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CHEST
This powerful muscle group is the
cornerstone of a well-developed upper
body. To most thoroughly work your
pecs, include both pressing and fly
movements and vary the angle of the
bench from decline to flat to incline.
BENCH / CHEST PRESS
INCLINE PRESS
DECLINE PRESS
PEC FLY
INCLINE FLY
DECLINE FLY
CABLE CROSSOVER
DIPS
SHOULDERS
The shoulder joint, which has the
greatest range of motion of all joints in
the body, is best worked by training all
three deltoid heads. Include a pressing
movement followed by a raise for each
of the three heads.
SHOULDER PRESS
BEHIND THE NECK PRESS
FRONT DELTOID RAISE
LATERAL (SIDE) DELTOID RAISE
BENT-OVER LATERAL DELTOID RAISE
REVERSE PEC-FLY
UPPER BACK
A powerful upper back is marked by
both middle-back thickness and width
(the sought-after V-taper). This is
best achieved by combining various
rows with pull-downs and pull-ups.
Remember to vary your grip to slightly
change the stimulus.
PULL UP
UPRIGHT ROW
LAT PULLDOWN
SEATED ROW
BENT OVER ROW
HIGH ROW
REVERSE GRIP PULLDOWN
TRAPS
A signature muscle of a strong upper
back, well-developed traps help prevent
neck injury. Shrug movements should
be done with heavy weights in a straight
up-and-down motion.
S
TRAIGHT BAR SHRUG
DUMBBELL SHRUG
BEHIND THE BACK SHRUG
UPRIGHT ROW
LOWER BACK
Important not only for spinal protection
but also because it’s the seat of power
for many exercises. If you spend a great
deal of time crunching for abs, you need
to balance your training for complete
development and muscular balance.
PULL UP
UPRIGHT ROW
LAT PULLDOWN
SEATED ROW
BENT OVER ROW
HIGH ROW
REVERSE GRIP PULLDOWN
TRICEPS
This three-headed muscle on the back
of your arm is involved in extension of
the elbow. Like the biceps, the triceps
cross the elbow and shoulder joints.
Because of this, you can and should work
the triceps through a variety of angles
to ensure complete development.
LYING TRICEPS EXTENSION
CABLE TRICEPS EXTENSION
CABLE TRICEPS PRESSDOWN
CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
REVERSE-GRIP PRESSDOWN
TRICEPS PRESS
DIPS
BICEPS / FOREARMS
A two-headed muscle, the biceps’
primary focus is to flex your elbow and
supinate your wrist. The ability to build
your biceps peak is largely genetic,
but exercises that maximally stress the
short head will help.
BICEPS
STANDING BICEP CURL
SEATED BICEP CURL
INCLINE CURL
PREACHER CURL
CONCENTRATION CURL
ONE-ARM CABLE CURL
FOREARMS
WRIST CURL
REVERSE WRIST CURL
ABDOMINALS
The rectus abdominus has upper and
lower regions, but you can’t isolate one
area over the other. Still, include both
upper and lower ab movement to more
strongly emphasize those areas, and
do twisting movements to work the
obliques for complete development.
UPPER AB REGION
CABLE AB CRUNCH
DECLINE BENCH CRUNCH
LOWER AB REGION
REVERSE CRUNCH
HANGING KNEE RAISE
HIP THRUST
OBLIQUES
CABLE SIDE BEND
OBLIQUE CRUNCH
THIGHS / GLUTES
The main muscles of the thighs are the
quadriceps which are composed of four
muscles. You have several others near
the hip joint, including the body’s largest
muscle group, the gluteals. Multijoint
movements (in which action occurs at
both the hip and knee joints) are your
best choice to work these muscles.
BACK SQUAT
FRONT SQUAT
LEG PRESS
LUNGE
REVERSE LUNGE
STEP-UP
LEG EXTENSION
(does not work glutes)
HAMSTRINGS
On the back of the thighs, the
hamstrings balance the quads and
allow for a wide range of movement.
Good exercise choices include those
that work the hamstrings and both the
hip and knee joints.
DEADLIFT
STIFF-LEGGED DEADLIFT
GOOD MORNING
LYING LEG CURL
SEATED LEG CURL
ONE-LEGGED STANDING LEG CURL
CALVES
Calves consist of two major muscles,
the gastrocnemius and soleus. The
latter is best worked when the knee is
flexed, as in the seated calf raise.
STANDING CALF RAISE
SEATED CALF RAISE
DONKEY CALF RAISE
LEG PRESS CALF RAISE
HACK SQUAT CALF RAISE
EXERCISETIPS
Listed below are Body-Solid’s picks of the best exercises you can do for each body part. These exercises can be
done using free weights, machines and multi-station gyms. Learn to do each exercise in proper form. You can
make substitutions in your training and try variations of each using different Body-Solid grips, cable attachments and
accessories to slightly change the emphasis of a particular exercise. Note: Many movements, especially multijoint
exercises, work more than one muscle group. For example, your front deltoids and triceps are stimulated during
bench / chest pressing movements.
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