A theoretical question. Hopefully not too silly for the forum.

[Madmartigains]

Jogging and trap bar deadlift.

 

[vision1]

A lot of people in here are going to develop shoulder problems

 

[period]

I have pondered on similar questions before, and basically always come back to the same conclusion: it depends
For one, it depends on what you do in your regular day / combat sport; for example, if my typical mat session has me doing 800 double legs with a lift finish, my legs will be too shot for squats, and I will not benefit from doing more of them. It also depends on whether or not the mat training includes a conditioning component or not (for example, one of my former wrestling coaches had us finish each session with 20 pull-ups and ten lengths of rope climbing, sometimes also a push-up and / or plate circuit; another coach had us do bridge spins [doing 360° turns in wrestler's bridge or gymnastic bridge] for 3-6 minutes - that burns out the legs like you wouldn't believe). Finally, it depends on pre-existing injuries, imbalances etc.

If "two exercises" means that I can do all the things I want in a standard gym with partners, mats and the typical equipment for bodyweight exercises (climbing ropes, pull-up bar, resistance bands etc.), I woul probably pick squats and C&P as my two exercises, since I would argue they give me the biggest bang for the buck and offer certain advantages compared to squats with a partner and handstand-push-ups.
If, on the other hand, I can only spar and drill on the mat (but as much as I want, deciding how much of which I want to do), I would choose rope climbing and bridge spins, since these are the two exercises that offer the most universal advantages for grappling imho; in that case, I would drill a lot and spar comparatively little on the mat.
Finally, if I was restricted to the typical schedule in a BJJ gym (little drilling, lots of sparring), I would choose shadow-drilling with resistance bands (if that counts as one exercise) as my main exercise and probably bridge spins as the second.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Pushups for chest and abs

Rowing machine for everything else.

 

[Baby Hanma]

Pushups for chest and abs

Rowing machine for everything else.

Dude this sounds great. Thanks.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Dude this sounds great. Thanks.

Your abs don't get worked that hard during pushups, but I only had 2 exercises to choose.

But if you're actually going to do this, then there's no reason to stick to only 2.

I'd add some other ab work.

 

[WillyWarminski]

Your abs don't get worked that hard during pushups, but I only had 2 exercises to choose.

But if you're actually going to do this, then there's no reason to stick to only 2.

I'd add some other ab work.

Interesting. I'm very long, with a long torso and the more push-ups I do, the more I'm passively planking. I get a great core workout during extended push-up sessions.

 

[WillyWarminski]

Old me: Back Squat and Clean&Press

Me now: chins and bw squats

I'm not far off that now.
I've moved and sold my weights. I miss them a little but I used to love c&p, but started front squats when a few mobility issues kicked in.

Now, I do a lot of pullups and bwsquats (but also a vest or kettlebell).

I actually wish I'd made that my foundation when I was younger, mastering that and adding only what was necessary.

The closer I get to 50, the better I feel with absolute basics and bodyweight training.

 

[gspieler]

I'm not far off that now.
I've moved and sold my weights. I miss them a little but I used to love c&p, but started front squats when a few mobility issues kicked in.

Now, I do a lot of pullups and bwsquats (but also a vest or kettlebell).

I actually wish I'd made that my foundation when I was younger, mastering that and adding only what was necessary.

The closer I get to 50, the better I feel with absolute basics and bodyweight training.

Pretty much. I love barbell training, but once I hit 40, and found out I had an arthritic spine, it was time to move on to different training modalities. After 20 years, though, it was probably time for a change anyway.

 

[ASUThermo]

Thruster and supine pull-up would be my picks.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

Dumbbell Shoulder press and rope pulldown

Safe exercises that build vanity muscles

 

[MRT]

Old me: Back Squat and Clean&Press

Me now: chins and bw squats

I like both of those options.

I might pair the chins with devil's press...kind of blends it all together?