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Part 2: Muscle-Building Workouts
1. Perform pull-ups to work your back muscles. Grip a horizontal bar that is comfortably taller than you with your hands shoulder-width apart. Lift your legs back to hang from the bar. Pull yourself up, lifting your chin to the bar using only your arms. Then, lower yourself down to your starting position and repeat for 3 sets of 10 pullups.
You can use either an overhanded or an underhanded grip.
This exercise will work your lats, traps, and rhomboids.
2. Do bent-over rows to build your back. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, about 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) behind a barbell or 2 dumbbells. Bend slightly at your knees, but keep your shins vertical. Bend forward at the waist with your spine and head straight. Lift the weight with an overhand grip to your lower chest or upper abdomen. Lower slowly until your arms are nearly extended, without touching the ground.
Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.
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3. Improve chest and pec muscles with bench presses. Start with weights you can lift comfortably. Then, lie back on a weight bench. If you are a beginner, try lifting the bar with 5 to 10 pounds (2.3 to 4.5 kg) on each side. Position your arms at shoulder-width apart, then grab onto the bar. Slowly lower the bar until it's at nipple level, then push up until your arms are fully extended upwards.
Do 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. If you can, add additional weight to each set.
Once you have a few months of practice, slowly increase the weight and go down to 6-8 reps per set. Try to reach muscle failure at the end of the third set.
Variation: For an added challenge, lift weights on an incline bench press. The incline is like the bench press, but one end of the bench is tilted about 40 degrees. Lifting the bar on an incline will be harder, so start with less weight than on the flat bench press.
4. Do push-ups for upper body strength. Get into a plank position with your arms positioned shoulder-width apart. Then, lower yourself down slowly until your chin reaches the floor. Slowly push yourself up to a starting position.
Do 3 sets of 10 push-ups.
The closer your hands are to one another, the more you'll work your triceps.
5. Perform deadlifts to work your thighs, glutes, and calves. Place a heavy barbell or 2 dumbbells on the ground in front of you. Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, slowly bend at your knees. Grasp the weight, then rise from the ground, keeping the weight close to your body. Then, slowly lower the weight back down to the floor.
Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
Keep all of your muscles engaged as you do your deadlifts. Use your lower body to help you lift the weights.
Try micro loading to help you gain muscle faster. If you're using barbells, you can load any weight you want on the side, so you can move your weight up by a pound, half a pound, or two pounds. If you can lift sets of 6 at 50 pounds and it feels heavy, try 52 pounds the following week. This will help you see progress quickly.
6. Target your glutes, thighs, hips, and calves with squats. Add weights to a barbell, then put it on a rack so it's lower than shoulder height. Duck under the bar and stand up so that the bar rests comfortably just below your neck. Keep your knees slightly bent and your legs slightly wider than shoulder width. Lift the bar off the rack and move backward 1 step so the weight rests on your back. Then, slowly lower yourself down into a squat. Exhale deeply and use your legs and hips to lift out of the squat.
Do 3 sets of 8 squats.
The weight should be heavy enough that squatting is difficult but possible. This may mean using a bar without weight if you're a beginner.
A 90-degree bend at the knees is the safest option. Make sure your knee doesn't go past your toes.
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Variation: Do front squats with a weighted bar for an extra challenge. Rack a weighted bar just below shoulder level. Come up to the bar from the front, positioning the bar on the front shoulders. Cross your arms over onto the bar and walk it out. Keeping your back straight, bend your legs into a squat with your hips under the bar. Slowly rise back to a starting position.
7. Work your legs with a Bulgarian squat. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, resting them at your sides. In front of a bench, lift your right leg back so it's parallel to the floor and rest comfortably on the bench. Bend into a squat using your left leg so the right knee almost hits the floor. Slowly rise back to your starting position. Repeat on the other side.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
Bulgarian squats are also called single-leg squats.
8. Do bicep curls to work out your arms. Sit down on a bench and pick up a dumbbell in one hand. With your elbow resting on your thigh, lift the dumbbell to your upper chest by curling your arm upward. Switch to the opposite hand and repeat.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
Variation: Do bicep curls with a weighted barbell to work both arms simultaneously. Stand up and grab hold of a weighted bar with both hands. Let your arms extend all the way down to your thighs. Using only your arms, lift the weight to your chest by curling your arms upward.
9. Target your triceps with dips. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on a bench, with your body and feet stretched out in front of you. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body down so your butt nearly touches the floor. Use your arms to lift yourself back to the starting position.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
If this isn't a high-intensity set for you, increase the resistance by lifting 1 foot off the floor.
Dips are the most effective way to work your triceps, the muscle beneath your biceps. You'll need to have strong triceps to bench-press large amounts of weight.
10. Strengthen your arms with skull crushers. Lay down flat on a bench with a bar resting on the rack. Lift the bar over you, then bend your elbows so that the bar is close to your forehead. Slowly push the bar up until your arms are fully extended. Then, bring the weight back down. Keep your elbows close together as you lift and lower the bar.
Repeat for 3 sets of 8 reps.
11. Build your shoulders with seated overhead presses. Sit on an incline bench so you’re sitting upright. Hold a barbell or dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing forward. Lift the weight above your head, keeping your elbows slightly bent to avoid hyperextension. Then, slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
Variation: You can switch up this exercise by changing your hand and palm position. If you're using dumbbells, you can lift them until they touch overhead or lift them into a wide "Y" shape with your arms.
12. Perform crunches to work your core. Lie down on a mat and position both arms behind your head without locking your hands. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the ground. Push the small of your back into the ground and slowly roll your shoulders off the ground slightly. Then, slowly return to the floor.
Repeat for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Keep your movements slow and steady.
Variation: For oblique crunches, angle your torso so 1 shoulder reaches toward the opposite knee. Alternate sides after each crunch.
13. Work your abs with planks. Lie face-down on the floor. Place your hands under your shoulders. Then, lift yourself so you’re forearms are flat and your body is parallel to the floor. Keep your torso and legs stiff as you hold your position for as long as possible. Avoid arching your lower back or hiking your hips upwards.
Try to hold your plank for 2 minutes. If you can't, rest for 1-2 minutes, then do a plank again. Do as many planks as it takes to reach 2 minutes.
If you want to make the plank more intense, you can support yourself on your hands instead.
In this second part, I explained how to build muscle mass from scratch. It was long, but I got the most important points out. Thank you all for reading.
Artemus Vazhui