exercises

The overall plan of any weight trainer should be to establish a routine that helps to develop lean muscle mass in a completely balance fashioned. That means that each muscle group is targeted through consistent and alternating workouts. The result is that each of the muscle groups will work in...

Team MHP athlete Chris Bumstead shows us the top three exercises he's personally used to build one of the most aesthetic physiques in modern day bodybuilding. Looking for the right exercises to build that coveted v-taper? A while back, Team MHP athlete Chris Bumstead stopped by the Muscle &...

No matter what your gym or athletic goals are, squats and deadlifts oftentimes play a major role in getting stronger, being more powerful, and getting bigger. These core exercises form the basis of almost every lower-body movement. There’s a school of thought that performing hard and heavy...

Fellas, how many of you started lifting with the goal of having huge arms? Many of you, right? That’s what I thought. Unless you just started training recently, you know getting big arms is more than banging out curls. You have to make sure you hit those triceps and hit them hard since they...

Nope. This isn’t going to be another one of those run-of-the-mill “boulder shoulder” articles repeating the already nauseatingly understood exercises it takes to build big, wide shoulders. You know the ones, they go something like this: A standard press, a side lateral raise and then something...

The Top 7 Muscle Building Exercises Squats. Squats are the king of all muscle and strength building exercises. No workout should be without deep squats. They are performed with a barbell, generally in a squat rack. Squats not only build massive legs, but also stress most of the upper body. They...

No matter if you’re looking to set a new PR, run a faster 5K time, or to get ready for football season, gaining strength through accessory exercises is a vital component to improving performance. Hitting the weights, will not only help you gain strength, it also helps both build muscle and shed...

6 Truths About Exercise That Nobody Wants to Believe written by JAMES CLEAR STRENGTH TRAINING Success in the gym, as with most things in life, comes down to mastering the basics. With that in mind, here are 6 exercise tips, weightlifting basics, the best exercises to start with, and training...

Doing a cardio finisher at the end of your strength training routine is great for fat loss and mental toughness because your energy stores are low (glycogen) and you’ll be training fatigued. But when you switch your emphasis to hypertrophy finishers to bring up a lagging body part, you’ll get...

When working the back, you have two kinds of exercises: Exercises for back width – these exercises work your lat muscles, i.e. wide grip pull ups Exercises for back thickness (size from front to back) – i.e. rowing movements If we had to pick only two exercises to build an impressive back, we...

The John Doe 8 Step Full Body Routine 1. Chest – Incline chest press machine With all the exercises we will follow the same sequence of steps: 2 to 3 warmup sets followed by a hard ass work set! Example: – Warm up set 1: One plate per side for 12 reps – Warm up set 2: Two plates per side for...

Students of anatomy and kinesiology might have an advantage over the rest of us when it comes to triceps training. Not only do they they know the names of all three heads (lateral, long, and medial), but they also know how each head moves. That means they can figure out the best ways to target...

You could spend the rest of your lifting days doing just the basics over and over again, but don't expect your physique or your strength to make much progress. Training at the intermediate level requires making a conscious decision to increase your efforts in the gym. It also means changing the...

Fat-grip (aka fat-bar) training has become extremely popular in recent years. It is mentioned regularly by pro bodybuilders and strength coaches as a "secret" for building strength and muscle, and building up your upper body's weak links. The only problem, until recently, was that few gyms stock...

If you’ve ever experienced hand or wrist injuries, you know firsthand how annoyingly painful they can be. Not only do you have to take time off of training, but sometimes the road to recovery takes more time than you think. And while your lifting routine puts forth many benefits, it’s doing few...

When it comes to gaining muscle, there are many contributing factors. Let's look at what you're doing that could potentially be holding you back in the gym. 1. You're Not Overtraining, You're Under-Recovering Consider what weight training does to your body. By lifting weights, you are tearing...

Variety may be the spice of life, but too much variety can ruin your fitness success. Whether it’s due to boredom or simply not knowing any better, switching up your workout routine too often may be what’s holding you back from reaching your goals. Here’s what you need to know about how long...

This is an all too common story for people with no experience or knowledge on how to build muscle and gain weight. In most cases, after trying to gain weight for several months the person will quit. That’s a pity, because the only thing stopping the person from progressing is knowledge. In this...

So what’s the most effective workout if you only have 30 minutes to train? I love this question for several reasons: One, because it implies that the person is ready to commit to exercising every day — and consistency is the most important factor in creating change in how we look, feel, and...

One of the more popular muscle groups to train is the chest. If you’re like most lifters, chest day falls on Monday (aka International Chest Day). Having a great pec workout can generate momentum to carry you through the rest of your training week. The right exercises and training principles can...