I like to keep things simple when it comes to getting stronger. It's easy to believe the hype about hot new muscle-building products and exercises that promise to be the next best thing. Long "scientific-sounding" words and explanations are used to show that these "fancy" exercises and products work to build the most muscle.
I'm going to get back to basics in this article. I'll show you three muscle-building exercises you can't miss and explain why you should do them. These three exercises are the foundation of any serious training programme and the only way to build muscle.
You might not believe it, but with just these three exercises, you can build a lot of muscle. These exercises are what I call the "core" of any good programme. When making a muscle-building programme for a client, I always start with these three basic exercises and build the rest of the programme around them.
Three of the best ways to build muscle:
Squat
The squat is the best way to pack on a lot of weight. No one can argue with that. The squat is mostly used to strengthen the legs. At the beginning of the exercise, you stand straight up with a barbell on your shoulders. Then, you bend your knees and hips and lower the barbell until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Then you push the barbell back to where it started.
For the squat, your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are the main groups of muscles that are used. The lower back, the adductors, and to some extent the shoulder muscles are all part of secondary muscle groups. As you can see, this exercise uses a lot of different muscle groups. This makes it the biggest exercise and the one that could build the most muscle.
The squat should be the first exercise you do when you train your legs, just like all the other core-building exercises. Because it's the most difficult workout, you want your legs to be strong and ready. If you want to build muscle, you should try to do 8–12 reps of the squat. You need to warm up well because you'll be lifting heavy weights. Squatting is very hard on the lower body, especially the knees, so it's best to start the day with 5–10 minutes on the treadmill and a few light squats.
Bench Pressing
The bench press is the best way to build up your upper body. The bench press has been used to judge a lifter's strength for a long time. How often have people asked you how much you can bench? I bet no one has ever asked you how many chin-ups you can do or how deep you can squat.
The bench is a simple but very effective exercise that works the whole chest (the pectorals), the front shoulders (the deltoids), and the triceps. To do a bench press, you lay on your back on a flat bench, grip the barbell just wider than your shoulders, and press it straight down to your chest.
The bench press is the best way to build your upper body because it lets you move the most weight. This is the reason why it is better than the dumbbell press. You can also push yourself to lift more weight with the help of a spotter. There are also more advanced bench press moves like board presses, bench press negatives, and chain presses. For more information, click on the link at the bottom.
Wide grip Chin Up
If you could only do one back exercise, this would be the one. The wide grip chin up is the best way to see how strong a lifter is in relation to their weight. The body has to work hard to do this exercise to build muscle.
The wide grip chin up works mostly the lats, but it also works the upper back as a whole, the biceps, and the forearms. To do this exercise, you need a chin-up bar or a machine that helps you do chin-ups. Hold the bar with your palms facing away from your body and your hands wider apart than your shoulders. Start with your arms fully extended and your body "hanging." Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar, then lower yourself back to the starting position.
Most people won't be able to do wide grip chin-ups if they haven't trained their lats and backs first. You can strengthen your lats with the assisted chin-up machine or the lat pull-down machine before you try wide grip chin-ups. This is the most challenging back exercise you can do, so you should do it first.
When should you do these workouts?
As I've said before in this article, these exercises are the best for building muscle and the hardest on your body, so you should do them first in your workout to get the most out of them. I think you should do up to five sets of each exercise and switch up how you do these sets every week. For example, you might do pyramid up sets the first week, pyramid down sets the second week, and straight sets the third week. This makes sure that your muscles don't get used to your routine. Good luck putting on a lot of weight!
