The Biggest BANG For Your Buck Exercises To Build Bulging Muscle And Crazy Strength

If you really want to grow you need to incorporate some real exercises.  It’s time to go old school and show you these core exercises you need to incorporate into your workouts now.  Check out this article from Brad Kelly.

I have always been a firm believer in core exercises, the ones you can always fall back on and expect results from. Unfortunately, many of these types of exercises are long forgotten by most gym communities simply because they are usually the hardest to perform. Nevertheless, while your locals are trading squats for leg presses and pull-ups for lat pull downs, you can stick to the basics and pack on head turning muscle.

Pullup Variations  

Most people shy away from exercises like pull-ups and chin-ups because they are harder then lat pull downs, but what ever happened to no pain no gain?  I actually found myself following the masses when I started out, lat pull downs you can do sitting comfortably under a machine on padded support, meanwhile pull-ups  are just you and a intimidating  bar. But trust me that bar will be your best friend in your journey for gaining mass if you let it.

The lat pull down machine on the other hand should be more of a mutual acquaintance, sure lat pull downs work decently, but with them you are pulling a free object ( The bar or handles) around your body, which is easier ,and allows more cheating . While on the other hand when performing pull-ups and chin-ups you are moving your entire body around the bar.  Machines are great for adding spice and variety to your workout, but your core go to exercises need to be variations of pull-ups and chin-ups.  Pull-up and chin up strength not only easily translates into real world situations, but you  will be surprised at how fast you can improve on them and add mass to your upper back.  Chin-ups are also a great bicep builder as you use a supinated grip

But, what if you can’t even do one pull-up like 90% of the population? The fastest way to remedy this problem is to remember exercises have both a concentric and eccentric phase, if you cannot perform the concentric portion of the movement and actually pull yourself up, you can surely do the eccentric( or lowering)portion, which we are about 40% stronger on.  Simply use a chair or bench to jump up onto the bar, and lower yourself as slow as possible. An eccentric only program could look something like 5 sets of 1 repetitions and allowing 15-30 seconds to lower yourself each rep.  Once you can perform all five sets at 30 seconds,   you should be able to perform one full repetition.  If not, consider using a spotter to help you on the way upward by holding on to your ankles as you cross them behind you.

Parallel Bar Dips

 Unfortunately, dips are another bodyweight-based exercise that seemed to have fallen off the radar, as the general population seems to be getting more overweight each day.  Luckily, dips are easier to perform then pull-ups and most people can still at least hit a couple. Now if you combine dips with pull-ups…  that is an awesome upper body combo, haven’t you ever noticed top gymnasts physiques?

Dips can be an extremely versatile movement working the Anterior Deltoids, Triceps, and Chest, and in most bodybuilding circles, they are ranked as the top tricep builder as it hits all three heads of the tricep.

As you become stronger on dips, it will become necessary to add more resistance to keep yourself in the correct rep ranges.  A dipping belt is great for this as it holds the weight comfortably between your legs and many support over 200lbs extra weight, just make sure the chain is long enough.

As you become more advanced on dips you may also try Vince Gironda‘s( A Legendary Bodybuilder And Trainer) method for dips, which is performed by reversing the  grip, rounding your upper back , putting your chin to your chest and elbows out with your feet together and toes downward.

Larry Scott Performing Vince Gironda‘s  Dips  On A V Bar 

This method of dips really focuses on your chest by hitting the muscles from a slightly different angle. Just try few reps of those and if it agrees with your body type I am sure you will be hooked.

Bench Press 

The bench press…you may have heard of it. It is where you lay on your back and push as much weight as you can possibly manage (usually your spotter does curls at the same time) upward with no regard for shoulder injury.  Oh wait that is just how most people do it, no wonder all they get out of it is aching shoulders.

The bench press is  a lot more complex then people realize, in fact I was doing everything right with it, I never bounced the weight, breathed in on the way down and out on the way up, kept my feet planted and  butt on the bench. However, by the time I got 350 bench I still had hardly ANY chest development, why? Because of my bone structure and muscle balance my shoulders and triceps were doing most the work. Realizing this I went to an extremely wide grip as shown below and within 3 months added 3.25 inches to my chest.

The Great Serge Nubret’s Famous Wide Grip 

 That shows how the bench press can drastically affect different people based on your grip, elbow positioning, shoulder positioning, and bone structure.  Since this experience, my recommendation is when you are performing bench, if you really want it to hit the chest you need to primarily use a wide grip.  Let your other exercises take care of tricep and shoulder development and let the bench press hit your chest as intended.

Squats 

If I wrote this article and did not mention the almighty squat many trainers and athletes including my own dad (Who has squatted 675lbs) would instantly disown me.  Squats if done correctly have a huge potential to build muscle, increase your mental toughness and much more.  To reap the full benefits of squats, after really getting the hang of back squats I recommend switching to front squats every few workouts. Squats in general , but front squats especially  produce an unparalleled amount of central nervous system activity, raise overall systematic coordination and conditioning along with increasing balance and coordination.

“The Blond Bomber” Dave Draper Front Squatting

I can almost guarantee the first time you try front squats you will not like them, they force you to keep your form clean, or you drop the bar and risk injury.  Athletes performing front squats hooked up to an electromyographic reader also confirmed they work your quadriceps, rectus abdominis, and erector spinae more then traditional back squats. In addition to the strength gains , if you are a athlete yourself  the benefits keep flowing , higher front squat maxes has been linked to faster run times in college athletes.

Deadlifts 

Franco Columbu Deadlifting   

With most commercial gyms not even having an area to deadlift anymore, the deadlift is definitely on its way out the door.  However, I can guarantee you there will always be true appreciators of the exercise like myself, who will always have floor space in their gyms for deadlifts. Sure, it is extremely loud and chalk can make a mess, but the benefits are practically endless.  Deadlifts are one of the most real world applicable movements in the world, get a high enough deadlift and you can even impress your friends by picking up the back of vehicles!  Just do not try fiberglass-bodied vehicles like corvettes; you never know what will break. , trust me on that one.

 But  most people are confused on which muscle group the deadlift actually works, and that is a good thing because it means you can feel it practically all over. Deadlifts work your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, your traps and even improves your grip strength.  Because you are constantly holding the weight in your hands, unlike squats, deadlifts really incorporate your upper body as well as lower body.

There are many variations to deadlifts, but for maximum muscle building concerns the longer the range of motion the better.  Leave the half pulls and such for the powerlifters while you keep trying to get as big as possible.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my article and I hope along the way you picked up a few tips that will help you in your own training. If you build your program around these basic mass builders, you cannot go wrong.  Just keep increasing the weight while keeping the rep range moderate, and form as flawless as possible.

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If you like old school muscle building techniques I know you will love these tips from  IFBB champion Chuck Sipes, click here to see his muscle pumping tips.

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Brad Kelly writes a weekly article every Tuesday.  He  is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, Performance Enhancement Specialist, and Corrective Exercise Specialist out of Panama City, Florida. Driven by a passion to help others he not only trains locals, but also performs online personal training and writes fitness articles to reach as many fellow fitness enthusiasts as possible.