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Bodybuilding Exercise Guide

An ideal bodybuilding program includes various types of exercises that you can make all the difference between an effective program and one that won't do much good. There are many bodybuilding exercises that you can incorporate in daily workouts which help to grow muscles and making you fit and trim.

A perfect exercise program needs neuromuscular stimulation, which describes the amount of nervous system involvement as you perform an exercise. The more involved your nervous system is when an exercise is executed, the more results you will get from the exercise. Free weight exercises like the squat, for instance, provide more neuromuscular stimulation than a leg press since you have to balance the bar and move your bodyweight through space.

Bodybuilding Exercises

Arms

The arms are divided into 3 muscular areas - the biceps, the triceps and the forearms. The chief exercises for the biceps are curls. The triceps are the biggest muscle in the arm and one of the least worked muscles in the body. Triceps pushdowns and lying extensions are the best exercises for the triceps. Also dips are a good triceps exercise and also work the chest. Wrist curls perfectly suitable to the forearms.

Shoulders

It is very difficult to train shoulder muscles. The best exercises are shoulder presses and shrugs. When doing shrugs use a really heavy weight and that will get your shoulders packing on the muscle.

Chest

The chest is the most worked, focused on and favorite muscle for nearly all bodybuilders. The chest is divided into two parts: upper and lower chest. The bench press is the best exercise, however there are variations. A flat bench press, the incline and decline work the uppers and lower chest area. Another great exercise for the chest is the fly.

Back

The Back is the biggest muscle of the body, divided into upper, lower and then the sides. For the upper part of the back, lat pull downs and seated pulley rows are a good exercise. For the lower back, the superman stretch is good. To perform this lie down on your stomach with hands and legs stretched straight. The reverse extension is a good lower back exercise. For the sides of the back to get the V shape, good exercises are chins and pull downs.

Legs

The legs have 3 different muscles – quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Squats are definitely the best exercise for the legs. Squats target the quadriceps. For the hamstrings, the best exercises are leg curls and stiff-legged dead lifts. And for the calves, the best exercises are calf raises both standing and sitting.

Abs

Squeezing the muscle develops abs. The abs take a long time to develop and the best gains come from crunches, pelvic tilts and side bends. With these 3 exercises you target all 3 areas of the abs. The crunch targets the upper abs. The pelvic tilts target the lower abs and the side bends target the oblique, which are the side abs.

Characteristics of Good Bodybuilding Exercises

1. It must be short, between 45 to 75 minutes maximum; 60 minutes being best.

2. The rest in between sets should be kept to a minimum; 90 seconds or less.

3. Generally, depending on the goal, the sets should be between 8 - 12 repetitions for muscle mass gains and 15-25 repetitions for body sculpting purposes.

4. Training must be varied and cycled.

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Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only. We strongly recommend that you consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. Bodybuildingco.com is not a licensed medical care provider. The reader should understand that participating in any exercise program can result in physical injury and agrees to do so at his own risk. The findings and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of Bodybuildingco.com.