When it comes weight training you need to forget all the fancy exercises you see on youtube and remember that these 5 exercises are the best when it comes to building strength and muscle.

1. Bench press – This exercise is probably the single most effective exercise when it comes to building muscle and strength in your upper body. Not only will you feel it in your chest but you will also make strength gains in your shoulders and triceps too. If you already have this incorporated into your workout then try some bench press variations like using drop sets of even super setting it with another chest exercise to really help burn out the upper body.

2.) Military press – Barbell military press is another great compound exercise which works mainly your deltoids but again helps with strength gains in other areas. If your using this exercise in your shoulder workout i would recommend doing this as your very first exercise. Then go into targeting the smaller areas or your shoulders after.

3.) Squat – Many people just assume that squatting will result in strong legs but the squat will help you build strength in every area of your body. Not only that but when you squat your body releases testosterone which is a natural growth hormone that your body needs for muscle to grow. So using this exercise in conjunction with everything else is great.

4.) Bent over barbell row – This exercise is one of my favourite when it comes to training my back. Its physically demanding but its one that will really help pack on the muscle. Be sure to keep good form when doing this exercise and ensure your back doesn’t begin to bend.

5.) Deadlift – This mainly targets your lower back but like some of the other exercises I’ve talked about its also great for your entire body. For me, this is my favourite exercise because its one that i feel really pushes my whole body to the point of exhaustion. I sometimes spend a whole session just focussing on this exercise and perfecting my technique. Its extremely important that you warm up before deadlifting and also do 1 or 2 warm up sets. Its so easy to get injured if this exercise is performed incorrectly.