There are plenty of exercises to choose from in the Iron Game, but only a handful are considered essential exercises.And of that handful, five are what's known as tools of the trade exercises, the indispensable few you must have in your workout program.
Here are the five best exercises on the planet for building muscle and power. Add these to your workout and watch your gains soar.
1. The Squat The big boy of all weight bearing exercises. The squat has been called the king of all exercises and rightly so. The squats have am indirect effect on your body, meaning squats work just about every muscle in the body, especially the thighs and quads. Even the calves get worked with heavy squats.
2. The Deadlift Another exercise with massive indirect effects. The deadlift works the whole body and some say all you need is the deadlift and a pressing exercise and you're in business. The hamstrings and back are the hardest hit. The deadlift is also the best ab exercise around. Do a couple sets of good, hard deadlifts once and see how sore you abs are after.
3. Overhead Press Great exercise for your shoulders and upper back. Do them standing up instead of setting down. Why? Because it's harder that's why. The old timers did heavy presses and they always did them standing. Many of the old-school lifters liked to press heavy dumbbells to work one arm at a time. Barbells or dumbbells, either way, do presses.
4. Bench Press Works the chest and the triceps hard. No need to do wimpy tricep pushdowns or french presses with this bad boy. Heavy benches are the only exercise you need to work your chest and triceps.
5. Chins The chin up is the best bicep exercise around, bar none. Try this experiment: Flex your bicep but keep the palm of your hand facing away from you. You should be looking at the back of your hand. Now grab your bicep with your other hand and feel how soft it is. Now rotate your wrist so that the palm of your hand on the flexed bicep is now facing you. Did you feel the contraction? That's what happens during heavy chins. If you're getting off too many reps, add weight to your body. If you can't do chins, switch to pulldowns instead, but keep your palms facing you.
There you have it. The five best exercises for building mass and power. If you make these fabulous five the foundation of your program, lift heavy and with max intensity, you'll be out-growing your clothes before you know it.
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