Main Muscle Teams: Workout routines for Every Muscle Group

Deciding what muscle teams to exercise collectively could be complicated.

Some say exercises for muscle teams that perform collectively are finest, citing the favored pairing of chest and triceps as an apparent instance.

Others say exercises for muscle teams that oppose one another make extra sense since this ensures you don’t “carry” fatigue from one train into the following and may prepare more durable because of this. 

Nonetheless others say there’s no such factor because the finest muscle group combos to exercise collectively. As an alternative, your resistance coaching exercises ought to revolve round a single train, such because the squat, bench press, or deadlift. 

In reality, all of those stances are mistaken—there aren’t any “finest” muscle teams to exercise collectively. The way you construction your energy coaching program largely will depend on how a lot time it’s important to prepare and the way shortly you recuperate. 

On this article, you’ll be taught what muscle teams to work collectively based mostly in your preferences, the very best workouts for every main muscle group, the best way to put this data into follow, and extra. 

What Are the Main Muscle Teams?

A “muscle group” is a group of muscle mass located shut to at least one one other that work collectively to carry out a selected motion or perform.

Within the context of energy coaching, there are six main muscle teams:

1. Chest
2. Again
3. Shoulders
4. Legs
5. Arms
6. Core 

Categorizing the muscle mass in your physique like this helps you higher arrange and prioritize your coaching. It additionally lets you resolve the finest muscle teams to exercise collectively to maximise your progress. 

Main Muscle Group #1: Chest

The principle muscle of the chest is the pectoralis main, or “pec” main.

Right here’s how the pecs look:

Main Muscle Group #2: Again

A number of muscle mass make up the again, however the primary ones are:

Right here’s how they give the impression of being:

Main Muscle Group #3: Shoulders

Your deltoids, or “shoulder muscle mass,” have three sections or “heads:” the anterior deltoid (“entrance delt”), the lateral deltoid (“aspect delt”), and the posterior deltoid (“rear delt”).

Right here’s how they give the impression of being:

Main Muscle Group #4: Legs

The higher legs comprise three muscle teams:

The one muscle group within the decrease legs is the calves. 

Right here’s how these muscle mass look:

Main Muscle Group #5: Arms

4 major muscle mass make up the arms:

Right here’s how they give the impression of being:

Main Muscle Group #6: Core

Your “core” is the group of muscle mass round your midsection. The principle core muscle mass are the rectus abdominis and the inner and exterior obliques.

Right here’s how they give the impression of being:

The Finest Muscle Teams to Exercise Collectively

Deciding what muscle teams to exercise collectively largely comes down what number of occasions per week you may prepare and the way properly you recuperate.

Right here’s an easy information to the finest muscle group combos to exercise collectively, relying on whether or not you’re coaching 3, 4, or 5 days weekly. 

The Legion 5-Day Exercise Routine

The next exercise schedule is right for constructing muscle mass and gaining energy.

It incorporates the right mixture of quantity, depth, and frequency to drive progress whereas nonetheless permitting loads of time for restoration. 

What’s extra, it solely entails coaching on weekdays, and it is best to be capable to full every session in beneath an hour, so it’s sensible and straightforward to observe for many.

The one potential downsides are that it calls for a big weekly time dedication and is extra intense than many different routines, which implies you’ll must focus extra on restoration.

Nonetheless, supplied you may dedicate the time and handle restoration properly (keep away from extreme fatigue, stress, and harm), this plan will produce glorious outcomes.

Right here’s the schedule:

• Day 1: Push
• Day 2: Pull & Calves
• Day 3: Higher Physique & Core
• Day 4: Legs
• Day 5: Higher Physique & Core

The Legion 4-Day Exercise Routine

Should you can’t decide to coaching 5 days per week or want extra time to recuperate out of your exercises, this 4-day schedule is a improbable answer:

• Day 1: Push & Core
• Day 2: Pull & Calves
• Day 3: Higher Physique & Core
• Day 4: Legs

The Legion 3-Day Exercise Routine

The three-day routine is nearly an identical to a conventional push pull legs routine, besides with extra isolation work to convey up cussed muscle teams just like the shoulders.

