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Favorite Mass Builder
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[CinnamonBuns]
New member
pinky curlsssssss
and squats
and squats
Deadlifts hands down. They are my favorite and strongest lift. I can not think of a muscle these do not work.
OhioMuscle
New member
DEADLIFTS!!!! all day until you cant even pick up a quarter!!!
Since everyone is saying deadlifts, i'm going to go with bench 
pick one you lazy bastard!
drsketch
Banned
haha
Probably then deadlifts
lower, middle, upper back, legs, traps and biceps all get hit for these
I like bench too
shoulders(front delts) chest, triceps
Pullups are great too, fack too many to choose
fav? deadlift
best imo? squats
best imo? squats
haha
Probably then deadlifts
lower, middle, upper back, legs, traps and biceps all get hit for these
I like bench too
shoulders(front delts) chest, triceps
Pullups are great too, fack too many to choose
wtf?
eat all you want, i'm on anadrol
and that won't do a helluva lot for ya without food.
You have something negative to say about drol?
all the positives outweigh anything negative...If I had to chose one aas ONLY to spend the rest of my life with, it would be anadrol 50...that's love baby
Honestly, I hope I feel the same way once I start mine.
Oh mann...anadrol is supposed to make you feel uneasy or like crap....it makes me feel like a king...top of the world!!!
I should've added a poll for this
I used to feel this way from heavy squatting!
Squats are awesome IMO.
After I hurt my knees in wrestling in university, sometimes I have to take a few months off from squatting because my knees act up....the rest of the time, I go pretty fuggin heavy
layinback
New member
Squats are awesome IMO.
After I hurt my knees in wrestling in university, sometimes I have to take a few months off from squatting because my knees act up....the rest of the time, I go pretty fuggin heavy
i don't go heavy but i do them with STRICT form and i take about 4 seconds to
complete each rep.
i am primarily a slow twitch composition and i never grew with heavy weight
and lower reps. i got strong as hell and somewhat bulky.
be careful and don't let your knees travel past your feet. pre exhaust with leg
press or even extensions ( but don't lock out ) there is a 62 year old trainer
( 100% natural! ) with a true 500 lb squat at a gym i train at in birmingham!
I'm going to have to agree. Although I DO grow with HEAVY squats, I had a hernia squatting 400+pounds for reps. SO now when I squat and deadlift I do between 225 and 315 for sets 50-10 sets of 10. I always do leg press first before squat.
Yes, lightweights have their appeal...but I love the weights bro...I love to pump heavy weights ololo
It's definitely a great exercise, but check out the physiques of most olympic lifters compared to bodybuilders and powerlifters and you'll have to agree there are better mass builders out there.
musketeer
New member
no
ummm...yes
I believe the mass builders are those exercises that you can lift extraordinary weights when doing them, and they incorporate a compound movement.
They are known to be squats, deads, bench.
Most bodybuilders don't even do the snatch and the other powerlifters' exercises because they don't have a powerlifting background.
I love clean and press it's so violent feeling. I have a group of fight happy friends when we go out and this workout is a good reason I don't get roughed up. Anybody who trains for fighting or wrestling should do clean and press.
Back on topic my fav mass builder military press
The best mass builder squats
Back on topic my fav mass builder military press
The best mass builder squats
Ahmmm everyone who wants to do a standing military presses starting with the weight on the ground has to do the clean at least on the first rep. The fact that most bodybuilders don't do it has more to do with their background and the reason that bodybuilders are bigger it's all because rep ranges, diet and steroids. So clean and press is great for overall strength and mass, it should be a weightlifting staple.
It does not really fit within the bodybuilding scope, because of several reasons like proper form, availability of space within the gym, time constraints, possibility of injury, etc..
If you are able to do it clean and press is a great mass builder, but most of the "regular gyms" don't offer the conditions to do it and learn it properly. But then again, most people who does this exercise are strongman and they are known for a huge amounts of functional muscle mass.
I do the "push-press" which is similar in some ways, withuot the jerk movement.
Even if you do find a gym with the area to do these, it can be dangerous (hard on the wrists) to use a poor quality olympic bar. Most bars found in bodybuilding gyms don't spin smoothly enough for cleans. You really need a high quality olympic lifting bar for these type of movements.
That's true! Once a week I have the chance to workout at a gym that has this quality olys, strongman logs, Tires, farmer walk devices, sleds. Sometimes I go for a spin there.
