Exercise Selection Doesn't Matter (For the most part...)

Exercise selection does not matter. I have been asked numerous times which exercise I think is best for growing you chest. Or which exercise is best for developing those hamstrings. Or seated overhead presses are better than standing overhead presses. 

Here's the reality of strength training in the long-term:

If you want to continue making gains in strength, size, power and athleticism, you should master EVERY reasonable exercise that you can perform!

Let me explain. If you wanted to become really strong at overhead press, for example, then you SHOULD master the overhead press! But you should also master the seated overhead press.

And the Z press.

And the overhead press off pins.

And the single-arm dumbbell overhead press.

And any vertical pressing variation you can think of! The truth is that every single vertical press variation is so valuable in its own right such that the actual variation you choose doesn't really matter! These are all tools in the toolbox, and you should rotate these exercises when they become stale. Of course, some of these exercises will be better for certain goals. For example, if your current goal is to increase your shoulder size, a stable pressing variation like the AD press is probably better than an unstable variation like the Z press. But if you want to master vertical pressing (ie. get strong at the overhead press), you should master ALL of these variations.

This is part of the reason I program in "movement categories" instead of actual exercises. Instead of telling the trainee what specific exercise to do, I just provide the movement pattern that the selected exercise variation should fall into. The trainee has the freedom to choose which specific lift they use depending on their goals or the specific qualities that they want to improve.

So instead of trying to find the "perfect" exercise which is the most "optimal", just do every exercise you can think of! If you can master every single effective exercise in the weight room, then you will certainly be a formidable opponent to anyone who tries to square you up in the streets!! Just remember than I am not advocating for you to do ANY exercise that you can think of. Please do not do single arm Bosu ball larsen rear-leg elevated split squats. Stick to the tried-and-true exercises which are shown to produce effective results, and master those specific lifts!