Criteria For List

Potential for Long Term Progressive Overload and Mechanical Tension:
The exercise must allow consistent increases in load, volume, or intensity over time while creating high levels of mechanical tension, which is the primary driver of strength and hypertrophy adaptations.

Range of Motion:
The movement should train the target musculature through a meaningful and repeatable range of motion, especially at longer muscle lengths where strength and tissue adaptations are maximized.

Systemic Stimulus:
The exercise should create a significant global demand on the neuromuscular and metabolic systems, driving full body adaptation rather than isolated local fatigue.

Potential Athletic Transfer:
The movement should have clear carryover to sport performance by improving force production, rate of force development, positional strength, or joint angles specific to athletic tasks such as sprinting, jumping, and change of direction.

S Tier

Front Squat – Good blend of all criteria, bonus benefit is transfer to Olympic lifts if teams want to incorporate those exercises.

Back Squat – Highest overload potential of all squatting exercises, strong system overload.

RDL – Near maximal loading of hamstrings at long length, high eccentric tension, sprint transfer, proper hinge mechanics

Deadlifts – Maximal loading to posterior chain/full body. Foundational strength, highest overall force expression.

 A Tier

Nordics – Great for hamstring development at distal end. Easily scalable and programmable regardless of group size/ability

GHR – Same as Nordic hamstring curls but allows an easier concentric action.

Zercher Squats – High anterior chain demand and thoracic strength/bracing. Slightly limited ROM compared to front and back squats.

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat– True single leg strength, easily scalable with load and/or ROM. Less rep to rep technique deviation compared to many other unilateral exercises such as lunges. 

B Tier 

GHR Roller Curls – Trains knee flexion/extension at the distal end while proximal end maintains and isometric contraction. Great supplemental hamstring work. Limited overload potential.

Step Ups – Easily scalable and high variation for application of load (barbell, DBs, Goblet etc.). Easily scalable with box heights.

Pistol Squat – High mobility requirement, very skill dependant but also scalable with a box, balance limits loading potential.

Reverse Lunge – can bias glutes/quads based on technique (good and bad thing about it). High rep to rep variance in technique. Useful exercise when performed with this in mind. 

C Tier

Split Squat – Same as reverse lunge but more stationary (meaning less effective).

Hex Bar Deadlift – Basically a ¼ squat with also less overload on the musculature due to the position of the load and the skeletal system. Load ability is high but this is more due to how the skeletal system is positioned in accordance with the equipment.

Leg Press – Minimal trunk demand. Great for athletes with an injury that still need to train the lower body but less effective in group settings as it takes up space and can’t be programmed for large groups efficiently. Safe to train proximity to failure. 

Seated Hamstring Curl – Low global demand, same as leg press as it can’t be efficiently programmed for large groups efficiently

D Tier

Hip Thrusts – Inconvenient/inefficient set up. Short range of motion. Low return.

Reverse Hyper – Hard to quantify progression, low overload potential, high rep to rep variance regarding technique due to the momentum many people use. Good for athletes with posterior chain/spine pain or injury.

Standing Hamstring Curl – Limited overload capacity, low systemic stress.

Copenhagen – Great accessory exercise and efficient with large groups, easily scalable. Great as end of training session but low system overload.

Conclusion

These rankings were developed by Will Ratelle using the objective criteria outlined at the beginning of this article and are intended for healthy, unrestricted athletes in a team performance setting. Exercise priority will necessarily shift for athletes with orthopedic limitations, injury history, or during rehabilitation phases. Will Ratelle serves as a Professor of Kinesiology at the University of North Dakota, grounding this tier list in applied biomechanics and performance based evidence rather than personal preference.