Would you believe that you can actually force muscle growth? Here is the best training to increase muscle development.
When talking about muscle growth, hypertrophy, or muscle development, usually people are referring to progressive overload. That is styles or ways for you to keep improving how much you get fitter.
There are numerous ways to do that, the simplest one is adding more weight to your barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell. You could also do more reps, train more frequently, or more. Previously, BOXROX also shared the secrets on how to maximise muscle growth. But when it comes to exercise selection, which ones to choose?
Is there one exercise better than the other to force muscle growth? Actually, yes and this is what this article on the best training to increase muscle development is all about.
Best Training To Increase Muscle Development
This list was first created by Max Posternak, creator and founder of Gravity Transformation, a website focused on giving tips and training guidance for people looking to improve their fitness and lose weight.
By doing any or all of the exercises comprised in the best training to increase muscle development, you will be improving your metabolism, building muscle, losing unwanted body fat and improving your health in general.
Here is the list:
- Barbell Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Squat
- Pull-Up / Lat Pulldown
- Barbell military press / Overhead Press
- Barbell row
- Walking lunge
- Dips
- Barbell bicep curl
- Calf Raise
As you can imagine, most of the exercises that are part of the best training to increase muscle development are compound movements.
Compound exercises are effective for building strength because they work multiple muscle groups at once. They also recruit more muscle fibres than isolation exercises do. This means that compound moves build muscle faster and burn more calories over time.
The deadlift will allow you to lift heavier loads compared to other pulling movements such as pull-ups, barbell rows, and lat pulldowns.
The bench press is one of the most popular exercises among weightlifters. It is the best exercise for chest hypertrophy and you can do them with a barbell for a heavier load or dumbbells for a bigger stretch of the pecs.
Squats are a great exercise for building your legs, butt, and abs. They’re also the most basic compound exercise you can do. If you want to build muscle mass and strength, squats should be at the top of your list of exercises—and there are lots of different squat variations to choose from!
The squat is performed by bending down with your back straight and lowering yourself until your thighs are parallel with the floor or lower, then standing back up again. There are several different types of squats.
Pull-ups are great exercises to include in your workout routine and they target your back, biceps, lats and abs. You can always modify them to make it easier, in case you don’t have the strength yet to do one.
You can also do chin-ups, a variation that uses more your biceps than your back muscles.
Overhead presses or military presses will target heavily your shoulders on the front and middle head. Regardless of whether you choose the dumbbell or barbell variation, make sure you go heavy and progressively overload it from time to time.
While the exercise above targets the front of your shoulders, if you want to complete the shoulder and upper body workout (targeting your rhomboids too) you should implement heavy barbell rows into your training.
Walking lunges are great to improve your lower body strength while being dynamic and unilateral. Do them backwards for easier strain on your knees, in case you have problems.
To increase the size of your arms, nothing better than a good triceps exercise and one of the best ones you can do are dips. The ultimate goal is to do dips with extra weight strapped to your body. To build up to it, begin with an assisted machine for dips, and change to bodyweight dips until you can add weight to it.
The last two exercises part of the best training to increase muscle development are isolation movements. That means they focus almost exclusively on one muscle.
When targeting the biceps, the one exercise you should choose is the barbell bicep curl. Utilising two hands to lift the weight allows you to load heavier, increasing tension and making your biceps bigger over time.
Lastly, the calf raise is the go-to exercise if you want bigger calves. It is difficult to get big calves if you don’t focus isolation exercises on this muscle. Many machines can be used for it, just make sure you are getting a good stretch at the bottom of the movement.
If you want to see Posternak explaining and showcasing each and every exercise featured in the best training to increase muscle development, click on the video below.
VIDEO – Best Training to Increase Muscle Development
If you want to continue making gains and improving physically, click on any of the links below to get more information to achieve the fitness level you want.
Top Training Programs to Gain Size and Mass
Understanding Hypertrophy: How to Build a Better Physique and Improve Performance
Barbell-Only Push, Pull, Leg Workout
The Ultimate Abs Hypertrophy Guide for Men and Women
Does Training to Failure Matter For Muscle Growth?
How to Build Muscle: The 4-Day Split Program
Image Sources
- biggest-bench-press-mistakes: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
- kettlebell-emom-workouts: Photos courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
