Essential Exercises to Increase Muscle Mass

Seven savvy tips to build your body up.

There are a mind-boggling number of muscle-building ideas out there. System after system claims to be the one to use, so where do you start? If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the good news is that your body is most likely to respond to a few key exercises for each muscle group. They’re tried and tested, and well worth your while giving them a try.

In this blog, we’re going to highlight some of the heavy hitters for the major muscle groups. Shoulders, chest, biceps, triceps, back and legs: six areas, six suggestions for exercises that will help you grow. To top it off, the seventh tip will make sure you get the most out of your mass workout.

Before we begin, we stress that you must always consult your physician before beginning any program of exercise. Likewise, when performing a program, we recommend doing so under professional supervision until you feel you are confident enough to train wisely, safely, and responsibly.

Ready? Let’s go!

Shoulders

Your shoulder muscle is a three-way split of the anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoid. It’s the most flexible of all your joints and contains the sensitive rotator cuff (that injury you hear so many sportspeople suffering from). The classic shoulder building exercise is the Seated Military Press. Like the name suggests, you take a seat on the bench with the incline vertical to your back. Then, with palms facing forward, you raise and lower the dumbbells or barbell upward from and back down to your shoulders.

Like all weight training exercises, slow with good form is the way to go. Pay attention to steady breathing and don’t rush to go too heavy or too fast. Here’s a visual demonstration of the seated military press, and also a guide for deciding how much weight you should be using.

Chest

These big pushing muscles are also split into three sections: the major, the minor, and the anterior. For an overall approach to growth, the bench press is often the exercise of choice. Lay flat (or incline) on a bench with a barbell or dumbbells and push the weight upward from the chest, slowly returning it to the original position. The beauty of the bench press is that, depending on whether you lower it to the upper, central, or lower part of your chest, it will shift its target to that area.

Biceps

Composed of two parts, the long and short head, the biceps are generally what everyone thinks of when imagining a strong body. In reality, it’s a fairly small muscle! It’s the triceps which makes up two-thirds of the upper arm’s mass (more on that below).

A solid movement for biceps is the standing concentration curl. This can be performed by standing, back straight, and raising a barbell up from just above your thighs to just in front of your chest. Alternatively, dumbbells can be used with the same form, and also in a bent-over style. This video highlights how important subtle details in form are, such as controlling the angle of the wrist.

Triceps

When you choose to target this biggest muscle in your upper arm, you really gain mass in that area. A powerfully effective exercise here is the close-grip bench press. You’ll really feel this one! It’s performed in the same way as the chest exercise we mentioned above, but with your hands much closer together on the barbell.

It takes particularly steady form to receive the full effect, but for many bodybuilders it’s a staple movement they won’t do without. Check out this guide to maintaining proper form during this triceps exercise.

Back

Your back muscles are big business. Sprawling across your upper body, they can literally make or break your physique. The back takes in a lot of muscle, but in general, when bodybuilders say “back,” they’re talking about the latissimus dorsi, commonly referred to as lats.

A strong candidate for best lat exercise is the lateral row. Typically, it’s performed by either sitting at a machine and pulling backwards on the weighted cables (much like a rower in a boat) or by bending over and drawing the weight up to your ribs. This resource highlights a cool twist on the traditional form, however. If you give it a try, remember to lift light weights and focus on proper form.

Legs

The bane of most bodybuilders! Skipping leg day is a running joke (pardon the pun). If you’re brave enough not to bail on these big body parts, then you’ll give a serious boost to your body’s mass building and fat burning stores.

Your legs are powerhouses and will make big demands in order to grow. You may hear that the squat is an excellent choice for building up your legs. It is, but the possible risks to your back and other muscles if performed incorrectly have led us to recommend that you approach your legs without weights.

Yes, it can be done! Not only is the weightless workout safer if performed correctly, you can do it at home or in the backyard. Seriously, we know how hard it can be going to the gym, especially if it’s leg day. Check out this guide to getting straight down to business, no matter where you are.

Last but not least…eat! It’s the edible exercise

All of the steps above won’t be worth a hill of beans unless you fuel your body. Your diet will empower you to gain muscle, lose weight and provide the nutrients that are necessary to keep you motivated. Consider the Pareto Principle; a theory which states that 80% of your results will come out of 20% of your efforts. Here’s a more in-depth look at how it can affect muscle gains for one of its many practitioners.

The principle applies to diet in the sense that your regimen should be focused on 80% nutrition and 20% training. Yes, that’s how important food is! An ideal diet will include one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and around the same in carbohydrates, daily. This way, you’ll be taking in the amino acids which are the bedrock of muscle.

If you’re leading a muscle-building lifestyle, 20-30% of your calories should come from healthy fat (like avocado, eggs, cheese and fish). Fat, you say? Yes, we do. Your body is like a bank. If you put in money regularly, you don’t feel so bad spending it. If you put in fat regularly, your body won’t feel reluctant to shed it. If, on the other hand, your body isn’t getting regular, healthy fats then it will hold on firmly to the fat you already have.

The reason? It’s trying to protect you and store fat in reserve; effectively, a safeguard against possible starvation. So, the rule there is simple: healthy fat in, excess fat out.

How to chew like a champion

Nutrition is the most vital ingredient in gaining muscle, yet it suffers in practice. People either aren’t aware of the true value, or they feel they’re against the clock when it comes to preparing quality meals. Our specialty is taking the thinking and preparation time out of the dietary side of your training! Our prepared meals offer a wealth of health benefits across a wide range of ingredients.You can simply choose what works for you and have it brought straight to you.

Here at Fit2Go, we adapt to your lifestyle. You can customize fresh, first-rate food every day and have portion-controlled perfection delivered to your door.