The Only 5 Exercises You Need For Muscle Growth
Building muscle can be tricky! Here is a foolproof guide to getting the body you always wanted.
So you want to build muscle? Well, you are in luck because these five vital exercises will make you grow like crazy. Keep in mind that to build muscle, you MUST be getting enough sleep, eating enough protein and drinking plenty of water. The upcoming exercises all fall under the bracket of resistance training, the only type of training that builds muscle mass. In basic terms, after resistance training, your body repairs or replaces damaged muscle fibres through a cellular process where it fuses muscle fibres to form new muscle protein strands or myofibrils. These repaired myofibrils increase in thickness and number to create muscle hypertrophy or growth. As a result, this means you should aim to progressively overload (lift increasingly heavier weight) on the exercises below to keep seeing your muscles grow and strength increase.
1. Deadlift
The deadlift, while primarily targeting your glutes and hamstrings, also works the whole of your lower body. For this reason, it is very much a compound movement, as it recruits many muscle groups at once. The deadlift is one of the simplest exercises to perform, essentially you are just picking up a barbell off the ground. There are two main variants to the deadlift, sumo and conventional. Sumo, which, as this name suggests, has a wider starting stance with more of an emphasis on your legs. Conventional engages more of the lower back with your grip of the bar being outside your legs. Either way, find the stance that is more comfortable for you. Deadlifts, especially done with heavy weights, can cause injury, so avoid ego-lifting and wear a lifting belt when required to minimise the risk of injury.
2. Squat
The squat, similarly to the deadlift, is a compound movement as it targets many muscle groups across the lower body. To perform a barbell back squat, rest the barbell on your upper back (traps) then take two steps backwards from the rack and brace your abs. With your legs around shoulder-width apart and your feet slightingly facing outwards begin the decent lowering until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. This is the bottom position of your squat. From there, push through your heels and drive up as fast as possible until you are standing upright again. There are numerous squat variants, such as the front squat or the Bulgarian split squat, but the barbell back squat discussed above is by far the easiest for beginners to learn.
3. Pull-ups
The pull-up is an amazing back builder primarily targeting the lat muscles and requires little to no equipment. Using a pull-up bar is the most optimal way to perform this exercise but if you don’t have one, a sturdy tree could be used instead. To do a pull-up, grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Then pull yourself straight up until your chin passes the bar, pause at the top before lowering back into your start position. If you aren’t yet able to do a pull-up but still want to work your lat muscles, try the lat pulldown machine instead. This is a useful alternative and even if you can do pull-ups you may want to incorporate the lat pulldown into your routine.
4. Chest Press
There are many incarnations of the chest press, the most common being the flat barbell bench press seen above. A good chest press equals a big chest. Your triceps and front delts will also feel the burn as you perform this exercise. To perform the bench press, hold the bar directly over the shoulders, arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Slowly lower the weight down to the bottom of your chest, elbows out to the sides. Push the weight back up to the top and repeat this process until you have completed your target number of reps. When attempting heavier weights, be sure to have a spotter on standby as a precaution to keep you safe. Alternatively, if you are uncomfortable using a barbell, dumbbells can be used in place of the barbell, which allows for more freedom of movement. Likewise, there will be at least one seated chest press machine in your gym, which is a great way to safely target your chest muscles.
5. Shoulder Press
The shoulder press is similar to a chest press except this time you are pressing overhead. This exercise is a must if you are looking for big, strong shoulders, as this is the shoulder exercise that allows you to move the most weight. Just as with most exercises, barbell and dumbbell variants are available. The shoulder press can be performed while standing or seated. If you are performing the dumbbell variant with heavy weights, I would recommend the seated version as getting the dumbbells into the starting position can sometimes be difficult. Once the dumbbells are in position, simply press overhead, making sure the dumbbells don’t touch at the top. In a controlled manner, bring the dumbbells back down to your starting position and repeat until you hit your desired rep range. If you are experiencing elbow pain while performing this exercise, try slightly tucking your elbows in towards your body.
Summary
The five exercises listed above are all crucial if you aim to have a balanced and muscular physique. It is recommended that you do some accessory work alongside the five exercises I have highlighted to achieve even better results. Furthermore, to reiterate what was said in the introduction, these exercises should be performed with increasingly heavier weights as your muscles grow to prevent your physique from stagnating. Importantly, to optimise your muscle growth, drink plenty of water, get good sleep and consume enough protein. If you do all that, it will be impossible not to see your muscles grow, so good luck and train hard!
