You can do all the lifting you want, but let’s face it — when you’re a natural bodybuilder, progress comes a lot slower than it does for “chemically enhanced” bodybuilders, especially if you copy the pros and do countless sets of isolation work hoping the muscle pump alone will produce growth.
So what actually are the best exercises for building muscle? Is it the bench press? Biceps curls? Leg press? The real answer is compound exercises. Look around any gym and you’ll notice the people carrying the most muscle mass on their frame all have compound lifts as the cornerstone of their training.
If you want to reach your full potential as a natural lifter, there’s no way around it — you need to throw some big weights around, which means building your strength base first.
What Are Compound Exercises?
In simple words, compound exercises are movements that use more than one joint — squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, barbell rows and so on — as opposed to isolation exercises that use only one joint (think leg extensions, biceps curls, triceps extensions).
Athletes are pointed toward compound exercises because they mimic natural movement patterns and make training far more efficient. Take the squat: it imitates standing up, moving forward, jumping, and dozens of other motions you see constantly in sports and daily life. Because it’s one comprehensive movement, it engages multiple muscles at once, meaning each muscle group actually gets trained instead of being left out.
Science backs this up too — compound exercises burn more calories than exercises that isolate a single muscle. On top of building more mass and strength, they also improve intramuscular coordination, increase the production of growth hormone (HGH), protect cardiovascular health, and improve flexibility.
A few more reasons compound exercises deserve to be the backbone of your program:
- They engage multiple muscles at once, letting you train more muscle groups in less time — a huge boost to workout efficiency.
- Multi-joint movements let you lift heavier, which drives faster strength development.
- They improve coordination, mobility, and joint strength.
- They burn more calories, since more total muscle mass is doing the work.
Here are the 9 most important bodybuilding exercises that will help you reach your full natural potential and build a physique that turns heads wherever you go.
1. The Squat
The squat is called the king of exercises for a reason. It works almost every joint and muscle in the body, and it forces the body to increase HGH and testosterone production. The squat can assist your whole body in the muscle-building process, since it works more than 70% of your body — legs and back combined.
Unfortunately, a lot of lifters avoid squatting regularly, mainly because it’s such a taxing and difficult exercise. But once you’ve mastered it, it can be one of the most result-producing movements you do. It was the exercise that helped me build more than 15 lbs of muscle in about 6 months.
If you decide to try heavy squatting, check out the 20 rep squats routine, and here are 10 muscle-building and health benefits of doing squats.
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The potential for hypertrophy here is huge. Nothing exhausts a muscle fiber quite like a couple of challenging sets of heavy squats. Push through your heels to keep the tension on your glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
2. The Deadlift
Whether you’re a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or athlete, the deadlift builds power and mass like almost nothing else. Just like the squat, it’s one of the most potent bodybuilding exercises there is — arguably the single best exercise for building massive back muscles.
The deadlift is the most physically demanding exercise in this list, no question. That’s likely exactly why it’s so powerful for building thick muscle all over your body, especially through your posterior chain and core. Mastering it will also progress your other heavy lifts, like squats. Read why the deadlift is one of the best exercises ever.
To get the most out of deadlifting, don’t pause on the floor between reps — it kills intensity and tanks the efficiency of the set. And always lock out fully at the top of each rep, since that’s crucial for engaging all the muscles of your upper back.
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3. Bench Press
I hate to say it because everyone already does it, but the bench press belongs in this group too. Besides the chest, it builds massive shoulders and triceps while increasing your pushing power. It works primarily the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and triceps, and if used properly it’s one of the most productive muscle-building exercises around — though it can sabotage your progress if you abuse it.
Heavy benching can bring on a shoulder, chest, or joint injury pretty easily (also a droopy-looking chest), so 90% of the time it’s worth substituting incline bench presses instead.
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The flat bench press, often regarded as the measuring stick of pressing strength, is a staple in the bodybuilding world for as long as bodybuilding has existed, and for good reason. Besides building the pectoralis major — the ultimate glamour muscle of the chest — it also strengthens the pectoralis minor and serratus anterior. For best results, use a wider grip and press through a nearly full range of motion, avoiding lockout at the top.
4. Standing Overhead Press
The standing shoulder press — also known as the overhead press, a long-forgotten exercise that was actually used as a measurement of strength in weightlifting competitions until 1972, in place of the bench press — is a true test of strength. It hits the front and side deltoids and triceps, while using your rear deltoids, back, upper chest, and legs as stabilizers. The military press is a big mass builder for the shoulders.
