All Tests

1. Squats

There's a reason this exercise is the king. It not only incorporates the entire lower body, but causes the body to respond by naturally releasing a burst of anabolic hormones. Squats are physically demanding, and will stimulate the muscle recruitment and appetite you need to grow.

With all of their benefits, squats can place harsh compression and stress on the spine and joints unless performed properly. Always warm up with a weight you are comfortable with, and always have a spotter with you when possible.

To properly perform a squat, keep your legs about shoulder-width apart and keep your eyes pointing straight ahead. Flex and tighten your abs and glutes throughout the movement. Bring your glutes down as close as possible to your ankles.

You should never reach a dead stop, as soon are you approach the bottom of the movement you should be squeezing your glutes and using them to help power yourself back up for the next rep.

2. Deadlifts

The steely sinews of the back can be especially resilient to training and growth. It is much more common for forearms to fatigue and give out before the back does. The first recommendation is to get a decent set of lifting wraps to ensure full back exhaustion.

One of the more powerful exercises for stimulating growth hormone release, the deadlift can also be dangerous unless proper form is followed. After loading a comfortable weight on the bar, keep your feet about shoulder-width apart with toes pointing forward.

3. Bench Press

The classic barbell bench press is like the squat for the chest. This is hands down the best mass building exercise for the chest.

The most common mistake people make when performing a chest press is flaring out their elbows. Your elbows should only go about 45 degrees out from the body during the movement.

Keeping the elbows in this position not only reduces the risk of rotator cuff injuries, but spares the shoulders from taking over the movement. Concentrate on squeezing the chest to explode the weight up.

4. Military Press

If you want to build cannonball delts, the military press is your best friend. It hits all three shoulders heads: the anterior, medial and rear deltoids.

Always warm up the rotator cuff before any shoulder exercises. The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder, and is responsible for some of the most common gym injuries.

After warming up, take a grip a little bit wider than shoulder-width apart. Don't flare your elbows, and keep your forearms in a straight line as the bar rises over your head. Tighten your core as you press.

Lower the bar down to just past the nose and drive up, keeping the bar as close to your body as possible, making the shoulders do the work.

5. Weighted Dips

Many people say you should do "curls for the girls," but if you truly want to have sleeve busting arms you cannot neglect weighted triceps dips. The tricep muscles makes up two-thirds of the arm, and is one of the quickest ways to achieve bigger arms.

The key to this exercise is keeping the elbows in towards the body and not letting them flare out. This keeps the tension on the triceps. Look just above eye level to prevent the chest from taking over the movement.

Selecting an appropriate weight allows you to maintain good form and keeps stress off the lower back. Keep your core engaged and abs tightened through the movement.