If you want to bulk up, it helps to be familiar with the most effective bodybuilding workouts. Compound movements, which target multiple muscle groups, are common in bodybuilding. Moreover, the increased effort required by the body to complete these motions results in a higher caloric expenditure.
A successful bodybuilding routine hinges on the exercises you choose to perform. In light of that, we have compiled a set of moves we believe to be the pinnacle of bodybuilding. Here's a list of the most effective bodybuilding exercises to develop mass.
Best bodybuilding workouts
Are you beginning bodybuilding? You can include the following exercises in your bodybuilding routine, although you should consult a trainer. Check out the following bodybuilding workouts that are very commonly used by bodybuilders:
1) Squat
There are two primary variations of squats. The first is the most obvious: just get to your feet, and crouch as low as you can.
There's no need for special tools, and you can do that literally anywhere. The second variety is a weighted squat, which makes use of a barbell or dumbbell as resistance. The weighted squat is one of the best bodybuilding workouts of all time, used by almost all bodybuilders.
Instructions:
- First, stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent.
- The goal is to get your thighs parallel to the floor (or slightly higher if you're doing this exercise in an office building).
- Raise yourself back up gradually, making sure to maintain correct posture the whole time.
One of the most effective leg bodybuilding exercises for men, the squat targets not only the quadriceps but also the adductors and abductors on each leg, as well as the hip flexors, which include the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, and the tensor fasciae latae (TFL).
2) Barbell bench press
Looking for bodybuilding workout for chest? The barbell bench press is one of the best body building workouts to do.
It's widely regarded as the pinnacle of chest-training exercises. The triceps, pectoral muscles, deltoids (medial and anterior), lats and abdominals are all put to use.
Instructions:
- Place both feet on the floor, and lie down on a flat bench with your head, butts and upper back in a straight line.
- Make a small swayback, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Take a grip on the barbell that's a little wider than shoulder-width apart, and slowly bring it down towards the pecs.
- Bring the bar back to where you began by reversing the motion.
- Always keep your elbows slightly bent at the top of the motion. Instead, maintain a slight bend in the elbows to increase muscle tension.
3) Pull-up
Pull-ups are one of the best bodybuilding workouts for the back and upper body, including your shoulders and arms. Performing pull-ups is a great way to strengthen the back, as it's a compound exercise that uses the arms and back at the same time.
To do it, simply attach a rope to the machine, and stand on a bench or box. To perform pull-ups and chin-ups, you should hold the bar with your palms facing outward, an overhand grip.
It may feel like your arms are about to fall off at first, but that feeling will pass. That's inevitable; muscle growth requires resistance training, and we can't do that unless we put ourselves through some kind of strain.
If you're not quite ready for this exercise yet, you can always focus on push-ups or something similar till you're stronger and more flexible.
4) Barbell row
As far as bodybuilding workouts go, barbell rows are the best in business. They help you develop strong lats and traps in the upper back. Choose a weight that's difficult for you, so that you have to work very hard on each rep.
Many people inadvertently weaken their back by doing exercises that require them to bend over and put most of the effort into their legs. For help with this lift, check out these helpful hints:
- Keeping your feet a little further apart than shoulder-width, bend your knees (to about 30 degrees), and point your toes either straight ahead (at 0 degrees) or slightly outward (15 degrees).
- Using an outside-the-hips overhand grip on the barbell, if you can't get into this position without rounding forward, widen your stance until it does.
- Don't round your back; instead, bend forward at the hips till you feel a pull in the hamstrings.
5) Romanian deadlift
It’s now time to try one of the bodybuilding workouts for the lower body.
The glutes, hamstrings and lower back are all worked on during a Romanian deadlift. It's a great warm-up for more advanced bodybuilding moves like rows and squats, and it uses nearly every muscle in thr posterior chain.
Instructions:
- Stand in front of a barbell, and assume the deadlift position.
- Raise the barbell off the ground while holding it with both hands.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together, and keep a slight bend in your knees as you lower the weight towards the middle of your shins.
- After a few seconds, release. and bring the weight back up.
- Repeat.
Include the aforementioned bodybuilding workouts in your bodybuilding workout plan to glean the best benefits from them.