This is a versatile movement that can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, or a machine, done either standing or seated — but the standing version is what makes it a true test of strength, since a seated press lets your bench do some of the stabilizing work for you.
It’s the perfect way to build volume in the anterior and medial heads of the deltoids while also developing triceps size and strength. It targets the traps, serratus anterior, and upper pecs too, though to a lesser extent. If you want to build wide, thick shoulders, this is a must-do.
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Depending on the grip, angle, and variation you use, you can highlight different aspects of the anterior, posterior, or overall shoulder region. Shorten your range of motion to stay focused on the delts — or lock out fully to bring the triceps in more.
5. Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups
If you want to build a V-shaped physique, pull-ups and chin-ups are the exercise for you. This is the one movement that will boost your shoulder-to-waist ratio and make you stand out in a crowd. On top of that, they’ll build powerful arms and forearms — the kind of pulling power needed in wrestling and MMA.
They’re also one of the most demanding and effective exercises for growth of the back. Not everyone can do them right away, so work up to them with assisted pull-ups and lat pulldowns. They’re huge back builders and one of the best ways to earn that classic V-shaped back.
6. Bent-Over Barbell Row
Bent-over rows are a comprehensive compound exercise that engages your entire body. They target your upper back, lower back, hips, and arms — effectively building a stronger, more muscular back while also promoting bigger biceps.
This exercise predominantly works the lats, rhomboids, and lower trap region. It’s technically a compound movement, but it’s more isolated and less versatile than the deadlift. As a bonus, it also brings your spinal erectors and core into the work.
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Important note: avoid excessive torso movement, since it shortens your range of motion and hinders your gains. If you want to focus more on the lower portion of your lats, drive your elbows back and keep them tight against your sides — this also lets you use more power, and therefore more weight and more muscle stimulation.
7. T-Bar Row
What sets T-bar rows apart from bent-over rows is the grip — and the fact that Schwarzenegger absolutely loved them. While bent-over rows typically use a pronated grip, T-bar rows use a semi-supinated position with your palms facing each other, which is perfect for handling heavier weight.
Like most row variations, this exercise works all the major muscles in your back — lats, teres major, trapezius, and erector spinae — while also powerfully hammering your shoulders and arms, especially the biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis. Your abs, hamstrings, and glutes get engaged too, helping stabilize your body as you lift.
Increase the effectiveness of the T-bar row by pausing at the top of every rep and contracting your lats and rhomboids as hard as you can.
8. Leg Press
Leg presses are sometimes overlooked and treated as a “lesser” exercise compared to the major compound lifts — and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sure, squats have more advantages overall, but leg presses are unmatched when it comes to adding pure size to your legs. Since they let you focus squarely on your major leg muscles without needing your stabilizers to do much work, you can add weight faster and build solid progressive overload.
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Always include a warm-up set before your working sets. Getting your joints warmed up and ready is crucial for injury prevention and getting the most out of the exercise. Find a weight that lets you perform 15–20 clean reps and fire away.
9. Weighted Dips
Dips are another incredible multi-joint movement, predominantly used for building mass in the pecs and triceps. Done correctly, dips can add real pounds of muscle to your upper body and improve your strength on other lifts like bench presses and military presses.
Like other compound exercises, how you perform dips changes which muscle group gets emphasized most. A narrow grip with an upright torso keeps most of the focus on your triceps, while a wider grip with your weight shifted forward targets your chest more.
Start and finish every rep with your elbows locked out. Your descent should take around 2–3 seconds to maximize muscle breakdown. To really boost intensity, take your triceps to a heavy set to failure, then drop the weight for an immediate drop set — this floods the area with blood, enhancing nutrient transport and encouraging more growth.
10. Close-Grip Bench Press
The close-grip bench press stands out for its versatility — since it lets you safely handle the heaviest loads of any triceps exercise, it can be used to chase a whole range of goals. While performing it, your triceps get assistance from the chest and front delts, with your torso acting as a stable base of support.
Between the heavy loads and long range of motion, it’s about as good as it gets for building strength and maximizing muscle gains at the same time.
Use a grip set about 6–8 inches apart and lower the bar to roughly nipple level.
Bottom Line
Don’t get me wrong — isolation exercises and machines aren’t bad. They have their place for building a more aesthetic physique once you’ve already built your strength base and put on solid muscle. But if you want to grow bigger, your workout needs to revolve around these 9 exercises.
