Exercise selection can vary widely from individual to individual based on what their end goals are, their mobility, preferences and overall physical attributes. Although there are numerous exercises to hit a specific muscle, along with its variations, if your priority is putting on muscle and getting stronger, you should be performing these 7 exercises or movements very similar to these. Keep in mind, the majority of these exercises can be performed by the majority of the population, if you have to build up to it, then so be it. These seven exercises will be the most powerful tools of your arsenal. Essentially giving you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of muscle activation, however, begin slowly and ensure your form is proper.

Squats

The Barbell Back Squat is the top choice for squatting because that is the exercise that you will be able to put the most weight on and as we know, more weight utilized means a greater stimulus is acting on the muscle. Hence, more muscle activation can equate to more muscle growth. There are other variations that you can do, such as the Front Squat, however, when starting out and building your foundation of muscle and strength, back squats should be your go to exercise for your lower body. They will utilize the vast majority of the muscles in the lower body, specifically your quads, as well as involving your upper back, lower back, shoulders, and abdominals. Hence, making it an exercise that not only hits your legs but parts of your upper body as well. In addition to this, squats are a fundamental movement and getting really good at them with load will decrease your risk of injury in your daily life as well as, making your daily life easier to maneuver.

Deadlifts

Similar to Squats, Deadlifts will work your entire body to varying degrees. However, unlike the Squat, it is a hip hinge exercise, meaning it will focus on the posterior chain, your hamstrings, glutes and lower back. This itself is vital for building up the backside of your legs body, as well as, a thick back. Additionally, lifters will neglect the hamstrings when compared to the quads, hence, by deadlifting you will keep the strength up in your hamstrings. Not only this but a stronger deadlift will have transfer over to all your lifts, a stronger lower back means greater stability in any exercises you do that requires its stability, such as overhead press, barbell rows, etc. Essentially making it an exercise that will help increase your other lifts which in turn will stimulate more muscle growth. The Conventional Deadlift is my go-to variation because it will utilize more of a hip hinge when compared to a sumo deadlift and as a result, stimulate the posterior chain the more. However, whichever movement feels better for you is the one you should perform. Deadlifts will teach you how to utilize the hip hinge and your glutes.

Bench Press

The Barbell Bench is performed by all powerlifters and the majority of lifters. The barbell bench press has almost no competition in its ability to target the chest muscles with heavier loads than any other chest exercise. Benching with proper form will give you a solid foundation of strength and muscle mass in your chest, shoulders and triceps. The bench press will teach you the basics of putting your shoulders in an external rotation and setting your scapula when needing to push weight away from your body. It essentially teaches you the foundations of every other chest exercise you can perform while, allowing the use of heavy loads and progressive overload to stimulate muscle growth.

Dips

In my opinion one of the most underrated movements for your upper body. Dips, force you to move your entire body through an area of space, you back isn’t against a bench, hence, you are forced to stabilize your entire body, which requires more muscle groups. Not only is your chest, shoulders and triceps being hit, you have to brace your entire body to not swing or lose balance. As a result, there is a greater degree of activation in more muscles. In my personal experience, I enjoy dips more than the bench press, however, not everyone can perform dips, whether it is due to mobility issues or simply not being strong enough to move their body, which is where assistance comes in. In addition to this, dips can put more strain on the shoulder joint, something that some people can not handle, and can lead to injury, especially once weight is added. The only way to progress on these is to either increase time under tension, or my personal favorite adding weight. All in all, if you are able to combine the bench press and dips you will have a nice foundation of muscle growth for your chest and triceps

Overhead Press

One of the most neglected exercises for pushing strength has to be the Overhead Press, powerlifters utilize the bench press and variations of that pressing motion, and bodybuilders rely on other vertical presses, such as the sitting shoulder press. However, by sitting down, you are removing half of your body. When performing the Overhead Press, you have to stabilize your entire body, forcing your core and legs into the equation, as well as your back. If you simply sit down and shoulder press, there is a bench for you to lean against, removing the need to stabilize by simply pushing back against the bench, which will be better for muscle growth, however, for a beginner that needs to learn their body and have replication to daily life, learning the overhead press movement teaches you how to utilize your entire body for a movement. When it comes to overall shoulder development, the Overhead Press will become crucial to learn how to move weight overhead and build a solid strength foundation. If muscle growth is the main goal, eventually, you should switch over to a seated shoulder press, allowing for slightly more weight because of the reduced need of stability.

Barbell Row

The Barbell Row often done incorrectly by the majority of individuals I see, when performed correctly will add an insane amount of thickness to your back, build up your rear delts, to a lesser degree, your biceps and forearms. Learning the Barbell row will teach you how your back works and how to activate it when doing other exercises. Learning the row motion, is vital to performing horizontal pulling motions correctly. In addition to this, utilizing the barbell row, you will build a big back that will be a staple base for all your other lifts, without a strong back, you will plateau on your other lifts if your back becomes the limiting factor and have a greater degree of injury in everyday life. In addition to this, properly barbell rowing form will reinforce proper hip flexion and teach you the hip hinge, which will have some carry over to the deadlift if you are learning that as well. Additionally, the ability to row more and more weight will carry over to your other lifts because the vast majority of exercises utilize the back to some degree.

Chin-ups

Similar to dips, pullups are a phenomenal exercise. Pullups are a vertical pulling motion that will build up your upper back and lats to degree that no other exercise will. Chin-ups, a variation of the pullup, are my go-to exercise when it comes to back development, as well as bicep development. Progressing on the chin-up with weight, will build up your biceps and give you a nice V-shape by building up your lats. In addition to this, when performing pullups, you have to stabilize your body or else you will swing, something that like dips will require core activation as well as contracting your entire back. It will teach you the foundations of vertical pulling as well as, how to retract your scapula correctly, a movement that will have carry over to all your other compound lifts. Chin-ups will build up your back and biceps better than the majority of back exercises in terms of vertical pulling.