Exercise Guides: How To's and Comparisons

The rear delts are a key muscle group that surrounds the shoulders. While most people emphasize training and developing the front and side delts, they often miss out on the rear delt.

Increasing the size and shape of your rear delts will help you achieve rounder and fuller shoulders. Developing the rear delts will give you the 3D appearance that’s often seen in top-level physique competitors.

Although the rear delts are involved in several back exercises, if rear delt growth is your goal, then specifically training the rear delts is necessary.

The problem with most rear delt isolation exercises is that if you use free weights, there are various points during the movement where there’s little to no tension placed on the rear delt. Also, if you go too heavy, the traps take over the movement.

The best way to get around those two issues is to use the cable machine instead of free weights, which is why we recommended it as one of the best gym machines for the back.

But which cable exercises are the most effective for developing your back muscles?

In this article, we are going to cover the top 6 cable rear delt exercises, so you don’t have to waste your time doing ineffective exercises.

Keep reading to find out which exercises made our list!

The trapezius muscle is divided into three main regions, the upper traps, middle traps, and lower traps.  Since they are visible from the front, most people focus on building the upper traps, which leaves the lower traps undeveloped and overpowered by the lats and upper traps. 

However, the lower traps are an important muscle to target because they add size definition to the middle back. What’s more, the lower traps play an essential role in maintaining shoulder health and good posture.

Various back exercises involve the lower traps, but they can be further emphasized through direct lower trap training. The primary action of the lower trap is scapula depression. There are a few specific exercises that primarily include that action, and it’s not your typical shrug.

In this article, we’ll cover the best exercises you can perform to get stronger and bigger lower traps. Keep reading to learn more!

When most people think about the best shoulder exercises, they often prioritize movements that work the front (anterior) and side (medial) deltoids. However, focused attention on the posterior (rear) delt is equally important for building strong, well-rounded shoulders.

Strengthening the rear delts will improve your ability to pull your shoulders back, and improve your strength and posture in and out of the gym. You can target your rear delts using cable machines, barbells, resistance bands, or even your own body weight.

In this article, we’ll focus on ways to target the posterior deltoid using only dumbbells for an accessible, convenient way to train this often neglected muscle.

Here is our list of the nine best dumbbell exercises to target your rear delt and help you build broad, strong, and stable shoulders.

The outer quad is the vastus lateralis, the biggest of the four quadriceps muscles and the one that gives the upper leg its outward flare. It runs from the top of your femur down to the kneecap, and when it’s developed it’s the muscle that makes a leg look wide from the front and from behind.

You can’t isolate it. No exercise hits the vastus lateralis on its own, because all four quad heads share one tendon and one job at the knee. What you can do is pick movements and foot positions that bias the load toward the outer head, then give it enough volume for long enough to matter.

Below are the seven exercises I’d build an outer quad block around, followed by a five-week workout and a section on how to actually grow the muscle. If you’re here because your outer thighs won’t grow, read that section first. The exercises matter less than the volume and the time you give them.

While often neglected in favor of the biceps, the triceps are the biggest muscle group in your arms. The tricep has three muscle ‘heads’, which explains their name (tri meaning three and ceps meaning heads). 

The long head tricep is the largest of the three tricep heads. Due to its size and potential for growth,  it is worth giving it some extra attention in the gym. Your long tricep head is located on the inner side of your upper arm, running across the elbow joint to the shoulder joint. Here, we’ll go over the eight best exercises to target your long tricep head and help you achieve stronger, more muscular upper arms.

If you want to build powerful, strong arms that perform well in the gym, you can’t forget the triceps. The triceps brachii makes up about two-thirds of your upper arm. It is a muscle with three heads – the long head, the lateral head, and the medial head.

The medial head is the smallest and least visible of all the tricep heads but still warrants focused attention.

The medial tricep head plays a vital role in stabilizing the elbow and supporting elbow extension. It is located at the back of the arm just above the elbow.

You can’t isolate the medial head of the tricep entirely, but you can give it extra emphasis by choosing the right exercises.

We’ll go over the seven best exercises to target your medial tricep to build balanced, strong and muscular-looking upper arms.

Are you looking for the most effective way to build your bicep peak? If so, then you should primarily be focused on increasing the size, density, and strength of the long head of the biceps. The bicep is composed of two heads, the long head, and the short head. The long head is a bigger muscle and forms the bicep peak.

