1.

Deltoids

Military Presses (standing or seated)

An amazing exercise and a feat of strength for the strongmen of old. Even today, if you’re able
to press stupid amounts of weight over your head, you still qualify as a bowss.

Keep the back straight, and hold the bar with an overhand grip. When performing this exercise
with a wider grip, the anterior and middle delts are more effectively targeted. If you’re lacking in
the upper pec department, using a more narrow grip will help engage the clavicular head of the
pec major, as well as the anterior head of the deltoid.

2. Pectorals

Barbell Bench Press

I can just hear all the gym rat and meatheads yelling “YAASSS!!” when they read the
words bench and press. So, that means you must be doing something right, right?

With bench presses, it’s not simply moving the bar up and down, but making small adjustments
help improve both your strength and hypertrophy.

For starters, lay with your back flat on the bench while keeping your feet intact with the floor.
Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width. Pinch your scapulae together and press them
down towards your ass. Lift the bar from its hinges and slowly lower the weight to your chest,
then press the bar back up without locking the elbows. Try imagining yourself pushing your
elbows towards each other; this will create a mind-muscle connection with your pecs.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Fly

Like the bench press, you’ll want to keep your back in contact with the bench and your scapulae
pinched through the whole movement. Something that I like to do which really helps to isolate
the pecs is to rest my feet on the bench as well. Try it, you’ll thank me. However, I don’t
advocate it if you’re going to train your ego by doing heavy-ass fly’s. Or maybe you should —
natural selection might just take place.

Parallel Bar Dips

Back in his prime, Arnold loved to finish his chest routine off supersetting cable crossovers with
dips. But dips on its own—if performed properly—can have a wonderfully painful effect on your
pecs.

An effective way of performing dips is by extending your legs in front you creating something of
an L-shape. When performed this way, the outside of the lower pecs are quite fiercely targeted,
especially if you squeeze for a second or two at the top of the movement.

3. Back

Deadlifts
Deadlifts are my all-time favorite back exercise. Period.

To execute them with proper form, keep your feet about shoulder-width apart with toes pointed
slightly outwards. Grip the bar with an over-under grip so that the bar doesn’t roll out of your
hands, especially when lifting heavy. Keep your back straight, and your scapulae pressed
together. Lift the bar by doing a standing movement, and keep the bar close to your body as you
possibly can.

Bent-over Barbell Row

This exercise is particularly effective when you use an underhand grip.

Begin by placing your feet within your shoulder-width and grab the bar slightly outside of your
shoulder width. Stand up with the bar in your hands (kind of like performing a deadlift) and
slowly lower your torso to be just above parallel to the floor, all while maintaining a straight back.
Pull the bar up to your bellybutton, but try to pull the bar from your elbows, not your hands.
Thinking like this will also help with the mind-muscle connection.

4. Arms

Barbell Curls
And there the bros go cheering again. What’s better than seeing your favorite exercise on a list
of best exercises? Nothing, really.

With most exercises, you’ll notice that I recommend you pinch your scapulae together. Trust
me, it makes all the difference. You don’t have to take my word for it — just go and try it.

With barbell curls you should also keep your scapulae together during the whole movement.
Keep your elbows tucked into your sides. A trick I like to use is to lean a little forward as I curl
the barbell up while keeping my elbows pointed toward the floor. This mimics the isolation found
with the concentration curl.

Preacher Curls
This is another great exercise that has built some of the best arms over the years. The first Mr.
Olympia, Larry Scott, was an advocate of preacher curls, and as you might know, his arms were
full and well-developed — especially his biceps.

There’s not much to this exercise other than curling the weight up. You don’t have to worry
about keeping your scapulae together on this one. Just be sure to not let your arms fully extend
as this will cause strain on the elbow joint.

Close-grip Bench Press

Undoubtedly my favorite triceps exercise, and with good reason, too. Most people don’t know
how to perform this movement, and thus end up with overly developed anterior deltoids.

Grab the bar just inside shoulder width, and again, pinch the shoulder blades together. Lift the
bar off its hinges and lower it in-line with your mid-pecs. Don’t lower the bar all the way down to
your chest, instead, stop about 6-8 inches above your chest. And just like the bench press,
picture yourself bringing your elbows together.

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Extension

Don’t worry, no squeezing of the scapulae needed here. Although many perform this exercise
with an EZ bar, I’ve found a dumbbell to be more effective.

When lowering the dumbbell, don’t lower it past the point of your forearms being parallel to the
floor. By doing this you ensure that the tension is kept on your triceps.

5. Quads
Barbell Squats

The king of all leg exercises. Quite frankly, squats don’t just target the quads. Instead, they also
have a great effect on the glutes and hamstrings, which is why I’ll include squats under those
two muscle groups as well.

To ensure you squat with more of the emphasis on the quads, place two 2.5 pound plates
underneath your heels. For greater effect, you could even use 10-pound plates. Squat with your
feet about hip-width apart to place extra emphasis on the vastus lateralis (outer quad), and with
your feet wider than shoulder width to hit the vastus medialis (inner quad).

Leg Extensions
Although leg extensions can’t be considered to be a muscle building exercise per se, it does still
have its uses.

Like with squats, the wider your feet are on underneath the pad, the more engagement from the
inner quad. The closer your feet are, the more the outer quad is hit.

6. Glutes

As stated above, squats also help develop the glutes, and so, I’ll add it but won’t explain it
again.

Barbell Squats

Walking Lunges

When it comes to developing the glutes to super Saiyan-level, walking lunges are the way to go
— just ask eight-time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts

A variation of the standard deadlift. Instead of moving up and down as in standing up and
almost crouching down again, the stiff leg deadlift is exactly what the name implies. Keep your
legs slightly bent during the whole movement of the exercise. Lower the bar to mid-shin or just
above so that you don’t risk your back rounding out.

Barbell Hip Thrusts

Probably not the manliest exercise for dudes to be doing, but who cares? Chicks dig a man with
a grabbable ass. I know my girl does.

To perform hip thrusts, rest with your upper back on a bench and your feet on the floor. Rest a
barbell over your pelvis, and push your hips upwards while contracting your glutes at the top of
the movement.

7. Hamstrings
Barbell Squats

Walking Lunges

Stiff Leg Deadlifts

Lying Leg Curls

Although lying leg curls are typically done by resting your entire body on the machine’s bench,
but what some don’t know, is that when you press your upper body up (like a static push-up),
you’re able to isolate the biceps femoris quite well. For those of you who are unaware, the
biceps femoris is that big piece of meat that hangs from your leg when hitting a side chest pose.
Just so you know.