4 Exercises than will help you build the body you want.
Do you want to know which exercises will help you build
muscle and burn fat faster than any others?
If you are ignoring these 4 exercises then chances are you
could be stopping your body from building lean muscle faster than you ever have
before. So read on to find out which exercises you shouldn’t leave out of your
training program.
Before we get started and look at the 4 exercises in
question. Let me ask you a simple question… Why are some exercises more
effective than others?
Well…
As a London Personal trainer in I see so many people wasting their
time with exercises that may look fancy and cool but don’t really get the job
done. What I mean by this is that when we are training for any particular goal
whether it be fat loss or strength/muscle gain we need to select exercises that
recruit as many muscle fibers as possible.
Why?
When we perform an exercise involving a large amount of
muscle fibers we are challenging our body to increase its workload as the
exercise requires more effort. The result of this is increased calorie
expenditure and muscle growth compared to single joint exercises that only work
one or two smaller muscles.
So which 4 exercises will help your burn more calories and
increase muscle size more than most others. Well here is my list below. So if
you want to build a better physique you need to get reading and then get doing!
1. The Squat
Do you skip leg day? I hope not because you are making a big
mistake.
The squat is often heralded as the king of exercises and for
good reason. The squat is associated with working the whole body not just the
legs, which means it recruits a huge amount of muscle to perform the exercise
effectively. As we know the more muscle we have the more calories we will burn.
So keep the squat in your program if you want to see a huge
boost in metabolism and increased size in muscle that will simply burn that fat
away.
2. The Deadlift
So the question here is which muscle groups DOESN’T the deadlift
engage?
It is another huge exercise that incorporates multi-joint
and muscle actions. The deadlift is considered by many to be on a par with the
squat or by some superior.
Muscle groups engaged include the lower back, legs, glutes ,
shoulers, arms and core.
Since all of the major muscle groups are involved the energy
expenditure associated with deadlifting is going to be huge. Think of being
able to perform just one movement that forces you to activate nearly every
muscle in the body well this is it.
Another great benefit of the deadlift is it allows us to
lift pretty heavy weights because of the position we are able to take to
perform the movement. As we know lifting heavy weights is shown by research to
be the number one factor in boosting our metabolism that allows us to build
muscle and burn fat for hours after our workout.
Didn’t you know you could burn fat for 72 hours after your
workout? Find out how by clicking here.
The Bottom Line:
If you are looking to gain lean muscle in both your upper
and lower body you can’t go wrong with the deadlift.
3. The Bench Press
How much can you bench?
A typical phrase that you hear around most gyms but why?
The bench press is one of the main compound exercises that
most people who go to the gym will have performed at some point. Heck for some
people it’s the only exercise they do! Yes you know… The people who only
workout their chest!
So when international chest day comes round (Usually on a
Monday for most) the bench press needs to be included in your routine and
here’s why.
The bench press may be considered as a chest exercise but
this shouldn’t be all. It is one of the few exercises that engages nearly every
muscle in the upper body. Yes that’s right we are talking shoulders, traps,
triceps, rhomboids, forearms.
What happens when you exercise all of these muscles at once?
Exactly the same outcome as the deadlift and squat.
Your body is forced to recruit and switch on more muscle
fibers to perform the action. This in turn allows you to push a lot of weight,
which is once again related to the body’s ability to burn more fat and build
more muscle.
Bottom Line:
This should be a staple exercises in everyone’s routine.
4. The Standing
Barbell / Military Press
To complete the fantastic four is the number one shoulder
exercise… The military press!
Once again onlookers may think you are just working your
shoulders but there’s much more to this exercise than that.
How do you think your body is being supported?
Performing this exercise requires complete contraction of
your core and legs to act as fixators to help you perform the exercise
properly. Alongside this the upper body muscles that are engaged include
triceps, upper chest and back.
No wonder this is considered to be one of the main compound
weight lifting moves.
Working all of the muscles above has many benefits as it
allows us to build great upper body size and strength, which will then have a
big impact on how we perform other exercises like the bench press.
Performing the
military press will help you increase the weight you lift when bench pressing.
So if you are looking for an exercise to give you a whole
body workout… The military press is a great choice!
How often should you
perform these 4 exercises?
At least one time per week. In an ideal world and to get
maximum benefits from our training we should be aiming for 5 strength training
workouts and 3 HIIT sessions every 7 days.
This allows us to give the correct attention to each muscle
group. However not everybody’s lifestyles allow for this frequency.
If this is the case then ensuring that you include the above
four exercises into your gym workout going forward should not be overlooked if
you want to promote maximum fat loss and muscle gain.
Do you know how to deadlift properly? Check out some of my
online training and online coaching plans to learn how to squat and deadlift
with the right technique by clicking here.
Until next Time
EJP
