21 Best Exercises for Each Muscle Group (Maximize Gains)

How to perform:

1. Place yourself between the cable crossover machine, with both pulleys halfway between the platform's bottom and top.
2. Connect a D-handle to each pulley and take one in each hand.
3. Keep the elbows slightly, and move forward so there's a strain on the cables.
4. Bring your arms together in front of your chest and flex your pecs. Hold the position for about two seconds, and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.
6. After each set, alternate stretching and flexing.

3. Dumbbell Half Fly

How to perform: 

1. Lean on a level surface and hold a dumbbell over your chest in each hand.
2. Drop the weights to the side, widening your arms.
3. You should feel a strain in your pecs. Raise the dumbbells halfway up, then lower them to the starting position. That is one repetition.
4. For each rep, take about three seconds to drop your hands and three seconds to raise them halfway up.

From my experience, the most incredible shoulder workouts of all time target your levator scapulae, delts, rotator cuff muscles, upper trapezius, and serratus anterior to develop the desired 3D and wider shoulders properly.

Here are the best exercises for that:

4. Standing Dumbbell Fly

How to perform: 

1. Hold the dumbbells at your sides.
2. Swing the dumbbells up a few inches using your upper body without shrugging.
3. Your arms and body will create an upside-down V shape.
4. Bring the load down to the starting position and repeat.
5. Consider it a lateral rise with velocity but no full range of motion.

5. Barbell Standing Press

"Given the steadiness of this exercise, it is excellent for developing your core and boosting general strength."

- James White, Personal Trainer

How to perform: 

1. Take a barbell and grasp it at shoulder level with hands facing forward.
2. To begin, place your feet shoulder-width apart and gently bend your knees.
3. Push up with your feet to push the barbell straight over your head.
4. Return with control to the starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.

Strong and developed leg muscles do more than just look nice.

Even simple daily activities like walking need leg strength. This implies that including leg exercises in your program is vital to your health.

Throughout my coaching career, I've seen how exercises like squats and leg curls not only improve the appearance of leg muscles but also enhance functional strength.

Related: Chris Bumstead Push Pull Legs Workout

The best leg exercises are:

6. Back Squat

How to perform it: 

1. Put a barbell on the traps and stand, having your feet shoulder-width apart. Your eyes should be front, chest high, and your toes slightly pointed out.
2. Sit into your hips with bent knees and lower yourself towards the ground. Make sure your knees are slightly out and not collapsed in.
3. Drop your thighs until they are parallel to the floor — or as far as your mobility enables — and then push back to your starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

How to perform: 

1. Get into the leg curl workstation, lying flat on your tummy with the roller pad above your heels.
2. Grasp the machine's supporting bars on each side.
3. Lift your feet and engage your core, bringing the pad to your butt.
4. Pause at the peak, then controllably return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.

Also Read: Exercises For Fast Feet To Improve Foot Speed

8. Hip Thrusts

How to perform:

1. Place a plate, barbell or dumbbell on your hips and sit on a raised platform, such as a bench or sofa. You'll use your hands to support the load throughout the motion.
2. To begin, scoot your back down the bench, knees bent and legs flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Your knees must be at a 90-degree angle, and the bench should be directly beneath your shoulder blade.
3. Maintain a chin tuck and lower your buttocks to the ground. Lower yourself while keeping your feet stable, pausing until your torso makes a 45-degree angle with the floor.
4. Lift your heels until your thighs are level with the floor once more. Squeeze your glutes, then return to the beginning position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

The standing calf raise is among the best exercises to build and improve your calves.

Also, it's fantastic for enhancing cardiovascular health, stability, and posture.

How to perform:

1. Set yourself on a Smith machine with your load on your shoulders and your legs on a slightly raised platform.
2. Keep your core and glutes braced and your knees straight.
3. Drop your legs until your heels almost touch the floor, then press back up while aiming to point your toes.
4. Drop your heels back down and repeat the movement for reps.

11. Box Jumps

How to perform:

1. Locate a safe box and position yourself a short distance from it, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Descend into a low squat and swing your hands as you leap onto the box, landing on all fours (not just with the toes on the edge).
3. Land lightly from the box and step back, keeping a tight sense of control and form.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

How to perform: 

1. Squat down and place your hands shoulder-width apart on a barbell.
2. When you lift the bar, keep your chest up, your shoulders back, and your gaze straight ahead.
3. Concentrate on bringing the load back onto the heels and keeping the bar as close to your body as possible at all times.
4. Lift to thigh height, pause, and then return to the starting position under control.
5. Repeat for reps.

