Most Powerful Muscle Building Exercises – The Big Three Compound Movements Explained
Real bodybuilders and athletes don’t really use resistance machines. Resistance machines, while they have their place, are essentially very much for noobs and beginners and they don’t offer you everything that they could.
The fact of the matter is that if you want to see the most possible muscle growth and fat cutting, then you need something a little more hardcore such as compound movements. These are movements that engage multiple muscles at once so that your whole body is working in unison, and that generally involve shifting the largest amounts of weight using a barbell.
The Big Three
The big three compound movements that should be the cornerstone of every serious workout then are: the bench press, the deadlift and the squat. Between these three movements you will engage every muscle in your body and you will force them to work together to achieve the maximum power and stability. Meanwhile this will also enable you to trigger an anabolic state in your body which will cause you to burn more fat and build more muscle than you otherwise would.
Here they are in all their glory…
The Bench Press. This is the most well known of the big three, and perhaps one of the most popular exercises full stop. To perform it, all you must do is to lie flat on the bench, lift a barbell off of the rack behind you, and then bring it down to your chest before pushing up and away until your arms are straight. This will train your pecs predominantly, but also your triceps, shoulders and traps to a large degree, and to a lesser extend your abdominals, serratus muscles and obliques.
The Squat. Everyone again knows the squat, but few people use it because it looks terrifying an because most people ignore their legs. This is a big mistake when you consider the legs contain the largest muscles in the body, and that this movement is the absolute best for putting you in an anabolic state. Use this exercise by holding the barbell across your shoulders and then squatting down to roughly sitting height with your legs shoulder’s width apart. Be certain not to bend your back. Start doing this and your whole body will grow to a large extent: guaranteed. This will primarily target your hamstrings, thighs, glutes, quadriceps and calves, but will also work to an extent your abs and your shoulders.
The Deadlift. The deadlift is a lesser known exercise, but no less important for training your back, lats, shoulders, traps, legs and core. Here the barbell lies on the floor in front of you, and you are then going to squat down and pick it up from the ground before standing up with it bringing it up directly in front of your knees. Again don’t bend your back.
Using just these exercises alone it’s possible to see impressive improvement in both strength and muscle development. Throw in a clean and press and some explosive plyometric work and you will see your body transform in no time.
About the Author
Ryan Wagner works with Vitacost and provides list of 23andme coupon & discount codes on his website along with information on most powerful muscle building exercises by explaining the big three compound movements.
