All too often I walk into public gyms and see skinny guys plugging away, doing set after set of the worst, time wasting exercises possible. That’s why, today, I’m going to show you the most effective exercises per body part starting from the traps and working our way down to the calves.
Traps- If you want huge traps like UFC champ, Brock Lesnar you need to deadlift. That will always be first on the list. Hang cleans and snatches would be next followed by shrugs.
Shoulders- To build big cannon ball shoulders you need to incorporate either dumbbell or barbell military press into your program. No other exercise can compare.
Chest- For chest development you can’t beat pushups. That is, provided you do them right, of course. For most guys pushups will be too easy after your first few months of training. That’s why you need to learn advanced variations or load them by wearing a weight vest, having a friend hold plates on you back, performing them on straps or rings.
Aside from pushups you will get your most bang for your buck from some type of flat or incline dumbbell press. The bench press is a good exercise but I prefer bodyweight or dumbbell variations first and foremost.
Back- Chin ups, rows and deadlifts. Chin ups can be done with a variety of grips. Rows can be done with dumbbells, barbells or with your own bodyweight on a fixed bar, ropes, straps. Deadlifts can be done from the floor or from the rack with a straight or trap bar.
Biceps- The biceps will get a pretty good growth stimulus from chin ups. When you’re a little more advanced and want more direct isolation work, the barbell curl and dumbbell curl are your best choices.
Triceps- The parallel bar dip is the king of triceps building exercises. The other exercise that packs the most muscle on the back of the arm is the close grip bench press.
Quads- For massive quad development there is no exercise that compares to the almighty back squat. If you want big legs you have to squat.
Glutes and hamstrings- Again, the back squat reigns supreme. Deadlifts also smoke that entire region as well. And if you have access to it, a glute ham bench is a must use piece of equipment.
Abs- Hanging leg raises, power wheel rollouts, Turkish get ups, planks
Calves- Sprinting, jumping, weighted hops, donkey calf raises
Make sure some or all of these exercises are a part of your program.
Keep training hard.
Oh, and before I sign off, I wanted to share something with you that I got from my colleague and body transformation specialist Tom Venuto…
He’s been working on a pretty cool new program for quite some time now trying to make it possible to burn fat and build muscle at the same time.
Is it possible? Click HERE and decide for yourself.
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10. Jul, 2010
at 6:38 am #
Keep it simple. Easy as that.
10. Jul, 2010
at 7:58 am #
I don’t want to sound as polemical, but I need to point something that I have witnessed since my search for nutritional and fitness plans.
I’m sharing my comment here for a reason, because I read that Jason indicates Tom Venuto as one to check out for in his knowledge.
as a matter of fact he is. I bought his book, burn the fat feed the muscle, and learned a wealth of information on it.
I got Jason 3XM books as well, and liked so much I cannot stop sticking with it as the best fitness plan had since years.
nevertheless I see some contraddictions in linking people with totally different ideas on things.
In 3XM nutrition, Jason advice to follow the Warrior diet if someone wants to get rid of unwanted fat. Now, the warrior Diet involve the eating of a single huge meal, the dinner, while pinching little food throughout the day until dinner.
I did this kind of nutritional path and found it incredible efficient.
The problem is that guys like Venuto simply run away from this nutritional habit like this as if it is the devil.
Venuto is a strong supporter of eating once every 3 hours, while the warrior diet is totally opposite of this.
So, isn’t it a contraddiction in suggesting to read guys things that fight habit we support?
I think that it would be suitable to take a distance from guys who are contraddicting something we support.
it is the case of Charles Staley. when he suggest to check out a link of a colleagues he takes some proper distance saying things like: “I don’t support all of John Doe says, but it is goods to read what he has to say about”………..
Overall, what can happen is that a Jason reader and supporter reads Venuto articles which fight hard against things who he follow by reading them on Jason manuals. and the chaos is created.
Just my two cents……….
Michael
11. Jul, 2010
at 8:37 am #
I need to step my game up with the military presses…
12. Jul, 2010
at 9:30 am #
yeah, you do.
13. Jul, 2010
at 7:01 am #
awesome advice as usual. Keep it simple and put some major effort in!
21. Jul, 2010
at 9:10 pm #
These are all the major muscles you need to hit weekly to truly see your body shape before your eyes.
I always thought that my shoulders had kind of a “nice shape” until I saw a huge change in my shoulders size and overall look when I started doing barbell clean and presses.
Many of the exercises you describe here are part of my weekly routine.
07. Aug, 2010
at 12:03 am #
I couldnt agree with you more on your selection of exercises. Im a huge fan of the Deadlift cuz it works almost everything, puts on size, and to me its the best display of raw power and you cant help but feel amped after you finish a heavy deadlift workout. Keep up the good work Jay!
29. Oct, 2010
at 4:51 am #
Great breakdown of THE exercises needed to build a serious body. I like how I don’t think I saw a single machine or stupid ball exercise on that list!
26. Aug, 2011
at 2:22 am #
I am a massive fan of stiff-legged deadlifts for my hamstrings. What are your thoughts, I noticed you didn’t recommend it?
16. Oct, 2011
at 6:58 am #
Absolute truth if barbells and dumbbells are your main training implements. I’m sick and tired of guys wasting time in the gym. They should read such article several times before going to gym. I like that you place push-up higher than bench press. It’s pretty wise.