15. Barbell Bent-over Row

How to perform:

1. Take an overhand hold on a barbell with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
2. With your feet slightly bent, maintain your back straight and lean your upper body forward till it's almost parallel with the ground.
3. Row the bar up into your lower chest.
4. Pause, then return to the starting position under control.
5. Repeat for reps.

To develop arms that pop out, you must beat them from various angles that engage all arm muscles.

My clients have achieved significant arm muscle growth by tackling various exercises like incline biceps curls and tricep dips, as I've instructed in our sessions.

15. Incline Biceps Curl

How to perform:

1. Sitting on an incline bench, take the dumbbell at arm's length in each hand.
2. Curl the dumbbell with your biceps until it nears your shoulder.
3. Lower it back down to your side and repeat.

16. Twisting Dumbbell Curl

How to perform: 

1. Grasp the dumbbells in each hand, palms facing each other, at your side.
2. Alternately curl the dumbbells upward to your shoulders with your biceps, rotating your hands to face the chest as you raise them.
3. Lower the dumbbells to your sides slowly and repeat.

How to perform:

1. Lift yourself onto parallel bars with your body perpendicular to the ground.
2. Bend your knees and lower your body gradually until your shoulder blades are below the elbows.
3. Lift your elbows back up until they are nearly upright but not locked.
4. Repeat for reps.

18. Diamond Press-up

How to perform:

1. Lie down on your stomach with your back straight and your hands in a diamond shape.
2. Lower your body weight until your chest almost touches the floor.
3. Return to the beginning posture by tightening your chest and triceps simultaneously.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

How to perform: 

1. Lying face down on the floor, prop yourself into a forearm plank position.
2. Ensure your elbows are lined beneath your shoulders and your fists are balled up.
3. You should have your forearms parallel to each other.
4. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds per set.

21. Bird Dog

How to perform: 

1. Consider this an upside-down dead bug.
2. Begin in a tabletop posture, with your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.
3. Tighten your core while raising your left arm and right leg simultaneously.
4. As you kick back, your leg must be flexed while your palm faces your body.
5. When your leg and arm are at the same level as your torso, pause briefly before bringing your knee and elbow into contact below the body.
6. Repeat for one rep on the opposite side, and complete ten repetitions for one set.

Your shoulders are made up of three primary muscles called deltoids.

The deltoids have three heads:

• The Anterior Head (front)
• The Posterior Head (rear)
• The Lateral Head (middle)

The delts primarily support adjacent muscle groups such as the biceps, pecs, and lats.

The rear delts assist the lats and traps in pulling the arm behind you, the front delts aid the pecs in pulling the arm in front of you, and the lateral delts enable the pecs, traps, and other muscles surrounding your neck and upper back in pull the arm to the side [1].

The effectiveness of shoulder exercises like the overhead press or barbell row depends on the movement's angle, targeting different deltoid muscles.

For balanced shoulder development, it's important to exercise all three deltoid heads.

Typically, the posterior and lateral deltoids need more focus, as the anterior deltoids are also engaged in many chest exercises.

The arms are made up of four major muscles: the biceps brachii, the biceps brachialis, the triceps, and the forearms [3].

The biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle, while the biceps brachialis, located underneath, assists in elbow flexion.

A well-developed brachialis enhances arm aesthetics, creating a distinct separation between the biceps and triceps and contributing to the biceps 'peak' during flexion.

The primary role of the biceps is to flex the arm, drawing the forearm towards the upper arm.

They supinate the elbow when you move your hand upward, poised to catch something, according to the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine [4].

For optimal biceps engagement, keep your palms facing upwards. In contrast, the triceps brachii, with its three heads (long, lateral, and medial), extends the forearm, opposing the biceps' motion. These heads combine to form the triceps' distinct 'horseshoe' shape when well-developed [5].

Despite common belief, the triceps, not the biceps, primarily determine arm size due to their larger muscle group.

Well-developed forearms also enhance the overall appearance of the arms, much like calves do for legs.

Balanced training of these muscles is key to achieving impressive arms.

Many major muscles make up the upper region of the legs:

• The Quadriceps Muscle
• The Glutes
• The Hamstring muscles

The calves are technically elements of the legs, but we'll cover them individually because they require a distinct type of exercise.

