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9 of the Best Muscle Building Exercises
Building muscle can be a difficult journey, but there are plenty of things you can do to support steady growth and improve your strength, from managing your diet to staying consistent with your exercise routine. But which exercises are best for building muscle?
In this article, we’ll cover nine of the best exercises for building up muscle, explain how they work, and other considerations before your next gym session.
Squats
Bench Press
Deadlifts
Bicep Curls
Pull-Ups
Bent-Over Rows
Lunges
Dumbbell Pullovers
Tricep Kickbacks
What Are the Benefits of Building Muscle?
Building muscle isn’t just about aesthetics or improving your appearance. It can also have an instrumental impact on your overall health, daily wellbeing, performance, and longevity. When you focus on improving your strength, you also:
- Improve strength on your bones and joints, reducing risks associated with joint issues and osteoporosis, as well as improving the strength of the connective tissues that surround your muscles.
- Boost your metabolic rate, so you burn more calories, even when you’re resting and not actively exercising. This makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.
- Improve functional movement—things like handling the stairs, carrying groceries and heavy weights, and taking part in sports are all easier when you’ve spent some time building up the muscles you need.
Your long-term health and maintaining wellbeing as you age can both be helped by considering your muscle mass as part of your regular exercise routine. This can also help prevent injury and boost endurance.
The 9 Best Exercises for Building Muscle Mass
To become a muscle-building powerhouse, you’ll need to incorporate exercises into your regime that target different parts of your body, to support your wellbeing from head to toe.
1. Squats
Squats are essential for lower-body strength and overall muscle development, which makes them a cornerstone for any full-body muscle training program.
Targets: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core (if not using a machine).
How to do it
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands in front of you. Your toes should point outwards slightly.
Brace your core, and lower yourself by bending your knees, allowing them to track over your toes.
Descend until your thighs are parallel with the floor and hold this position for a moment, then press down with your heels to drive your body back up to a standing position.
Tips: Keep your spine neutral and avoid letting your heels drift off the ground as you move, position the bar on the upper back, and keep your torso as straight as possible throughout.
2. Bench Press
For building upper body strength and muscle mass, it doesn’t get much better than the bench press or dumbbell bench press. You can start by lifting whatever weight works for you, and slowly build up your strength with progressive overload—which can also be very satisfying if you’re setting measurable goals for your strength training.
Targets: Chest, shoulders, and triceps.
How to do it
Lie flat on a bench with your feet planted on the floor. Keep the core and glutes contracted to maintain stability.
Grip the bar, keeping your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart and palms facing away from you.
Brace your abdominal muscles and lower the weight gradually, bending your elbow and shoulder until they are roughly in-line with your chest.
Press the bar back up until your arms are fully extended (without locking your joints). Keep your shoulders pulled back so the bar is stable.
Tips: Avoid arching your back or lifting your head and shoulders throughout the exercise, keep your movements slow, and drive through your feet to enhance stability.
3. Deadlifts
Deadlifts are not to be trifled with; they build raw power and functional strength, making them crucial for total-body development. In addition to the posterior chain, they also engage your core and can improve your gripping power, too.
Targets: The posterior chain (back, glutes, and hamstrings).
How to do it
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, positioning a barbell over your midfoot.
Bend at the hips and knees, gripping the bar just outside your legs with your palms facing towards you.
Drive through your heels to lift the bar, making sure you keep your torso straight, chest tall, and spine neutral.
Push your hip forward as the bar clears your knees, and keep the pressure on until you’re back in a standing position.
Hold the weight for a moment before gradually moving your hips back and bending your knees to return to a crouched position.
Repeat for no more than 5 sets of 5 reps (or less if you’re new to this exercise).
Tips: Engage your core throughout each repetition, keep the bar close to your body, and don’t round your back.
4. Bicep Curls
Bicep curls, as the name suggests, are an isolation exercise that develop the biceps almost exclusively. They’re ideal for arm definition and strength, which can help to balance your upper-body aesthetics when you combine them with lower-body exercises like squats. However, they’re not the best for practicing with heavy loads—for those, you’ll need to look at compound lifts.
Targets: Biceps.
How to do it
Curl the weights upward, bending your arms at the elbows.
Lower slowly, maintaining some tension in your biceps as you do so.
Tips: Move slowly and avoid swinging your arms or using momentum; this exercise should help build control. Keep your elbows tucked close to your body as you move.
5. Pull-Ups
This classic bodyweight challenge can help to achieve a sculpted physique while also boosting your endurance and grip strength. When done correctly and with good form, pull-ups can also help to improve your posture.
Targets: Biceps, back, and core muscles.
How to do it
Grip a pull-up bar, making sure your palms face away from you and that your hands are roughly shoulder-width apart.
Start to hang from the bar, crossing your legs together if this makes it easier for you.
Engage your core, squeezing your shoulder blades together as you ascend.
Pull yourself upward until your chin clears the bar (or as close to this as you can achieve at your current strength level).
Lower yourself to the ground, keeping your movements slow and maintaining control as you descend.
Tips: Engage your core with every repetition, avoid swinging, and lead with your chest to ensure muscles in your back are also activated appropriately. Beginners can effectively use both resistance bands and assisted pull-up machines to build the strength needed for unassisted pull-ups
6. Bent-Over Rows
Bent-over rows are known for improving your posture and focus on the muscles in your upper back, which can benefit your stability. They’re key for creating a well-rounded, balanced physique.
Targets: Rhomboids, traps, and lats.
How to do it
Start with the weights (typically a barbell or dumbbells) on the ground.
Grip the weights with your palms facing downwards.
Bend slightly at the knees, and hinge forward at the hips until your spine is parallel to the ground.
