Arnold Schwarzenegger performing a dead lift in his bodybuilding days

You hear the conversation all  the time and it usually starts like this "If you can only take one (fill in the blank album, book, movie ect) to a desert island which one would you take? This got me thinking if I could only take one resistance training exercise to a desert island with me which one would I take? Even though I knew instantly which would be the one I decided to have some fun with this and make it a top five. Even though I love machines i am going to keep this list strictly free weight and body weight exercises. In my opinion these five exercises will give you the best bang for your buck and give you something fun to do in between spearing fish and growing a massive beard like Tom Hanks in Castaway.

1. The Reverse Crunch- I figured I would start my list targeting everyone's favorite problem area. (although the midsection will become less of a problem once you start your diet of island fruit, fish, and wild foliage. But I digress) I can't think of a better or more challenging midsection exercise than the reverse crunch. This exercise targets every major abdominal muscle (think rectus abdominus, external/internal obliques, transverse abdominus ect...) can be done with a variety of angles (incline, decline, flat on the ground) and uses more bodyweight resistance than a traditional crunch. 
2. The Dumbbell Chest Press- I know, I know, soooooooooooo many people would put the regular barbell  bench press here. Not me and here's why: Variation. With the traditional bench press the variation is very limited. Sure you could incline or decline the angle, change the tempo, or the total distance the bar travels but that is about it for the traditional barbell chest press. With the dumbbell press you can pull your  shoulder back for more chest focus, push your shoulders forward for more shoulder focus, change the angles, do the exercise with one hand to bring the trunk into play, do a piston action press, the list goes on and on. Also if your shoulders ever started to hurt you can control the exact plane you want to weight to move in on each side to avoid pain. In my mind this is no contest. Dumbbell press trumps barbell press.
3. The Pull-Up- Not everyone will be able to do this one right away. At least not with a whole bunch of motion. But over time eating the fish and fruit diet and practicing all of these exercises you will eventually be able to master the toughest and best upper back exercise and all of it's variations. Those variations are what really sets the pull-up apart from the crowd when it comes to back exercises. If you want to focus on more biceps you can turn your palms up. If you want more back focus turn your palms down and bring your grip out wider. If you want forearm and wrist extensor focus bring your hands in close and go palms down. For upper back and arms it doesn't get much better than the pull-up.
4. The Barbell Squat- You had to know it was coming. The Big Boy. The best overall lower body exercise that there is or ever will be. Is it for everyone? The answer to that is a resounding NO! If you have major back problems, instability in your hips or knees, or a limitation in shoulder range of motion (specifically external rotation) this is not the exercise for you. But for a healthy adult without any  injuries or compensations this is pound for pound the undisputed champion of lower body development. For those with aforementioned injury concerns the squat can always be performed with your own body weight or with an alternate resistance such as a dumbbell.
5. The Dead Lift- If only one exercise were going to make the cut for the desert island list it would without a doubt be the dead lift. This exercise has it all, plenty of variation (sumo style, wide grip, narrow grip, normal grip), works all the major muscle groups (literally), and can build muscle on it's own better than any of the other aforementioned exercises. You wonder why power lifters are so big and powerful and it's because they dead lift all of the time.

There you have it. The desert Island top five. These exercises should be the meat and potatoes of any good program desert island or not. That being said, the individual still must be at the proper skill level, be injury free, and have been instructed by someone highly qualified before trying any of these lifts. That will ensure you will get the best possible outcome from the desert island top five.

Brandon