts and squats.
• Lunges: A great unilateral movement for strengthening the legs and improving balance.
• Glute Bridges: A low-impact exercise that activates the glute muscles and helps with hip stability.

Upper Body - Push:

• Tricep Dips: A bodyweight exercise that strengthens the triceps and shoulders, improving pressing movements like the bench press.
• Overhead Dumbbell Press: Targets the deltoids and upper chest, improving shoulder strength and stability for overhead pressing.

Upper Body - Pull:

• Face Pulls: Excellent for targeting the rear deltoids and upper back, crucial for posture and shoulder health.
• Barbell Rows: Focuses on the lats, rhomboids, and traps, helping to develop upper back strength and stability.

Core:

• Planks: Build core stability, providing the foundation for proper posture and improved performance in both lower and upper body movements.
• Dead Bugs: A core exercise that emphasizes coordination and core stability, helping to improve spinal alignment.
• Pallof Press: Strengthens the anti-rotational muscles of the core, which is beneficial for stability and injury prevention.

Mobility and Stability:

• Banded Shoulder External Rotations: Helps improve shoulder mobility and strengthens the rotator cuff muscles, which are essential for overhead lifts.
• Single-Leg Balance Drills: Improves proprioception and balance, making it easier to perform unilateral movements with better control.

How Accessory Exercises Support Main Lifts and Athletic Performance

Addressing Weak Points

Accessory exercises, like close grip bench press, help in strengthening specific muscles that might be limiting the performance of main lifts. For instance, strengthening the triceps can improve the lockout phase of a bench press.

Promoting Muscle Balance

By targeting muscles that are often neglected in primary lifts, accessory exercises ensure balanced muscle development, thus reducing the risk of overuse injuries, especially when lifting heavy weights.

Enhancing Range of Motion and Motor Control

Mobility-focused accessory movements improve joint flexibility, while stability exercises enhance grip strength and motor control, both crucial for optimal performance in compound lifts.

Building Endurance and Coordination

Incorporating accessory exercises that allow for more reps can increase muscular endurance and improve neuromuscular coordination, essential for athletes in various sports.

Progressive Overload and Periodization

Accessory exercises can be integrated into training programs to introduce variety and facilitate progressive overload, which should consider training volume leading to more effective workouts and ensuring continuous improvement.

Designing a Training Program with Accessory Exercises

Creating an effective plan with accessory lifts requires purpose. Don’t add exercises randomly—each should serve your training goal.

Start with assessment. Consider individual needs: training experience, weaknesses, injury history, and goals. For example, someone recovering from a shoulder injury may need auxiliary exercises focused on external rotation and scapular stability.

Placement in a session:

• Use accessory work after your main lift.
• Some mobility or activation drills can go in the warm-up (e.g., banded leg swings or glute bridges).
• Rehab-based or low-intensity drills are great during cooldowns.

Guidelines for sets, reps, intensity:

Example Training Split:

• Monday (Lower Body + Accessory Leg Exercises):
  Squats → Walking lunges → Glute bridges → Hamstring curls (machine)
• Wednesday (Upper Push + Gym Accessories Name):
  Bench press → Dumbbell flyes → Overhead tricep extensions → Resistance bands
• Friday (Pull + Deadlift Accessory Exercise):
  Deadlifts → Barbell rows → Face pulls → Shrugs

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

One big error? Over-prioritizing accessory lifts for powerlifting or bodybuilding. Main lifts should stay the focus.

Misuse of load and form: Trying to lift heavy on auxiliary workout drills can compromise technique. These exercises are often about control, not maximum weight.

Lack of progression: Like main lifts, assistance exercises should follow a structured plan that considers training volume . That includes progressive overload, variation, and recovery.

Misconception: Many assume accessory movements are “optional.” They're not. They're strategic. Think of them as the support team to your main lift star.

Another mistake? Confusing aesthetics with function. Accessories exercises aren’t just about toning arms or sculpting glutes—they’re foundational in injury prevention and functional movement patterns.

Clarifying the difference between compound vs accessory vs isolation exercises is also vital. Compound = multiple joints (e.g., deadlift), Isolation = single joint (e.g., bicep curl), Accessory = any movement supporting primary goals.

Accessory Exercises in Rehab and Physical Therapy

Accessory exercises have a vital role in rehabilitation. Post-injury, the focus shifts to reactivating underused muscles and regaining joint control through exercises like overhead presses .

Take deadlift assistance lifts—exercises like bird dogs or back extensions help restore lumbar strength without excessive loading.

In physical therapy, auxiliary exercises, including row variations, are prescribed for stability, neuromuscular re-education, and improved proprioception, alongside exercises like bent over rows . For example:

• Shoulder impingement → Banded shoulder external rotations
• Knee rehab → Step-ups, glute bridges, hamstring curls

Physiotherapists often include crossfit accessory work, biceps curls, or mobility drills in injury prevention programs. These reinforce proper patterns and build endurance.

Final Words

Accessory exercises are not optional—they are essential for providing a good stimulus. Whether you’re chasing PRs, recovering from injury, or just training for life, using less weight with accessory exercises completes your workout . Whether you’re chasing PRs, recovering from injury, or just training for life, using less weight with accessory exercises completes your workout and provides you with the most bang for your training effor .

By incorporating accessory leg exercises, upper body accessory exercises, and mobility work, including pull ups, into your plan, you create a well-rounded, injury-resistant body that also helps you gain more power . Rehabilitation, performance, aesthetics, and longevity all benefit from smart programming of accessory work.

So next time you hit the gym, think beyond the barbell. Include your accessories exercise that complement the big lifts with intention and structure. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Are accessory exercises necessary for beginners?
Yes. Beginners benefit from light gym accessory movements, including side lunges, to develop balance and stability, especially through exercises like hip thrusts .

2. Can I build muscle with just accessory exercises?
Yes, but slower. Combine them with compound lifts for optimal hypertrophy. Weightlifting accessories like resistance bands add challenge and variety.

3. How many accessory exercises should I include per session?
2–4, depending on time and focus. For instance, accessory lifts for squat could include goblet squats and lunges.

4. Do athletes use the same accessory exercises as bodybuilders?
Some overlap, but athletes prioritize function over appearance. A powerlifter may use auxiliary lifts examples like paused deadlifts, whereas a bodybuilder may choose leg presses, especially to overcome sticking points in their training .

5. Can accessory exercises help with posture correction?
Yes. Think planks, band pull-aparts, or scapular wall slides. These upper body accessory exercises train posture-supporting muscles.

6. Are machines or free weights better for accessory work?
Both have their place. Machines help beginners and rehab clients. Free weights allow greater range and coordination. Use weight equipment accessories smartly.

7. Can close grip bench press be considered one of the best accessory exercises for upper body strength?

Yes, the close grip bench press is one of the best accessory exercises for building upper body strength. It specifically enhances lockout strength by targeting the triceps, which plays a key role in the final phase of the bench press and helps address weaknesses in pushing movements.

8. What’s the difference between isolation and accessory exercises?
Isolation = one joint/muscle (e.g., leg extension). Accessory = supports larger lifts, may or may not isolate (e.g., glute bridges support squats).