The 6 Exercises That Grow Every Muscle (ALL YOU NEED)
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Instead of doing 100 exercises, these six grow every single muscle. The last exercise is one never seen in 10-year fitness career, yet can completely change training. Answers from Mr. Mike Israetel.
There are eight muscle groups in the human body. Six exercises fundamentally take care of multiple muscle groups at the same time.
Close grip incline bench hits upper pecs, front delts, and triceps. Normal incline bench hits pecs and front delts well, triceps meh. Close grip hits all in same ratio: good pec work, front delt work, tricep work.
Set up in regular incline bench scenario, most gyms have. Very high incline, but can be high, average 45°, or 30°. Dealer's choice.
Close grip is super individual. If gigantic, close grip out here. If teeny tiny, close grip over here. Catalog if doing right: can bar touch upper chest at bottom. Shoulders back, chest up, elbows tucked. Gently touch every time. Press up and back. Resist temptation to press forward, cancels lever, feels weird. Start at clavicles, end over eyes or upper forehead for auto stabilize.
Wrists directly over elbows good cue for close grip to press max, be strong, use chest. Wrists inside elbows generates lever arm for triceps.
Upper body move: underhand pull-up. Any pull-up great, but to involve biceps more, underhand shines. Full stretch dead hang, chin to bar or little over, hang, come back down. Hits entire back, lats, muscles that pull vertically, rear delts, biceps. Three muscle groups.
Not rushing: power up, smooth control down for deep stretch. Dead hang lets shoulders shrug to ears, full lat stretch, reverse on way up by shrugging down.
You can do more pull-ups like that, but no one gives a fuck. People only care about how big your back is.
Camber bar bench press. Camber bar allows deep stretch, pushing tension through it grows more muscle. Descend, lift chest to meet bar. 1 second pause at bottom, then up.
Focus on keeping chest up, reaching chest to bar. Otherwise compromise with shoulders, shoulder rounding forward bad for chest. Same for regular bench press: many lack range to chest. Cue: shoulders back, reach chest up to bar. Works for every chest exercise, flies too: reach chest forward at bottom.
Alternatives if no camber bar: dumbbells (reach around chest, not just nipples, extra deep stretch), regular barbell, flat chest press machine (control deep stretch 1 second, back up), deficit push-ups.
Hard to be in bind without horizontal press option.
Combo: rowing and stiff-legged deadlift. Overhand grip barbell, combine bent over row and stiff-legged deadlift. Tight lordic lower back. Lower: tummy out, knees back for hamstring tension. Bottom: loose upper back, tight hamstrings, lower back. Bent over. Hamstring, glute, lower back stimulus.
Come up, row to tummy. Stiff-legged deadlift, row. Long time in low position, painful for hams. Leverage advantage up makes rowing easier, so weight for stiff-legged deadlift still rowable for reps.
Cues: chest up, knees back. Aim natural for row (belly button area). Overhand wider hits rear delts, mid-upper back more (complements underhand chin-ups for lats).
Hits lower back, upper back rowing, glutes, hamstrings (3-4 groups). To save time, do it even with more exercises. Practical: 70% each vs 100% specific.
Dumbbell version: tuck into hips at top. Bend deep, knees back, chest up, tension on hams. Come up, put dumbbells in pocket (stretch out front). Leverage: easier back, tougher hams (hams stronger than back).
High bar squat: favorite leg exercise. Hits quads, adductors, glutes, lower back, mid back stability, abs at heavy loads. Checks ton of boxes.
High bar above traps where neck ends (low bar below traps, intersects rear delt). Biases front of body. Stay upright torso, hits quads more. Low bar: lift more, intense back/glutes (already covered).
Shoulder blades back. Toes shoulder width, pointed out. Push butt back, chest up entire time, upright. Bend knees over toes. Full stop bottom, up.
Side delts most sexually attractive muscle in male physique. Bigger side delts, more manly. Study: shoulder to waist ratio 1.6 ideal, surveyed females different countries, gets girls.
Hits side delts, upper traps (some from stiff-leg), more forearm flexors/biceps (beyond prior rowing/underhands).
Dumbbell upright row: up nice high, slow control. Three groups. Cue: get elbows sky high as possible. All up, big elbows, hold little top connect shoulders, all down. Elbows high. Come up front of body ok. Closer to body for more forearm flexors/biceps, dumbbells almost drag up chest.
Angle of pull all side delts, one of best ever. Control descent: body wants to tear down, control from side delts.
If uncomfortable on shoulder/traps, switch to normal lateral raises.
Two full body workouts/week: Day 1 all six exercises 5-10 rep range, heavy. Day 2: same, 10-15 reps, lighter, higher reps, variation. Lower injury probability, psychological novelty.
Two days/week, 1 hour each, few sets: wonderful physique.
PDFs full body workouts free at builtwithscience.com/only6 (one for females). Built with Science Plus app: 2 weeks free, QR code.
RP Strength YouTube channel.
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