Health Tip of the Week: The Best Exercise(s) for Putting on Muscle!

This one is for all the bros at the gym, trying to get that beach body for the summer.  However, it also applies to any athlete/person looking to gain weight in general, and gain it the right way - because lets face it, anyone can just go to Dunkin' Donuts every day if they don't care if they gain muscle or fat.

When it comes to muscle though, one of the more common questions is "Whats the best exercise to get big?" or something along those lines.  Well, there's actually a few exercises that all work equally well.  But first, a quick physiology lesson as to why they work...

It basically comes down to the male sex hormone, testosterone (yes, women do have testosterone - about 1/10th as much as men, which is why its effects are not as pronounced - but its there). Testosterone directly affects muscle protein synthesis - in other words, testosterone interacts with the DNA in your cells, giving it the go-ahead to make more muscle proteins.  More muscle proteins = bigger muscle cells.  Testosterone levels can be elevated after a workout, and the more elevated testosterone levels are after a workout, the more proteins you have being synthesized, and the bigger your muscles can get.  How do you maximally elevate your testosterone levels following a workout?  Its all about total work performed.  And the most efficient way to maximize the amount of work you do is to do exercises that work lots of muscles at once. And those exercises are:

-Dead lift and its variations (Romanian DL, Sumo DL, Rack pulls, etc).  These will work your calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, upper back, shoulders, traps, abs, grip, and even a little bit of biceps and triceps - all at once!
-Squats. There are plenty of variations here - quarter squats, half squats, deep squats, performed as either front squats or back squats.  Front squats are a little more quad dominant, but a good old fashioned deep back squat will work your core and just about everything below your waist.  If you want to make your postural muscles indestructible, try overhead squats.
-Olympic Lifts. The clean, snatch, jerk, and all their variations.  And the variations really are endless.  These are quick, powerful movements that like the dead lift involve literally every muscle in your body all in one motion.

So there you have it.  Incorporate at least one kind of dead lift, squat, or olympic lift into EVERY cycle you do.  If you cover all the other bases of training, you'll elevate your testosterone and see gains in muscle size in no time.