Each one of these muscle groups responds better to different workouts, and each has "specific requirements" for maximum development and definition.

There are a few leg muscles, so let's go through each separately.

The Glutes

The gluteus muscles, sometimes known as "glutes," are made up of three muscle groups that compose your buttocks:

• The Gluteus Maximus
• The Gluteus Medius
• The Gluteus Minimus

They stabilize your body throughout all movement types and generate force in workouts like the squat and deadlifts [6].

The quadriceps are a group of four major muscles located on the front of your feet that include:

• The Vastus Lateralis Muscle
• The Vastus Intermedius
• The Vastus Medialis
• The Rectus Femoris Muscle

The quadriceps muscles extend and flex the knees and hips, according to the National Library of Medicine [7].

Because the quads are more prominent and visible, they receive the most attention.

This can result in a muscle imbalance between the back and front of the thighs, which looks weird and may lead to injuries.

The Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a trio of muscle fibers found on the back of the legs:

• The Semitendinosus
• The Semimembranosus
• The Biceps Femoris

The hamstrings act together to bend the knee, like during a hamstring curl, and extend the hips to perform a hip thrust or deadlift [8].

The femoris is divided into two "heads" or portions, like the arm biceps.

Unlike the biceps, the hamstrings are one of the most inefficient muscle fibers in the lower body.

The "core," or the muscles around your abdomen, is sometimes called the seventh main muscle group.

It comprises the obliques (external and internal), rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis.

All these muscles help maintain the spine and aid spinal flexion, bringing your chest nearer to your hips.

If you're working the other six major muscles with strong compound movements, your core will get enough indirect work that you won't need a separate core exercise.

Food and exercise are essential for managing body weight, including muscle building.

You can change your training routine if you want to grow muscle quickly.

You must first recognize your limitations in increasing your exercise intensity and protein consumption to gain muscle mass.

And for the energy required to complete your sets and reps, I recommend incorporating our best pre-workout supplements.

From my personal coaching experience, adjusting training routines to include more compound movements and tweaking diets to be protein-rich have accelerated muscle growth for many of my clients.

Here's a quick guide on muscle building:

1. Exercise

Knowing how your muscle groups are focused throughout a workout may enhance efficiency, whether performing bench press and weight training to tone your upper body or lunges and squats to train your lower body.

As a starting point, go to the list of optimal exercises for each muscle unit at the start of this article.

Incorporating the concept of the mind-muscle connection, where focused mental engagement with the muscle during exercise can lead to more effective workouts and enhanced muscle growth, is a key factor in maximizing the benefits of your training.

A balanced diet, rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, plays an indispensable role in muscle development and recovery, highlighting the need for a nutritional plan that complements your workout regimen.

While some people have inherently rapid metabolisms, a better diet may benefit everyone.

A protein-rich diet aids muscle growth and recovery after exercise, according to Nutrients [15].

Many individuals use quality whey protein powder to complement their diet since it is a rapid method to get protein into the body.

Protein shakes are the most frequent way to ingest protein powder.

These protein drinks can be taken before or after working out. You are in good shape if the body obtains the protein needed to develop muscle after an exercise.

There are several elements to consider when determining how much protein you must consume to grow muscle.

The typical passive woman requires 46g of protein daily, whereas the average passive male requires 56g [16]. However, when one begins to develop muscle, the demand for protein increases from 0.75 g to 1 g of protein per pound of body weight per day. This is because protein helps repair the muscles so they can grow.

If you want to do any particularly rigorous activities, consume enough calories to provide your body with the energy it requires to create muscle.

While people who want to lose weight may look for low-calorie foods, it is predicted that those who want to build muscle will gain weight.

"The greatest meals for muscle building are rich in proteins and low in saturated fat. Nevertheless, don't forget about carbs and fats. For the best results, eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly."

- Grant Tinsley, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist

While learning to gain muscle fast, you should evaluate how many repetitions you complete between rest intervals.

When it comes to strength training, including rest times in between reps is essential so that you can complete your exercise for a greater duration than if you didn't have rest breaks, based on study published in PubMed [17].

The number of reps you perform primarily depends on how your body reacts to the exercise.

Smaller repetitions, such as 5, might be optimal for someone just getting started with weightlifting.

If you are a novice to lifting, you can gradually increase your rep count to 15.