Exercise selection is a crucial part of a good weight lifting
program. You have to ensure that you are using the most effective
exercises to build muscle and this is where most people fail. The truth
is, doing four types of different bicep curls is a complete waste of
time and that time could be spent in a much better way that will give
your biceps a much better workout.
A term you may have heard of before is 'compound exercise'. A compound exercise is one that works multiple muscles at the same time; the best three are bench press, deadlifts and squats. What makes these so good is that they work several different muscles all at once, giving you a multiple muscle group workout in one lift. Not only that but these kinds of exercises are what promote all round body growth and they can increase testosterone in the body resulting in better size and strength gains.
Bench Press - The king of the press movements, the bench press will work your chest, shoulders, triceps and lats to name the main ones. It is a fantastic upper body movement and for most people it should be the core of your upper body work.
Deadlift - Quite possibly the best all round exercise for your body. The deadlift will target the back, both lower and upper and also hit your glutes, quads and hips. Your entire body gets a workout when you perform the deadlift.
Squat - The king of all leg exercises; the squat is a very versatile movement and can be performed in a number of ways. It targets the legs, which specific muscles is dependent upon how you do them, but it's safe to say that squats should be your main focus of leg work.
So the best exercises to build muscle are compound ones. Your workouts should focus around 'the big three' - the squat, the deadlift and the bench press. With these three exercises you can pretty much target your entire body and ensure that you're building muscle evenly. It is a good idea to include additional exercises and isolation exercises can be good if they are used in addition to your compound movements. A common misconception is that more is better, this isn't the case in the muscle building world. Overtraining is a very common practice and doing 15 sets of bicep curls is going to give you nothing apart from sore arms for a day or so. On this note I should say this: soreness does not mean you have had a good workout. There are many factors involved and soreness is not necessarily a good indicator for a good workout.
When picking isolation exercises you should try and pick one or two per muscle group. Try not to get too obsessed with targeting the inner or outer heads of specific muscles, this kind of detail really isn't necessarily unless you're training to be the next Mr Olympia! A great all round physique can be build on heavy compound movements and a couple of additional exercises.
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A term you may have heard of before is 'compound exercise'. A compound exercise is one that works multiple muscles at the same time; the best three are bench press, deadlifts and squats. What makes these so good is that they work several different muscles all at once, giving you a multiple muscle group workout in one lift. Not only that but these kinds of exercises are what promote all round body growth and they can increase testosterone in the body resulting in better size and strength gains.
Bench Press - The king of the press movements, the bench press will work your chest, shoulders, triceps and lats to name the main ones. It is a fantastic upper body movement and for most people it should be the core of your upper body work.
Deadlift - Quite possibly the best all round exercise for your body. The deadlift will target the back, both lower and upper and also hit your glutes, quads and hips. Your entire body gets a workout when you perform the deadlift.
Squat - The king of all leg exercises; the squat is a very versatile movement and can be performed in a number of ways. It targets the legs, which specific muscles is dependent upon how you do them, but it's safe to say that squats should be your main focus of leg work.
So the best exercises to build muscle are compound ones. Your workouts should focus around 'the big three' - the squat, the deadlift and the bench press. With these three exercises you can pretty much target your entire body and ensure that you're building muscle evenly. It is a good idea to include additional exercises and isolation exercises can be good if they are used in addition to your compound movements. A common misconception is that more is better, this isn't the case in the muscle building world. Overtraining is a very common practice and doing 15 sets of bicep curls is going to give you nothing apart from sore arms for a day or so. On this note I should say this: soreness does not mean you have had a good workout. There are many factors involved and soreness is not necessarily a good indicator for a good workout.
When picking isolation exercises you should try and pick one or two per muscle group. Try not to get too obsessed with targeting the inner or outer heads of specific muscles, this kind of detail really isn't necessarily unless you're training to be the next Mr Olympia! A great all round physique can be build on heavy compound movements and a couple of additional exercises.