Best Exercises For Building Muscle
If you have the goal of building muscle, it’s important that you’re filling your workout with all the right types of exercises. Far too many people waste time on exercises that leave much to be desired. It’s critical to keep in mind that you always want to be doing exercises that are going to stimulate the highest number of muscle fibres since it’s this type of stimulation that will really spark an increase in lean muscle mass.
Here are the top exercises that should be added to your lifting program as well as the muscles that they primarily target.
Squats
Squats are, what I would call, the ‘king’ of weight lifting movements. They are going to target all the lower muscles in the body as well as the entire abdominal core (as support) and will really boost your overall metabolic rate.
In addition to all of that, squats are going to be a main exercise to boost testosterone levels in the body, the biggest hormone involved in synthesizing lean body mass.
Now, if that isn’t a reason to start squatting, I’m not sure what is.
Deadlifts
Next up you have deadlifts. Deadlifts are a great movement for also working the lower body, particularly the hamstrings.
Women, if you want that ‘raised bum’ look – tight, firm, and rounded, deadlifts are a good option. You must be sure when performing these though that you are using the correct form or else injuries will result.
Bench Press
Moving on to the upper body, the first exercise that must be performed is the bench press. This movement is going to work the chest, triceps, shoulders, and even the biceps to a small extent. Most people are also able to press a decent amount of weight with this movement, adding to its appeal for building muscle.
Keep in mind that there are many different variations you can add to the bench press including incline bench, decline bench, reverse grip bench, and close-grip bench. There is no reason to ever get bored with this movement.
Shoulder Press
Fourth we have your shoulder press. This movement is fantastic for helping to develop that ‘cap’ look with your shoulders, rounding out your upper body workout.
Make sure when you’re performing these that you are maintaining proper alignment with the back as that’s typically the first thing to go. When it does, look out. Chronic back pain is usually only a step or two away.
Bent Over Row
For the back muscles, I’d suggest adding in some bent over rows. You can also use horizontal rows, but my personal preference is bent over as I feel there is a reduced chance you’ll start to use the entire upper body to pull the weight off (with horizontal you can start leaning back, trying to pull the weight in that manner).
Be sure when doing these you are maintaining a neutral position with the back as well since that’s going to also keep the back healthy.
Pull-Up
Lastly, we’re going to throw in the pull-up. This is also going to stimulate the back muscles but in a slightly different manner than the bent over row. Since many individuals are unable to perform a full unassisted pull-up (most women will struggle with this so if that’s you – don’t feel bad!), feel free to use the assisted machine to help yourself execute the movement, or simply just get someone to give you a little helping hand, gently pushing the legs upwards while you pull yourself up to the bar.
So, have a good look over your workout program for building muscle. Are these exercises included? If not, it might be time to make a few changes.
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