There are numerous bicep exercises, but specific ones target the long head of the biceps more than others. With that said, you cannot isolate the long head or the short head of the biceps, you can only emphasize one more than the other, and it’s all about your exercise selection.

In this article, we’re going to cover the top 8 exercises that target the long head of the bicep. If you start performing the movements listed below, you’ll soon develop an impressive, stage-worthy bicep peak.

Cables are one of the most useful machines that you can have because they are so versatile and provide constant tension to whichever muscle you’re targeting. Cable machines are particularly great for shoulder development since they increase the stability of the shoulder joint in addition to size, shape, and strength.

In fact, they were featured at the top of our list of the most effective gym machines for shoulders!

With a few modifications, cables can be used to target all three heads of the deltoids, giving you 3D shoulders. Whether you’re looking to step on stage, compete in powerlifting, rehab from an injury, or enhance athletic performance, it’s a good idea to include cable-based exercises in your routine.

Although there are several cable exercises that engage the shoulders, some are better than others. Here’s our definitive list of the cable shoulder exercises that are worth doing regardless of your goal or experience level.

Building muscular, strong, and aesthetic arms goes far beyond doing a few bicep curls. Two heads make up the biceps — the short head and the long head. While they both contribute to elbow flexion, one creates the height or peak of the bicep, whereas the other creates the width and density of the bicep.

In this article, we will focus on the width and thickness portion of the bicep, which is attributed to the short head. If you want to learn what the best exercises are for the long head, check out this article: Most Effective Long Head Bicep Exercises.

Even though you can’t isolate a particular head of the biceps, altering your grip, width, and elbow position allows you to target one more than the other. For the short head, doing exercises that use a wider grip and/or place your elbows in front of your body will be the most effective.

If you want to add more width, thickness, and density to your biceps, try out the top 8 short head bicep exercises below!

Many fitness enthusiasts are on a mission to build bigger and stronger arms. While most gym-goers focus on growing their biceps by endlessly doing curls, they are missing out on what the triceps have to offer.

If you want big arms, growing your lateral head tricep muscle is a must.

Afterall, the triceps make up two-thirds of your arm, while the bicep only makes up one-third.

There are numerous tricep exercises to choose from; however, some are better than others, especially if you want to target a certain area of the triceps. Although you cannot directly isolate a specific head, by changing your elbow positioning and grip placement, you can emphasize one more than the other.

In this article, we are going to highlight the best exercises that target the lateral head of the triceps based on safety, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Nothing says “I lift” more than three-dimensional shoulders. A lot of gym-goers are after cannonball shoulders and if that’s you, then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’re going to cover the top 10 exercises for bigger and stronger front delts.

A common debate in the fitness industry is whether or not front delt isolation exercises are necessary. Many argue that if you already do pressing movements consistently, such as the bench press and shoulder press, then front delt isolation exercises are unnecessary.

The front delt is one of three major muscles that surround the shoulder joint. Compared to the side (lateral) delt and rear (posterior) delt, the anterior delt is oftentimes overdeveloped. Since a major component of aesthetics is symmetry, if one area of the delt is more developed than the other, it’s not very appealing to the eye.

But if you’re one of the few that has lagging anterior delts, keep reading to learn how to train them in the most effective, safe, and efficient way possible.

Do you want to build strong, rounded shoulders but aren’t sure which exercises to prioritize? Many upper body exercises emphasize the front (anterior) and rear delts but neglect the side or medial delts, which are located on the outer edge of your shoulders.

The side (medial) deltoids are important for building wider, stronger shoulders and are primarily responsible for shoulder abduction (lifting the arms away from the torso). Read on to discover our list of the nine best side delt exercises to start building broader, capped shoulders.

Are you searching for the most effective way to build bigger, stronger traps? The traps are a large muscle group that spans the entire upper back. The trapezius muscle is divided into three segments – upper, middle, and lower — based on how the muscle fibers are positioned and their line of pull.

Numerous exercises target the traps, but some are more effective than others, especially if you’re trying to develop a specific region of the traps, such as the middle trap.

Here’s our definitive list of the best exercises to develop your middle traps based on efficacy, safety, efficiency, and skill level.