It’s an important alternative for learners who wish to ease into energy coaching, individuals who discover coaching extra usually causes restoration points, or those that are pressed for time:

• Day 1: Push & Core
• Day 2: Pull & Calves
• Day 3: Legs

Should you’d like to present these routines a whirl, simply enter your electronic mail handle within the type beneath, and I’ll ship you 12 weeks’ price of exercise programming, together with precisely what workouts to do and what number of reps and units it is best to do for every train. 

Now that you already know what muscle teams to exercise collectively, let’s have a look at what workouts it is best to use to coach them.

The Finest Workout routines to Exercise Every Muscle Group

You now know the finest muscle group combos to exercise collectively on your circumstances. Now let’s have a look at the very best workouts for coaching every muscle group:

Chest Workout routines

To develop a full, proportionate, well-defined chest, concentrate on the next chest workouts:

And for 5 evidence-based chest exercises, try this text:

The 5 Finest Chest Exercise Routines for Mass & Hypertrophy

Again Workout routines

To develop a large, thick, outlined again, concentrate on the next:

For the very best science-based again exercise for mass, try this text:

The Finest Again Exercises for Mass & Hypertrophy

Shoulder Workout routines

To develop proportional, “capped” delts, concentrate on shoulder workouts, comparable to:

For a full shoulder exercise for “3D” delts, try this text:

The Finest Shoulder Exercises for Males, In response to Science

Leg Workout routines

To develop every decrease physique muscle group, concentrate on the next:

• The Quads: Again squat, entrance squat, Bulgarian break up squat, lunge, leg press, and hack squat.
• The Hamstrings: Deadlift, Romanian deadlift, good morning, leg curl, glute-ham increase, and Nordic hamstring curl.
• The Glutes: Deadlift, again squat, entrance squat, Romanian deadlift, hip thrust, reverse lunge, step-up, Bulgarian break up squat, and glute bridge.
• The Calves: Seated calf increase, standing calf increase, leg press calf increase, and donkey calf increase.

For a science-based exercise that trains your complete decrease physique, try this text:

The Finest Leg Exercise Routine for Constructing Mass & Hypertrophy

Arm Workout routines

To develop every of the muscle teams within the arms, concentrate on the next:

• Biceps Brachii: Chin-up, pull-up, lat pulldown, dumbbell biceps curl, barbell biceps curl, incline dumbbell curl, and preacher curl.
• Biceps Brachialis: Impartial-grip pull-up and hammer curl.
• Triceps Brachii: Shut-grip bench press, dip, JM press, skullcrusher, overhead triceps extension, and triceps pushdown.
• Forearms: Deadlift, Romanian deadlift, barbell row, one-arm dumbbell row, lifeless dangle, plate pinch, and Zottman curl.

For an arm exercise containing all the very best arm workouts, try this text:

The Finest Arm Exercises for Constructing Mass

Ab Workout routines

To make your six-pack “pop,” concentrate on these core workouts:

• Cable Crunch
• Captain’s Chair Leg Increase
• Ab-wheel Rollout
• Air Bicycle
• Hanging Leg Increase

To be taught every part it’s good to find out about getting six-pack abs, try this text:

The right way to Really Get Six Pack Abs

Which Main Muscle Teams to Exercise Collectively: FAQs

FAQ #1: What muscle teams ought to I exercise collectively?

Deciding what muscle teams to exercise collectively largely will depend on what number of occasions per week you may prepare.

As a common rule, the very best methods to prepare your coaching periods are both by the “motion patterns” concerned (i.e., whether or not workouts prepare your “pulling” or “pushing” muscle mass) or the physique components or muscle mass you’re working (i.e., an higher physique or leg day).

FAQ #2: What are the 6 muscle teams to coach?

The six main muscle teams to concentrate on for a balanced exercise routine are the chest, again, shoulders, legs, arms, and core. 

FAQ #3: Ought to I exploit supersets to coach opposing muscle teams?

Utilizing supersets to coach opposing muscle teams (also referred to as “antagonist muscle mass”) is an efficient and time-efficient approach to prepare that entails permitting one muscle group to relaxation whereas the opposing group works. 

Examples embrace doing a set of the bicep curl adopted instantly by a set of the triceps pushdown, or a set of the bench press adopted by a set of barbell rows.

That stated, coaching opposing muscle teams with supersets isn’t crucial. Actually, most discover superset exercises extremely taxing and like “straight units” as an alternative.

If you wish to give supersets a strive, learn to do them successfully on this article:

The Full Information to Superset Exercises