HOW TO SELECT THE BEST HYPERTROPHY EXERCISES?

If you’ve been hitting the gym for a while, you might have found yourself picking exercises to impress your powerlifting pals, even if powerlifting isn’t your main goal.

For many, the aim isn’t just to max out on a few lifts but to build strength and pack on muscle.

Surfing noticeable muscle mass is more appealing than risking it all for a personal best on the deadlift.

But then comes another pitfall: choosing exercises solely based on what your favorite bodybuilder does. There are more reliable and practical approaches.

Instead, think of exercise selection like picking out a new car. You need a set of clear principles to determine if an exercise aligns with your goals.

In this case, we’re focused on identifying what makes an exercise great for sparking severe muscle growth. And hey, these principles aren’t just for bulking; they’re handy for cutting phases, too.

Before diving into the nitty-gritty, remember this: only some exercises will tick all the boxes ideally. But the key to optimal muscle growth lies in choosing exercises that hit most of these principles rather than just a few.

1 – STRENGTH AND RESISTANCE CURVES

Strength curves indicate where you’re strongest during a lift, while resistance curves show how the resistance changes throughout the movement.

To maximize muscle growth:

• Ensure you train across various curves to target different muscle regions, achieve loaded stretching, and engage supporting muscles differently in compound lifts.
• Aim for exercises with a flatter curve, closely matching strength and resistance profiles. This ensures consistent difficulty throughout, preventing premature muscle failure.

Here are some tips to flatten the resistance curve:

• Swap triceps kickbacks and dumbbell lateral raises for cable versions.
• Incorporate bands into presses, squats, and lunges.
• Use slight cheating on pulling exercises like rows and face pulls, but sparingly to avoid injury, especially on low-risk variations and only on final reps.
• Opt for machines that often offer optimal strength curves.

2 – STIMULUS TO FATIGUE RATIO

The stimulus to fatigue ratio gauges how much muscle growth an exercise offers relative to the fatigue it induces, a concept popularized by Mike Israetel.

Some exercises, like conventional deadlifts and rack pulls, demand heavy weights and extensive warm-ups and drain energy quickly, yielding poor hypertrophy returns.

Instead, prioritize exercises that promote significant growth without overwhelming fatigue, enabling sufficient recovery for future workouts.

Individual factors play a role. For instance, some excel at building quads with front squats due to favorable limb lengths, while others find them excessively fatiguing.

To mitigate fatigue, consider adjustments like using a box or implementing blood flow restrictions. Alternatively, explore different quad-building exercises with better stimulus to fatigue ratios, such as leg presses or split squats.

3 – STABILITY FACTOR

Considering stability is vital. Increased instability makes it more challenging to generate force and focus on deep muscle contractions.

Exercise on wobbly surfaces could be better for muscle building.

Even with traditional strength training, stabilizing exercises can enhance hypertrophy.

For instance, switching from kettlebells to dumbbells for presses and flies provides a more stable grip.

During lunges and single-leg RDLs, holding onto something or using the B stance RDL can improve balance.

Swapping specific barbell movements for Smith machine versions can be beneficial.

In general, more stability often means more muscle growth.

4 – LACK OF LIMITATIONS

Some exercises have limitations that end sets prematurely before muscles are adequately fatigued, hindering hypertrophy, especially if aiming for failure.

Common limiting factors include grip strength, shoulder stability, low back stress, or secondary movers.

Choose exercises with no limiting factors beyond the primary mover.

To address limitations:

•  Use straps for grip-intensive exercises like rows, chin-ups, and RDLs.
• If shoulders feel unstable, switch to machine or landmine presses from barbell presses.
• Reduce exercises with axial loading like barbell deadlifts and squats for low back issues.
• If secondary movers hinder primary movers, find exercises that suit your mechanics better.

5 – LOADABILITY

Loadability is a crucial aspect of hypertrophy-friendly exercises, indicating how easily an exercise can be progressively loaded.

This facilitates applying progressive overload, which is essential for muscle growth.

Bilateral exercises allowing for triple-digit loads are advantageous, especially plate-loaded exercises like bench or leg presses. They accommodate even small weight increments for advanced lifters unable to make prominent progressions in weight.

6 – RANGE OF MOTION

Studies consistently indicate that a full range of motion is superior to partial movements, even if it means using lighter weights.

Performing exercises through their full range allows for optimal muscle stress throughout both contraction and extension phases.

The most effective squat for hypertrophy allows for deep motion with an upright posture. This could be variations like box squats, front squats, back squats, or even using a Smith machine with proper foot positioning.

Additionally, cambered bars and safety squat bars can enhance the range of motion during compound exercises.

Ultimately, opting for exercises with a more fantastic range of motion is generally advantageous, provided they are executed with control rather than excessive momentum.

7 – STRETCH STIMULUS

Creating significant tension during the stretched position of an exercise triggers a unique muscle-building stimulus.

A well-known study from 2014 found that training at longer muscle lengths led to more significant muscle gains and better retention of strength and size during detraining periods.

The stretch stimulus underscores the importance of performing exercises through a full range of motion. However, it’s essential to note that while some exercises have the same range of motion, they may offer different tension levels in the stretched position.

For instance, pronated rows provide more tension in the stretched position than supinated rows, and lying cable triceps extensions offer more stretch stimulus than lying barbell skull crushers. Similarly, standing calf raises are more effective than seated ones.

8 – CONTRACTION PROPERTIES

Exercises should involve concentric and eccentric phases for maximal hypertrophy, each with adequate tension.

Concentric contractions typically increase muscle fiber diameter, while eccentric contractions tend to elongate muscle fibers. Therefore, it’s ideal to select exercises that engage both phases effectively.

Exercises lacking eccentric tension are suboptimal for muscle growth since they miss out on maximizing fiber elongation. Examples include conventional deadlifts, Olympic lifts, kipping pull-ups, and box jumps, which are all poor choices for maximizing muscle size due to their contraction properties.

9 – PRACTICALITY OF SETUP

Let’s face it: you have to work with what you’ve got. If you’re hitting the gym, you might not have access to all the fancy equipment you see on social media.

You need to apply these principles based on what’s feasible for you. Take the barbell hip thrust, for example. It’s excellent for building glute muscles, but it’s not the easiest thing to set up.

Some exercises just aren’t worth the hassle of setting up.

Ultimately, you have to consider practicality as much as the physiological benefits.

10 – TRAINING HISTORY

Your past training experiences play a crucial role in selecting the best exercises. After applying these principles, it can be challenging to determine which exercises stand out from the rest.

For instance, banded overhead presses offer a fantastic resistance curve and loadability, but machine presses provide more stability and a better stimulus to fatigue ratio.

If you can’t fit both into your routine, opt for the less familiar one. This way, you can focus on areas you may need attention to.

So, if you’ve hit a plateau with traditional barbell exercises, consider switching to machines and vice versa.

CHOOSING EXERCISES IS AN ART AND SCIENCE

Selecting the right exercises is a blend of art and science. You take scientific principles and use them to build your workout routine.

Consider your body mechanics, the practical setup, and your training history to choose the best muscle-building exercises from your arsenal. Stick with them for a few weeks, focusing on progressive overload.

Then, reassess, adjust, and keep making progress for the long haul.