Bigger and Badder

Top 3 Mass Builders

What are the top three mass builders? Well, that’s been asked for decades. Most of the time, people answer with the classic three—the bench press, deadlift, and squat. I’m not debating how great those are for full body development. However, it really doesn’t make things very interesting, does it? Here are three other mass builders that I think contribute greatly to overall size.

Slight Decline Dumbbell Press
This may sound like a weird pick for this list, but it’s a bad-ass pressing movement. Slide a 45-pound plate under the end of a flat bench to create a slight decline, then lay back and feel how much stress is on the pecs. In fact, I think a slight decline is the best position to load the entire pec. Upper and lower pecs are both very activated in this position. Also, the load isn’t as stressful to the shoulder as flat presses can sometimes feel. If you’ve ever used the hammer decline press, this movement is a very similar groove, except it’s harder to perform because of the dumbbells. Give it a try, and feel your chest thicken up.

Bent Barbell Row
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s a very tough free weight movement that puts a lot of stress on a large percentage of the body’s muscle tissue. If you can learn a proper, full-range bent barbell row, I guarantee you’ll grow a thicker set of traps, lats, and erectors. It’s a full back attack if properly executed. Most people go too heavy and can’t activate the proper muscles in the proper sequence. So focus on getting a full reach, opening up the shoulder blades and getting some stretch though the lats and mid-back. Then focus on retracting the scapula all the way back, and contracting the lats back and down to the hips. You can tweak this exercise a lot too, by changing up the grip you use and what plane of motion you work within. There’s some room for variety with bent barbell rows. Just make sure the back stays flat and you get the proper contraction.

Leg Press
Now we all know a hundred Grade 12 kids who can leg press 10 plates a side for “reps,” so it seems like anyone can pile plates on and dominate the leg press. However, I think it’s one of the most abused exercises in the gym. If you can drop the ego, you can get some great gains out of a good leg press. It’s extremely versatile, as there are literally a dozen variations that I can use to train my legs. Foot positions can be switched up from set to set or even mid-set to create a superset that feels like two different movements back to back. Try it with your feet narrow and low to focus on the quads for 10 reps. Then immediately spread your feet wider and slightly higher, bringing your knees down towards your armpits for another 10 reps. Your hams and adductors will help more on the second half, but your quads will continue to suffer and burn. It’s a very tough superset.

Make sure these three mass builders are in your arsenal. These are very important tools to getting bigger. Master them!

Train like hell.