Pull the weights toward your body, maintaining control as you move, and squeeze your shoulder blades tightly together.
Gently lower the bar once again, and repeat.
Tips: Keep your back flat when you bend over, palms facing up to focus on the upper back, and avoid overextending your muscles.
7. Lunges
Lunges enhance unilateral leg strength and functional movement, as well as your overall balance and coordination. They can also help to correct muscular imbalances, which can be great for improving athletic performance.
Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How to do it
Stand up straight.
Step one foot forward.
Lower your body until both knees are at around 90 degrees, with your thigh parallel to the floor.
Push back up through your front heel and return to a standing position.
Repeat the process with your other leg, and alternate for as many repetitions as you need.
Tips: Keep your knees aligned with your toes, make sure your torso stays upright as you move, and maintain control over your movements throughout to make sure your back knee doesn’t slam into the ground at any point.
8. Dumbbell Pullovers
This unique exercise engages your core while keeping the focus on your chest and lats, making them a valuable addition to your strength-building regime. Each movement expands the ribcage and builds upper-body strength and flexibility.
Targets: Chest and lats.
How to do it
Lie down on a bench or the floor, holding a dumbbell above your chest with both hands (palms facing inward.) Keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Slowly lower the weight back over your head in an arcing motion, making sure your elbows are bent slightly. Hold the position for a moment.
Bring the weight back to your chest, keeping your arms fully extended before returning to the starting position, and repeat.
Tips: Avoid overextending your shoulders, and keep your movements slow to help maintain control. Engage your core throughout the exercise to help prevent injury.
9. Triceps Kickbacks
This exercise isolates the triceps, with the goal of defining and strengthening the back of your arms. Kickbacks can help improve push-based movements and round out your upper body training, so you don’t focus too much on your biceps or other muscles.
Targets: Triceps.
How to do it
Hold dumbbells in both hands and hinge forward slightly at the hips until you’re roughly parallel with the floor.
Keep your elbows bent at 90 degrees, close to your body.
Slowly extend your arm until fully straight, holding the position for a moment.
With control, return to your upright starting position.
Tips: Avoid swinging your arms too much, and focus on squeezing your triceps at the peak of each rep. Use a lighter weight to keep the reps controlled.
How to Build Muscle Mass Safely
Building muscle is a long process, and it’s important to be patient to ensure you achieve sustainable growth without hurting yourself. Gradually building your strength over months or years is much better than stressing your muscles or practising with improper form, which can result in injuries that prevent you from weight training altogether!
So, how can you safely build up your muscles?
Prioritise proper technique and form: Start with small weights and adjust once you’ve perfected your form, either with the help of a trainer or by watching yourself in a mirror. Likewise, make sure you warm up and cool down before and after your repetitions to keep your body happy as you train.
Use weights suited to your level: Increase the weight you train with gradually as your strength improves, and don’t feel pressure to reach a certain level before you’re ready.
Pair training with a healthy lifestyle: Make sure you’re getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, staying hydrated, and adjusting your diet to suit your training with plenty of protein and nutrient-filled vegetables.
Tips for Building Muscle
You have the building blocks for a solid strength-building session, but there are a few tips you should keep in mind as you visualise your muscle-building journey:
Progressive Overload
Consistent and progressive overload is key to long-term gains. Starting off with a low weight is not a bad thing; in fact, it’s good to help you focus on perfecting your form for each exercise. Once you’re a master, you can gradually increase resistance, reps, or the intensity of your movements to make sure your muscles are always challenged, triggering the growth itself.
Maintain Your Form
Good form is just as, if not more, important than progressive overload. If your form is incorrect, you can expect muscle soreness at best and serious injury at worst—both of which can prevent you from training in the future. Perfecting the form of each exercise makes sure you’re targeting the right muscles with every movement and reduces the risk of injury.
To make sure your form is spot-on, focus on control and each step of each motion before you add serious weight to your routine.
Make Time to Rest and Recover
While it might not feel like it, rest and recovery are when your muscles do the majority of their growth. You can support them by aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep each night and allow at least 48 hours of rest before you train the same group of muscles. A varied exercise routine can help you to make sure each group gets adequate rest while still visiting the gym every day as part of your routine.
Listen to Your Body
If you feel like you need a rest, then odds are you need a rest. Pay attention to any fatigue, pain, or plateaus you feel. Don’t be afraid to adjust your workout if you feel any signs of overtraining or imbalance in your body.
FAQs About Building Muscle
What is the Most Effective Workout to Build Muscle?
A routine that combines exercises targeting different muscle groups will help you build muscle the fastest. Combine compound lifts (like squats and deadlifts) with isolation work and progressive overload for best results. Just make sure you don’t overdo it—training each muscle group 2-3 times per week is perfect for growing strength without overexerting yourself.
What Food Should I Eat for Muscle Gain?
Lean proteins like chicken, fish, and eggs are the backbone of a muscle-growing diet. Pair them with complex carbs like rice and oats, as well as healthy fats like avocado and salmon, and nutrient-rich vegetables will all contribute to muscle growth. You’ll want to reach a caloric surplus supported by macronutrients to encourage muscle repair and growth throughout your training period.
Should I Still Do Cardio?
Low-to-moderate cardio supports heart health and recovery without interfering with muscle growth. However, it’s important to focus on moderation if you’re pairing cardio with strength training. High-intensity or excessive cardio can lead to unwanted health complications and hinder hypertrophy.
Take Your Strength Training to the Next Level
Ready to push past your plateaus and grow some serious muscle? At The Gym Group, you can find all the equipment you need to build your strength in stylish, modern facilities. We also offer personalised guidance and personal trainers to help you perfect your form, introduce the right exercises at the right time, and support your fitness journey.
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