As a fitness professional I frequently receive questions like "how can I get big fast?" or "what are the best muscle building exercises?" When you head out to the gym, the types of muscle building exercises you do are going to have a dramatic impact on the results you get. What you will find is that there are all kinds of equipment out there and they can produce some decent results. However, you will need to work all the muscles in your body to get a solid muscular frame and that means ensuring you are at a minimum doing these exercises. It can be a good idea for you to rotate between these exercises in your routine to not overexert any particular muscle group.
A Selection of the Best Muscle Building Exercises
Squats
The most essential muscle building exercises for your legs will include the squat. With this exercise, you need to ensure that you are doing it properly. Imagine you are sitting down in a chair to help get an idea of how this should look and practice this movement a few times before you add in the use of weights. You will find this maximizes the results you have.
Bench Pressing
If your form is proper on this exercise, you are going to find that it will help to build up your chest and triceps. When not handled properly, you will only work part of your muscles and have some pretty unven results. The goal here is to push the weight up off your chest to help build the muscles with your back pressed on the bench and avoiding raising your butt from the edge of it or arching your back.
Deadlifts
For this exercise to work, you will need to ensure that you are pumping your muscles as you work the weights. Get into a stance that has your feet wide and your arms inside of your knees and keep to your form. Then you will want to lift with a single movement without jerking or kicking your ass out to lift the weight and then lower slowly.
Straight Leg Deadlifts
You'll notice that this is one of those muscle building exercises that will mirror some of the others. When you have your legs straight for this, you will work your hamstring and workout several other muscles that are not touched in the other form of deadlifts. This does increase the difficulty of the lift but when performed safely it's worth it.
Keep your lower back in an arched position and keep your chest pushed out and your head in a raised position looking forward. You will then want to begin to bend over and lift the weight. When you reach a full stance, you want to return to the original starting positions and move between the two situations.
Squatted Dumbbell Press
These are unique and effective! They work your legs, core, delts, back & arms. This particular exercise is underground in my opinion as I have only seen a grateful of athletes utilizing it without me telling them about it first. You're going to pick up a light to moderately heavy dumbbells and assume the squat position with your elbows fixed at your side and near a 90 angle. While maintaining the squat position during your movement and holding the dumbbells like hammers thrrust them up like you are popping a linen in the shoulder pads to get him off of you. These are gnarly.
Burpees
The burpee made the list because of the intensity and dynamic of the exercise even though 99% of the time you will do these without weights (weighted vest). This exercise covers almost your entire body and is also works great for cardio when incorporated into a HIIT workout.
Cleans
Cleans are no joke. I've heard a couple of knuckle heads over the years claim that the clean is overrated, but that claim is simply not true. Cleans are great for building explosive power, a core of steel and big bulging delts. Be sure to perform this exercise with great form as you do not want any back injuries inhibiting your fitness progress.
Alright insiders, that's it for this one. Be sure to incorporate these muscle building workouts into your routine in order to maximize your results. As always I appreciate all of your feedback.
Train hard!
– David McCready