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My 5 Favorite Muscle Building Exercises

I love building muscle. It’s what I’m most passionate about. It’s what I think about when going to sleep and what I think about when I wake up.

Most experts will agree on the best muscle building exercises. I think it’s important to use the ones that you enjoy doing.

For example, deadlifts are an amazing muscle building exercise, but I hate doing them because they just are not fun.

So I don’t do them.

There is nothing wrong with that.

My advice is that instead of picking a great exercise and performing it half-ass, you should pick an exercise you like and perform it with 100% intensity.

That’s my philosophy.

I also believe that you should focus on just a few compound exercises and try to constantly improve on these by either increasing the weight and/or the reps.

My 5 Favorite Muscle Building Exercises

1 – Lat Pulldowns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxellR7exJ0

Lat Pulldowns are a great back exercise. I recommend these for most people over pull ups because I feel that most people can create a better mind-muscle connection with lat pulldowns.

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2 – Seated Cable Rows

Seated Cable Rows are another great back exercise. I prefer these over 1-arm dumbbell rows simply because I feel it more in my back when I perform the cable rows.

Again, it’s the mind-muscle connection that is critical for muscle growth.

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3 – Weighted Pushups

As most of you know, I hate the barbell bench press. They destroy the shoulders and are more of a front deltoid exercise than they are a chest-building exercise.

Pushups are the most under-appreciated muscle-building exercise in existence.

Once you can bang out more than 20 push-ups then you should add weight.

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4 – Dip Machine

The dip machine is great for the chest and triceps. I prefer these over bodyweight dips.

I feel like I have much more control and I like that I can manipulate the load.

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5 – Goblet Squats

Squats are awesome. There are barbell back squats, barbell front squats, hack squats, and goblet squats.

I love goblet squats.

You can use a dumbbell or weighted vest or both.

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A Perfect Split with the above exercises

Monday

1a) Lat Pulldowns  5 sets x 12-15 reps

1b) Weighted Pushups  5 sets x 12-15 reps

2)  Goblet Squats  2 sets x 15-20 reps

Tuesday – off

Wednesday

1a) Seated Cable Rows  5 sets x 8-12 reps

1b) Dip Machine  5 sets x 8-12 reps

2)  Goblet Squats  2 sets x 15-20 reps

Thursday – off

Friday

1) Goblet Squats  2 sets x 8-12 reps

2a) Lat Pulldowns  2 sets x 8-12 reps

2b) Weighted Pushups  2 sets x 8-12 reps

3a) Seated Cable Rows  2 sets x 8-12 reps

3b) Dip Machine  2 sets x 15-20 reps

Saturday & Sunday – off

If you follow the above split, keep records, and try to increase the weights consistently, you will make huge gains in muscle.