Strength Training - Exercises For Specific Muscle Groups

Exercises For Specific Muscle Groups

Main article: Weight training exercises

Weight trainers commonly divide the body's individual muscles into ten major muscle groups. These do not include the hip, neck and forearm muscles, which are rarely trained in isolation. The most common exercises for these muscle groups are listed below. (Videos of these and other exercises are available at exrx.net and from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.)

The sequence shown below is one possible way to order the exercises. The large muscles of the lower body are normally trained before the smaller muscles of the upper body, because these first exercises require more mental and physical energy. The core muscles of the torso are trained before the shoulder and arm muscles that assist them. Exercises often alternate between "pushing" and "pulling" movements to allow their specific supporting muscles time to recover. The stabilising muscles in the waist should be trained last.

Strength training exercises
Quadriceps (front of legs) Squat (c) · Leg press (c) · Lunge (c) · Leg raise (c) · Leg extension (i)
Hamstrings (back of legs) Deadlift (c) · Leg curl (i)
Calves Calf raise (i)
Pectorals (chest) Bench press (c) · Chest fly (i) · Machine fly (i) · Push-up (c)
Lats and trapezius (upper back) Bent-over row (c) · Chin-up (c) · Pulldown (c) · Pullup (c) · Seated row (c) · Shoulder shrug (i) · Supine row (c)
Deltoids (shoulders) Front raise (i) · Handstand push-up (c) · Lateral raise (i) · Military press (c) · Shoulder press (c) · Upright row (c) · Rear delt raise (i)
Biceps (front of arms) Biceps curl (i)
Triceps (back of arms) Close-grip bench press (c) · Dip (c) · Pushdown (i) · Triceps extension (i)
Abdomen and obliques (belly) Crunch (i) · Sit-up (i) · Leg raise (c) · (any rotational movement will engage the obliques)
Lower back Back extension (i) · Deadlift (c) · Good-morning (c) · Hyperextension (c)
See also: · Calisthenics · Bodyweight exercise · Weight training (List of exercises) · Bodybuilding · Weightlifting · Gym
Legend: (c) - compound exercise, (i) - isolated exercise


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