There is nothing more frustrating than being enslaved to the gym and not seeing the results. Often, people rush from machine to machine without a second thought about compound exercise. Frequently, this is due to time constraints or a free-weight section that seems very scary.
While the machines are good, they deprive us of signalling acute growth hormone and the ability to work hard through valuable stabilizing muscles. Staying active is essential for health, and it is also a good way to build muscle.
Keeping this in mind, we’ve put together what we think are the best workouts that build muscle faster.
Exercises to Build Muscles Quickly
When we do compound exercises such as barbell squats, we work with almost every muscle in our body, setting ourselves strong and free from injury. If we are going to do a full-body routine, each routine can be a pull exercise, push exercise, leg exercise, and core exercise.
- Leg Exercises: Deadlifts, Squats or Lunges
- Push Exercises: Overhead Press, Bench press or Dips
- Pull Exercises: Pull-Ups, Inverted rows or Chin-ups.
- Core Exercises: Hanging Knee Raises, Reverse Crunches or Planks
1. Squats
Squat is one of the best exercises, whether we are trying to build our muscles or lose weight. It is also the best weightlifting exercises that build our lower body, strength and leg power. Because it is a compound exercise that engages multiple joints and muscles at once, it just takes some practice and instructions to master safely.
Step By Step Instructions
- Always have more than one skilled spotters available. Place the rack squat so that the bar stays on our upper back (trapezius muscles). Place hands evenly on the bar and at the bottom of the bar and back up so that it rests easily on our shoulders.
- By maintaining a wide posture, place feet squarely below the bar and lift this from the rack using legs. Do not lift it from toes or heels.
- Bend knees slowly while keeping bowel upright. Don’t lean forward. Keep hips under the bar every time. Under movement, the angles of our hip joints and knee are almost the same. Never drop to the bottom position or relax. Maintain controlled, slow and constant muscle tension. Breathe in as it descends
- Return to the starting position slowly while keeping back and torso straight and hips below the bar. Breathe out as we push our heels and then stand tall
- Repeat many times we wish for the set. Try 1 to 3 sets of six to 10 squats to start.
- At the end of an exercise, let guardians help direct the bar back to rack
Benefits
Squats build lower muscle power, endurance and strength. Also, they involve the core and improve stability and strength in the upper body and trunk. The athletes and elite use the squat as a basis for a well-planned weight training program.
The primary muscles which are used are the gluteus maximus (buttocks) and quadriceps.
2. Deadlifts
A deadlift is a complete body movement, and it involves almost every muscle of our body, like our forearms, arms and hands. Hold on to the barbell to ensure that bar stays in the right position and stays constant during the lift. Our shoulders hold the weight and keep it stable.
It’s a basic human movement. There is no other movement that is functional other than squat.
Instructions
- Place the feet along the shoulder width with the toes below the bar. The feet point straight, or they may come out slightly. The heels must stay flat on a surface. When we lift, the bar will move closer to shins and may graze them.
- Our head must reflect the position of the neutral spine – we should not bend slightly upward or downward, although a very slight incline is unusual or unsafe when we put in the effort.
- Strengthen the abdominal muscles by tightening them
- Squat down, bending at knees. The descent bar’s form is similar to the squat, back straight or arched in a little and not extend to the shoulders or spine.
- Hold the bar just outside the knee line with a tight or mixed grip.
- Lift bar by pushing it up with legs from knees. Breathe out hard. Do not try to pull the bar up with arms. The arms are always extended under pressure while holding the bar as the legs push up.
- The bar must graze shins and rest around the thigh level as we reach full height. Pull shoulders back deprived of bending backwards.
- Lower the bar down with repeated movements to make sure it is straight back again
- Repeat the wanted number of repetitions
Benefits
The deadlift uses quadriceps, gluteal (butt), lower back muscles and hamstrings. It is greatly considered for building mass of muscle, which is desirable for bodybuilders and those who desire to boost metabolism or prevent muscle loss due to ageing.
We can use a deadlift to build core strength, stability and overall strength.
3. Bench Press
The bench press is generally known as “chest” exercise, though that is not all it is. The bench press strengthens our traps, shoulders, forearms, rhomboids, and lats. However, the bench press not only uses our upper body. When we bench properly, we use our legs, lower back and hips as well.
It is a complete body movement; while we are benching, the rest of our body is not just lying free.
Instructions
- Lie on the bench below the rack which holds the bar. We must almost align our eyes with the front of barbell rack uprights. The head, shoulders and butt must be flat on a bench with a little bend in the spine.
- Arch the back, drawing our shoulder edges back behind us to keep from pushing with rounded shoulders. Feet have to be flat on a floor and comparatively wide apart.
- Hold the bar with thumbs outside of the closed fist, overhand grasp, with the arms somewhat wider than shoulders. The upper arms angle should be at 45 degrees to the body.
- Remove a barbell from the structure and lock elbows outward before lowering a bar to the chest along the nipple line. Do not move the bar to the arc from the rack directly into the chest point.