It's an amazing experience going from a lousy, clunky bar to a quality olympic bar if you're doing cleans. You could equate it to getting out of a Volkswagen to take a Porsche for a spin.
musketeer
New member
POWERLIFTERS squat, bench, dead, in that order
WEIGHTLIFTERS snatch, clean and jerk, in that order
I'm talking about the clean and press or if you like the clean and push press, which does not require you to be a weightlifter or a powerlifter.
It is a compound move and it is an exercise that allows you to use a great amount of weight in a way that will effect everything.
Leg press lets you move a metric ton in some gyms but you won't see anyone saying it's great on here.
Once I trashed my right wrist over this, to the point I quitted doing cleans for almost a year, it sucked.
Yeah, I know the feeling...done it myself.
When you've used a high quality bar there is no going back either.
The clean and press also allows you to get injured fairly easily, especially if you're a newbie...wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is starting out.
I was making a point that not every gym has enough space for this exercise to be completed or done properly and not every gym allows you to do that.
ryno9000
New member
I feel like I may have already posted this on this thread, but I honestly have EF posting dreams (I know, I'm 
).
If you are doing Bench/Deads/Squats on a weekly basis, there is no real way of knowing which is the most effective mass builder now is there? IMO, they belong in your routine whether building mass, strength or getting cut.
).If you are doing Bench/Deads/Squats on a weekly basis, there is no real way of knowing which is the most effective mass builder now is there? IMO, they belong in your routine whether building mass, strength or getting cut.
wills_got_rythm
Banned
...
B
Big_BK
Guest
Then it's not a real gym. A gym should not ban certain lifts thats just nuts.
Not really. Olympic lifts require a large area and special platform (and also special bars) to be safe. The last thing another member needs is to be hit by a heavy Olympic bar out of control. This is not a rare occurence in Olympic lifting.
This is pretty true. That's why they don;t allow this in the gym where I train. I actually went over and talked to management about it, and their answer was very similar to this.
I forgot to mention one of the most important things for Olympic type lifts - bumper plates. It's not a good idea to drop normal steel plates as it can damage the bars as well as make a lot of noise.
and the flooring
Jocques Straap
New member
.......... well I'll take this one step further,
Power clean to press continue with overhead, alternating lunge.
If you had to stick with ONE exercise, this would be your best bet, for strength, speed, power, flexibility AND mass.
- Why would you want to work out at a gym that didn't allow Olympic lifts.? I love all the excuses too, they're dangerous, they're bad for the flooring, they require lots of floor space, you need bumper plates. Give me a break.
Power clean to press continue with overhead, alternating lunge.
If you had to stick with ONE exercise, this would be your best bet, for strength, speed, power, flexibility AND mass.
- Why would you want to work out at a gym that didn't allow Olympic lifts.? I love all the excuses too, they're dangerous, they're bad for the flooring, they require lots of floor space, you need bumper plates. Give me a break.
All the above is true.
My old gym bakc home, the floor was cracked, the plates werebroken on the sides, and people constantly got hurt with a freak accident. Corporate gyms do not allow that, because most members are corporate assholes with money.
Yes, it is convenient. Not everyone has a hardcore gym withinj a 15 min distance from their house.
That's why.
Jocques Straap
New member
I'll give you that. I have never been to a gym that wouldn't allow olympic lifts, there usually is plenty of room in front of the squat racks. That's where I do mine. Come to think about it, I haven't seen anyone else doing cleans and such at my gym, maybe one day soon someone will tell me I can't do them either!
not everyone is so lucky bro....I think I need to change gyms
Chrisco915
Banned
We have to change gyms here in MA now. Due to the rash of "freak accidents" for some of the above mentioned issues........the insurance companies will not insure our gym and it has to close.
I did a shitload od deadlifts yesterday... 
Because, as a bodybuilder I'm simply not interested in Olympic lifts. No excuses necessary...there are far better mass builders which can be done in a regular gym. Give me a break.
Power cleans and regular cleans are speed/technique movements. It's safer and more effective (for mass building) to do deadlifts, front squats and power shrugs seperately. Sure, you'll develope more power doing power cleans, but not more strength or mass.
all very interesting points you make bro...
I started out as an Olympic lifter in my late teens and early 20's. I love the movements, although because of injuries (motorcycle accident related) I can no longer do them. I got quite proficient at the lifts, but never developed much mass as a result.
In actual fact, in the clean and press you are doing a 4 phase movement. Deadlift, power shrug (high pull), front squat then press. One of these 4 phases will be the limiting phase (probably the front squat or press), which means the other 3 will be performed at a much lower relative intensity. There would also be a concern about volume because not too many reps can be done with these types of movements due to the cardio vascular stress on the body.
