Main Muscle Teams: Workouts for Every Muscle Group

Deciding what muscle teams to exercise collectively will be complicated.

Some say exercises for muscle teams that perform collectively are greatest, 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 subsequent and may prepare tougher in consequence. 

Nonetheless others say there’s no such factor because the greatest muscle group combos to exercise collectively. As a substitute, 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 fallacious—there aren’t any “greatest” muscle teams to exercise collectively. The way you construction your energy coaching program largely is dependent upon how a lot time it’s important to prepare and the way rapidly you get well. 

On this article, you’ll study what muscle teams to work collectively based mostly in your preferences, one of the best workout routines for every main muscle group, methods to put this data into apply, and extra. 

What Are the Main Muscle Teams?

A “muscle group” is a group of muscle mass located shut to 1 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 set up and prioritize your coaching. It additionally permits you to resolve the greatest muscle teams to exercise collectively to maximise your progress. 

Main Muscle Group #1: Chest

The primary 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 appear:

Main Muscle Group #3: Shoulders

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

Right here’s how they appear:

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 appear:

Main Muscle Group #6: Core

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

Right here’s how they appear:

The Greatest Muscle Teams to Exercise Collectively

Deciding what muscle teams to exercise collectively largely comes down what number of instances per week you’ll be able to prepare and the way nicely you get well.

Right here’s an easy information to the greatest 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 good 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 includes coaching on weekdays, and you must be capable to full every session in below an hour, so it’s sensible and straightforward to comply with for many.

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

Nonetheless, supplied you’ll be able to dedicate the time and handle restoration nicely (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 get well 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 sort of equivalent to a standard push pull legs routine, besides with extra isolation work to deliver up cussed muscle teams just like the shoulders.

It’s an important alternative for newbies 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 provide these routines a whirl, simply enter your electronic mail handle within the type beneath, and I’ll ship you 12 weeks’ value of exercise programming, together with precisely what workout routines to do and what number of reps and units you must do for every train. 

Now that you already know what muscle teams to exercise collectively, let’s have a look at what workout routines you must use to coach them.

The Greatest Workouts to Exercise Every Muscle Group

You now know the greatest muscle group combos to exercise collectively in your circumstances. Now let’s have a look at one of the best workout routines for coaching every muscle group:

Chest Workouts

To develop a full, proportionate, well-defined chest, give attention to the next chest workout routines:

And for 5 evidence-based chest exercises, take a look at this text:

The 5 Greatest Chest Exercise Routines for Mass & Hypertrophy

Again Workouts

To develop a large, thick, outlined again, give attention to the next:

For one of the best science-based again exercise for mass, take a look at this text:

The Greatest Again Exercises for Mass & Hypertrophy

Shoulder Workouts

To develop proportional, “capped” delts, give attention to shoulder workout routines, equivalent to:

For a full shoulder exercise for “3D” delts, take a look at this text:

The Greatest Shoulder Exercises for Males, Based on Science

Leg Workouts

To develop every decrease physique muscle group, give attention to 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 elevate, 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 elevate, standing calf elevate, leg press calf elevate, and donkey calf elevate.

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

The Greatest Leg Exercise Routine for Constructing Mass & Hypertrophy

Arm Workouts

To develop every of the muscle teams within the arms, give attention to 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, useless dangle, plate pinch, and Zottman curl.

For an arm exercise containing all one of the best arm workout routines, take a look at this text:

The Greatest Arm Exercises for Constructing Mass

Ab Workouts

To make your six-pack “pop,” give attention to these core workout routines:

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

To study all the things you want to find out about getting six-pack abs, take a look at this text:

Learn how to Truly 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 is dependent upon what number of instances per week you’ll be able to prepare.

As a common rule, one of the best methods to arrange your coaching periods are both by the “motion patterns” concerned (i.e., whether or not workout routines 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 give attention to for a balanced exercise routine are the chest, again, shoulders, legs, arms, and core. 

FAQ #3: Ought to I take advantage of supersets to coach opposing muscle teams?

Utilizing supersets to coach opposing muscle teams (also called “antagonist muscle mass”) is an efficient and time-efficient technique to prepare that includes 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 obligatory. In actual fact, most discover superset exercises extremely taxing and like “straight units” as an alternative.

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

The Full Information to Superset Exercises