Part 3 of 3…Best Lifts for Building Muscle
SKULL CRUSHERS:
If you’ve gotten to the point where you can bench press 1.5 times your body weight for reps as well as do dips with half your body weight strapped on, your triceps will no doubt be thick and beefy. They still need some direct work, which is where lying triceps extensions, aka skull crushers, come into play. They fulfill the primary function of triceps, which is to extend the arms. Most do skull crushers on a flat bench, but you may find you get a better range of motion and a better stretch with either an incline or decline bench. Most fare better with an EZ curl bar rather than a straight bar, because you will be using heavier weights than you can curl. You can lower the bar to your nose, forehead or behind your head. Try to use a spotter at all times. When you are using substantial weight, you can have your spotter take the bar at the end of your set, saving your energy for the set instead of wrestling with the bar.
STANDING CALF RAISES:
Last but not least, you need to hit the calves with one basic movement. You do not need a machine for calf raises. Anything you can stand on and hang your heel off of, like a step will suffice. The calves are a notoriously stubborn group of muscles to build. We have no control over how we train them and many do them incorrect. We do short bouncy reps with too much weight instead of using a full range of motion and controlled rep speed. Rise up all the way on your tiptoes and flex your calves. Then lower until your heels are lower than the arches of your feet. Very low reps do not do much for calves. Work in ranges of 10-12, 12-15 and 15-20.
BACK TO BASICS MASS ROUTINE
DAY 1
- BENCH PRESS 5 X 12, 10, 8, 8, 8
- CHIN-UPS 5 X 10
- MILITARY PRESS 5 X 12, 10, 8, 8, 8
- DEADLIFTS 5 X 12, 10, 8, 6, 6
- BARBELL CURLS 4 X 8-12
DAY 2-OFF
DAY 3
- DIPS 5 X 10
- BARBELL ROWS 5 X 12, 10, 8, 8, 8
- SKULL CRUSHERS 4 X 8-12
- SQUATS 6 X 15, 12, 10, 10, 10, 6
- STANDING CALF RAISES 5 X 20, 15, 15, 12, 10
DAY 4-OFF, REPEAT
*WARM-UPS NOT SHOWN-ALWAYS WARM UP AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO
Those are the 10 best exercises for packing on muscle. If getting bigger is what you want most out of your time devoted to the gym, all 10 belong in your routine. Adding a legal steroid supplement or muscle building supplement helps build muscle quick. If you really want to go on a mission for muscle, take a few weeks and use only these 10 movements. It will be a brutal shock to your system that will force new gains your way. These 10 classic muscle building moves deliver the most bang for your buck !