The best workout routine to develop all of your body parts utilizes the most effective weight training exercises to build muscle strength. The exercises should be done in an appropriate order to maximize results. There are 10 major muscle groups that should be addressed when you're weight training to provide a fully comprehensive workout.
Major Muscle Groups
A comprehensive weight training workout develops all of the major muscle groups: glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps and core.
Free Weights Vs. Machines
According to Dr. Jeffrey McBridge of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, completing the exercises using your own body weight or free weights is more beneficial than using machines in most cases. Exercises done with free weights force your body to maintain balance, and they require more coordination, which means that smaller, stabilizing muscles must also contract to control your movements. Machines set out a set pathway of movement, so no stabilizing muscles are involved. Machines may be safer for those who suffer from balance issues, however.
Exercises
The best exercise for the glutes and quadriceps includes squats and lunges. The hamstrings are best developed by deadlifts. Your calves get work when you do squats and lunges, but can be targeted more effectively by doing standing calf raises. Develop your back with pull-ups and lat pulldowns. Your chest muscles get great work with the bench press and push-ups. Develop your shoulders with the shoulder press and upright rows. Target your biceps with bicep curls and your triceps with tricep extensions. You should do a variety of exercises to workout your core, including abdominal crunches, oblique crunches and lower back bridges.
Exercise Order
Larger major muscle groups should be worked prior to the smaller ones to ensure that your muscles are not fatigued when completing the higher intensity exercises. Multi-joint exercises, which are those that require movement with multiple joints, should be done before single-joint exercises. For example, you should complete squats, which work your glutes, quadriceps and calves, prior to doing calf raises. Exercises such as bicep curls and tricep extensions should be left for the end of the workout.
Routine
Complete two to three sets of 6 to 12 repetitions of each exercise, resting one to three minutes in between each set. You will move from a lower body to an upper body exercise and continue that routine back and forth until the end, when you only have smaller muscle groups left. Complete the exercises in the following order: squats, bench press, lunges, push-ups, deadlifts, pull-ups, calf raises, shoulder press, bicep curls, tricep extensions, then core.