All in all, if you compared the intensity of doing the 4 phases individually during the course of a weekly bodybuilding routine with the various movements done on different days, the volume and intensity would be much higher and provide a much superior mass building stimulus.
If I were to pick the single best mass builder in terms of how much muscle the movement stimulates (at high intensity), it would probably be a toss up between the bench press (shoulders, chest, triceps), the bent over row (lower and upper back) and the squat (quads, hams and glutes with lower and upper back stimulus). Perhaps in terms of muscle weight stimulated the squat could be the winner.
I know a lot of people consider the deadlift to be a serious contender, but I would put it in 4th place or perhaps 3rd place at best.
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badhabit08
New member
lol u just described monday and friday of 5x5 program. "toss up between the bench press (shoulders, chest, triceps), the bent over row (lower and upper back) and the squat (quads, hams and glutes with lower and upper back stimulus). i'm just sayin i love this program. really gotten my maxes up well. i would say deadlift for best mass builder though. which is wednesdays.
It's a difficult question to answer definitively though, isn't it?
Most serious weight trainers do all of the above, so picking out the single best mass builder is really just a guess.
Yeh, I guess it depends on what works best for you.
I love the big three: bench, squats and deads.
Do you still use power shrugs in your routine? I am about to switch to a 5x5 type prgram and I will be including these. It has been so long since I have done any direct trap work. Dynamic pulling is the way to go for upperback\trap development imo.
Yes, I love powershrugs. I need them to get the traps to grow. I like it when my tank tops start getting shorter.
I start with strict DB shrugs and then do some strict BB or machine shrugs and then finish off with a few sets of heavy power shrugs.
The only problem I have with them is hanging on to a heavy bar long enough to do 10 - 15 reps before my left hand's grip gives out. I broke the ulna and radius years ago, so there is a weakness in the grip once I go over 450 lbs (with straps!). I'm looking into getting some lat hooks that may help me out.
This brings to mind why the clean and press would be very limited for trap development. The amount of weight that a person can use for power shrugs is way higher than they could clean and press. At least double or more I would say - for me it's way over double. The traps are an extremely strong muscle in terms of how much weight they can move.
Very good points here. I would be willing to say that the power shrug is superior to power cleans for upperback/trap development. More loading and a limited learning curve sounds good to me.
02gixxersix
New member
I know that when I am involving heavy ass deads in my routine (which I almost always am) my whole body grows. Same with squats but on a different level. I think all the meat and potatoes exercises are critical to building a god foundation though and neglecting any one of them will result in not only a potential imbalance in muscle mass, but a hindrance to overall progress.
Please don't take this as an attack on the standard deadlift, but personally I had to give it away because it interferes with too many other exercises which I think are more beneficial to building up a good bodybuilding type physique (as opposed to a powerlifting type physique).
What I mean is that if I add heavy deadlifts to my weekly routine my lower back becomes overtrained to the point where it becomes a limiting factor on squats, RDL's and rowing movements (bentover rows, T-bar, cable rows). I just can't find a good place to fit it in. I had to make a choice between RDL's and deadlifts, and RDL's are one of the few hamstring exercises which work for me, so they are indispensible in my routine. If I didn't do RDL's on leg day, I would add in deadlifts.
I do 2 or 3 sets of weighted back extensions.
I understand why some bodybuilders do deadlifts every second week only. The work load on the spine can become too much in a high volume bodybuilding routine. Keeping the lower back in healthy condition is of utmost importance to me as I've experienced many years of lower back trouble in the past.
I am with you here. Currently I squat and RDL on Monday, then the following Monday I pull heavy deads. I have found I can squat intensely and pull heavy in the rack in the same week. But I use too much low back when pulling from the floor to squat heavy in the same week. I like rack deads from just under the knee. These do not seem to affect my low back. Even with heavy weights.
I plan on switching to the 5x5 mid December and it will be interesting to see just how well I recover. I know that I will have to reduce my intensity quite a bit at the start. I think after a while my body will get used to the higher frequency of squating and pulling will not be a problem. At least at 5x5. I would die from heavy singles lol.
Yeah, that's my problem exactly. If (when) I did deadlifts, I would do it on my back day which is 3 days before my squat workout. Even then my back doesn't feel fresh for squats.
Some people may be able to recover more quickly, but my back needs a really good long rest. If you add in all the other low back intensive exercises I do during the course of my weekly schedule it's too easy to push it over the edge.
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