Ask Dr. J

 

Question: I am a 35 year old, 165 pound male, wanting to put on the most muscle mass possible. What are the best exercises for each bodypart to accomplish my goal?

Answer: This is a real good question and one that bears a lot of controversy. For example, it was once thought that the leg extension, an isolation exercise, involved the most fibers. The problem with this theory is that it is based on measurement of heat production and oxygen deprivation. It has nothing to do with the number of fibers activated.  Have you ever noticed male models that have small, detailed quads? This is undoubtedly from doing lots of leg extensions with no time spent in the squat rack.

The moral of this story is, if you want to hit the most muscle fibers with one movement, make the big, compound exercise the core of your routine. This is no revelation to bodybuilders, but let me explain the reason why, for instance, the squat builds more mass than the leg extension. The answer is Synergy. When there is synergy, or teamwork, from surrounding muscle groups, you can place considerably more weight on the fibers in the target muscle. Now we grow big!

Here is a list of some of the best mass building exercises for each bodypart:

Quads:                               Squats

Hamstrings:                      Stiff-legged deadlifts

Calves:                              Toes-pointed leg curls

Lats:                                  Pull-downs or chins to the front

Midback:                           Behind-the-neck pull-downs

Chest:                                Bench press

Delts:                                Overhead presses

Biceps:                              Barbell curls

Triceps:                             Lying extensions or close-grip bench presses

 

Abdominals:                     Incline or hanging knee-ups