Which Exercises Should You Do To Build Bigger Muscles?

By Russ Howe-Pti

When people want to find out how to build muscle there is usually one question they want to ask more than any other. Which exercises are best for getting bigger?

In this post we shall show you the facts and help you get a solid routine in place.

If you pull out your current training plan in front of you right now you'll be able to see any potential flaws which have been holding back your progress recently. The most common of these flaws is to spend too long performing small isolation movements rather than the bigger exercises which yield more overall results.

If you are chasing a quicker return for your efforts in the gym leave behind your existing routine and try our advice for a month or two.

Sometimes in order to reach your destination faster you have to go back to basics. The old school techniques which have stood the test of time and still return quality results when applied correctly. I am talking of course about compound exercises.

That's right, despite the fact that working out has become increasingly more scientific in recent years we still need to return to the very beginning when we want to increase our size and strength. Performing a heavy bench press is still excellent for chest building, shoulder press is still the optimal shoulder building exercise, you get the picture...

Those big multi-joint exercises are the ones which still yield the best results so make them the baseline of each gym workout. If you improve your bench press you will improve your chest, it's really as simple as that. Keep your isolation exercises in there to give your session a good overall effect but make your compound lifts the main event.
The next question on most people's lips is usually to find out how much weight they need to use. A good system to use here is the eight-to-twelve rule. Your hypertrophy zone is eight to twelve reps, so start with a weight you can only lift eight times. Keep working with that wight until you are able to perform twelve reps with it. Once you can do that you are ready to increase the resistance and go back to eight reps.

Although very simple, that rule will keep you pushing for new progress and continually lifting more on your big lifts.

Sure, you could spend three hours in the gym every day working every single part of your body if you want to. But you want results, right? The easiest way to do that is base your efforts on the exercises which are going to give you the size you're after.

As well as improving your routine, this also allows you time to recover from each session before you hit the gym again. Rest and recovery are absolutely vital to a building plan. Try to get eight hours of sleep each night, if you can, as well as taking at least two days off each week.

This routine will help you to learn the basic rules of how to build muscle and help you to push beyond the level you have already achieved. You may be surprised by it's simplicity, but you will be impressed by it's results. As a personal trainer I have seen it first hand.



About the Author:
About the author: Russ Howe PTI is a popular fitness coach. See how to build muscle with our new video guide showing the five principles to a more muscular body and the best shoulder building exercises.

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