- Take a deep breath and lift the bar above the chest with outstretched arms, exhale while pushing upwards and aim steadily in the same position on the ceiling. Don’t look at the bar; focus on the ceiling.
- Return bar above the chest and repeat this exercise. Three sets of ten reps is a recommended number.
- To complete, replace bar on the rack from locked out position. Slide the bar back slowly until we feel the rack upright, then drop the bar into the rack rest. Do not attempt to hit the rack rests straight. If we miss, we can lose our control that can be risky.
Benefits
It’s a compound exercise that involves the upper arm’s triceps, deltoids of the shoulder and pectoralis of the chest. It builds strength and encourages the growth of muscles. It’s a functional exercise that helps us with many daily activities that require carrying or pushing.
It helps store muscle balance for athletes, mainly pulling muscle like rock climbing, swimming and wrestling.
4. Dips
Dips are the best exercise for the chest. When we hear “compound exercise, it mentions multi-joint movements that work various muscles or group of muscles at the same time. Dip exercise trains our abs, back, shoulders, triceps and chest.
With dip exercise, our upper body supports our entire body; thus, it is a full-body workout.
Instructions
- Sit on the edge of the chair and hold the edge close to the hips. We must point our fingers at our feet. Our legs are stretched out, and our feet should be hip-width apart with heels on the ground. Look straight with chin up.
- Please press on the palms of your hands to lift the body and slide forward enough that our back clear the edges of our seat.
- Lower yourself till elbows bent between 45 and 90 degrees
- Push yourself slightly back to the starting position and then repeat. Control movement throughout the series of motion.
- Start with three sets of ten repetitions and expand your sets and repeat in a few weeks to build muscle and strength in the triceps.
Benefits
Triceps dip is among the most effective exercises that activate the triceps muscles in our upper arm. Furthermore, we should work on our core as we hold our hips down on the ground. The triceps are used for compression, and we will engage them in any everyday activities which require pushing.
If we participate in sports that use a lot of pulling, we want to sustain our triceps’ strength to prevent muscle imbalance and injury.
5. Pull-ups
Pull-ups are one of the great exercises we can do. It works with every muscle in our upper body. We call pull-ups a compound exercise because they work out various muscle groups at once. By doing pull-ups, all our muscles in our arms, back and even abs will grow stronger.
Pull-ups improve our grip strength and posture. They are great for overall strength.
Step By Step Instruction
The pull-up bar must be at a high point that requires us to jump and hold it; our feet should hang freely. Stand at the bottom of the bar with our shoulder and feet width apart. Jump and hold the bar by grabbing over the shoulder-width apart. Stretch arms fully so that we are in a dead hang. Bend knees and cross ankles to balance position. Take the breather at the bottom.
- Breathe out during pulling yourself up so that your chin is at the level of the bar. Pause slightly at the top
- Lower yourself (inhale as you go down) till elbows are straight
- Repeat this movement and be careful that we should not touch the floor
- Completer the repetitions requires by your exercise.
Benefits
The pull-up is mainly aimed at the latissimus dorsi (lats) that is the largest back muscle behind our arms but is also most effective on our chest, shoulder muscles and upper back. Our abs are involved in stabilizing us as well.
Strengthening our upper body will help us with daily activities and attain good posture. It is also a convenient exercise to improve our grip strength.
6. Inverted Bodyweight
The Inverted Bodyweight row is the best, simple and most effective exercises we can do for our “pull” muscles. If we are trying to get to our first pull-up or do pull-ups already, the addition of bodyweight rows to our workout routine is a good idea.
It works all our pull muscles, including biceps, forearms, grips and back muscles.
Instructions
- Position yourself beneath the barbell on a squat rack or in a smith machine. The placement of the bar should indicate the back part you would like to train.
- Reach the arms upward and ensure that the bar is almost inaccessible to avoid contact with the middle back
- Hold the bar with the same width that will use for the barbell line.
- Bring the hips to the ground in a neutral position, lightly touch the scapula, and start the row.
- Push the elbows down to the ground
- Choose a bar with a squat pad, or aim to bring the chest closer to the bar. It doesn’t have to be touched when no squat pad is available.
- Lower the body in a controlled way, keep posture below, and repeat this process
Benefits
The inverted row has many benefits for fitness enthusiasts and beginners who want to improve hypertrophy, muscle mass and strength. This exercise is a good way to build basic stability and low back strength at the start and final positions.
It also offers the person the same basic benefits during the rowing motion of the exercise.
Final Verdict
Muscular strength improves athletic activity and enhances our overall health. A strong body allows us to carry out activities and movements which need power without being tired. Therefore building muscles is important to stay healthy. It will benefit us in many ways in improving our grip strength and maintaining good body posture.
The exercises mentioned above will help us level up our body, burn down some calories and enhance our flexibility. Give these exercises a try, and we will be well on our way, feeling healthier, fitter and productive after lockdown.