So now you have a solid foundation of understanding on the basic training principles and progression methods and you want to know which exercises will be most useful to you in your muscle building program. Good news, hypertrophy training allows for a wide variety of exercises so long as those key training principles are followed with an intelligent plan for progressing. So long as those criteria are met, many exercises will add muscle efficiently. That's not to say that all exercise are created equal, they are not.
When selecting exercises, the Stimulus to Fatigue Ratio should be considered
For upper body, any basic bodybuilding program should have at least one horizontal and one incline pressing movement, at least one horizontal and one vertical pulling exercise, some sort of lateral raise, and anywhere from 1-5 different bicep and triceps exercises depending on training frequency. This covers all the bases for most trainees. More advanced trainees will most likely require a higher selection of exercises whereas less experienced trainees should be able to progress with less.
For lower body, there should be at least one squat type movement, at least one hip-hinge movement, calf raises, and an isolation for quads and hamstrings. Same idea goes for lower body, more advanced trainees will most likely require higher exercise selection than less advanced trainees.
Chest training should incorporate both flat and incline work for maximal gains. Compound exercises should be the main focus and account for the majority of your volume. For maximal gains, isolation exercises should also be added in. Depending on frequency, 2-5 exercises should be chosen. Higher frequency allows for more variation which is most likely favorable for advanced trainees seeking optimal progress. Some viable exercises for chest are...
Compounds
Barbell Bench Press
Incline Barbell Bench Press
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Flat/Incline Smith Machine Bench Press
Flat/Incline Machine Press
Dips or Weighted Dips
Isolations
High to Low Cable Fly
Low to High Cable Fly
Pec Deck Machine
Dumbbell Fly/Incline Fly
Incline/flat press fly
Back training should incorporate both vertical and horizontal movements. The back is a complex piece of musculature. Exercises that target upper back, lats, and lower back should be selected to build a balanced and well developed back. 2-5 exercises should be selected based off your training frequency. Some viable exercises include...
Exercises
Barbell Row
Cable Row (neutral and pronated grip)
Lat Pulldown (neutral and pronated grip)
Pullover machine
Machine Row
Meadows Row
Dumbbell Row
Straight Arm Pulldown
Pull ups or Weighted Pull ups
Chest Supported Rows (Incline or Flat)
Barbell or Dumbbell Shrug
Shoulders are pretty simple. Many people tend to overemphasize overhead pressing thinking it will help build bigger shoulders. The problem with this is that it mainly works the front delts, which for most trainees, are already worked sufficiently by horizontal and especially incline pressing. Your deltoids are comprised of three heads, the anterior, medial, and posterior head. In other words, front, side, and rear. Some rear delt work is required but usually not a whole lot because the rear delts get some assistance work in pulling movements. Side delts require individual focus and should be targeted with 10-20 sets to per week.
Front Delt Exercises
Standing or Seated Barbell Overhead press
Seated Dumbbell Overhead press
Standing or Seated One Arm Dumbbell press.
Overhead Machine Press
Side Delt Exercises
Upright Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Cable Lateral Raise
Machine Lateral Raise
One Arm Leaning Lateral Raise (Dumbbell or Cable)
Rear Delt Exercises
Pec Deck Rear Delt Fly
Face Pulls
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly
Cable Rear Delt Fly
The Biceps muscle has two heads, the long head and the short head. The long head is worked with narrower grips and the short head is worked with wider grips. Note that not excessively short or wide grips are effective as they limit range of motion and muscle activation. Overloading on a basic curl exercise should be the main focus of bicep training. Additional exercises that place the the shoulder in different positions should also be used for maximal development. One basic curl, one curl with the arm in front of the body, and one curl with the arm behind the body should be incorporated. If frequency is high up to 5 exercises may be ideal.
Bicep Exercises
Barbell Curl
EZ Bar Curl
Dumbbell Curl
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Preacher Curls
Spider Curls
Cable Curls
Bayesian Curl
Hammer Curl
The triceps muscle has three heads, the long head, the lateral head, and medial head. All three heads are activated in elbow extension but some more so than others in different shoulder positions. A standard elbow extension with arms in front of the body will target mainly the lateral and medial heads. Elbow extension with the arms overhead or behind the body will mainly target the long head. The long head should be emphasized as it is the largest part of the triceps. A minimum of two movements is ideal and a high frequency may allow for up to 5 exercises.
Triceps Exercises
Close Grip Bench Press
Pushdowns
Cable Kickbacks
Skullcrushers
Overhead Extensions
Close Grip Upright Dips or Dip Machine
Legs are comprised of quads, hamstrings, abductors, adductors, glutes, and calves. Quads are trained through squat type movements. Hamstrings and glutes are trained through hip-hinge movements. Compounds are the main focus here, but isolations should be included to fully maximize these muscles. Maximal calf development requires both seated and standing calve raises. Seated mainly works the soleus and standing mainly works the gastroc. 2-5 exercises should be included for each based upon frequency.
Quads
Barbell Squat
Leg Press
Leg Extension
Split Squat
Lunges
Hack Squat
Hamstrings
Romanian Deadlift
45 degree Glute-Ham focused back extension
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Leg Curls
Good Mornings
Calves
Seated Calf Raise
Standing Calf Raise
Donkey Calf Raise
Leg Press Calf Raise
Glutes
Barbell Hip Thrust
Abduction Machine
Leg Kickbacks
Glute Ham Raise
These are the bread and butter muscle groups of bodybuilding training. Forearms and Abs were not included here. Both of these muscles will be developed from doing the exercises listed above. If you want to further progress on these muscles, additional work should be added, especially in regards to forearms.
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