Targeting Specific Muscle Groups: A Comprehensive List Of The Best Exercises!

Your complete resource for finding out the best exercises for specific muscles.

I'm always getting asked by people, "what exercise works this area" or "what can I do for this" or "what works best for this part of the muscle". Inherently everyone from the couch potato to the professional bodybuilder has at least one area of their body that they want to target or improve upon.

Even if perhaps you were content with your aesthetics and physical proportions—wouldn't it be nice, or even educational, to know specifically what muscles are being emphasized with certain exercises or what exercises are better suited to target a specific muscle or muscle group?

Even qualified personal trainers sometimes have a tough time remembering all of this information.

To me (and apparently many others I've talked to) it's a no-brainer to imagine just how useful and invaluable it would be to have all of this scientifically based information in one easily printable and readable source.

And best of all, courtesy of Bodybuilding.com and myself it's free! There was a demand for this article from colleagues and gym members alike even before I finished it. And hopefully you'll find it very useful as well!

From my research efforts, I've unfortunately realized that this type of information is not only scattered all over the place, but depending on what sources you seek, the information may be contraindicative. So I've decided once and for all to compile a painstakingly comprehensive list of exercises that work best for specific muscle groups, individual muscles or specific areas of individual muscles.

With more than 600 muscles found in the human body, it is safe to say that only the major ones are covered in this edition. This information has been compiled from various kinesiology and exercise physiology textbooks as well as other credible materials whose results are based on EMG (electromyography) activity research.

At least one study indicated that the muscle fibers of the rectus femoris were substantially stronger and more facilitated with the torso in a 90 degree angle to the thighs for the leg extension machine, which contradicts the theory that the rectus femoris should be strongest when it is placed in a stretched position.

The researches concluded that there was an unknown mechanism at work here. So I have listed the leg extension at a 90 degree angle as the best way to isolate the rectus femoris.

Feel free to contact me if you feel there are other muscles that are important enough to include in this list.

Important Notes

It is important to note that spot reduction or losing fat in only one area of your body is impossible—these exercises are meant to target specific muscles not fat at specific areas.

It is also important to keep in mind that it is impossible to contract only one portion of a muscle—a muscle contracts entirely. But, priority or greater amount of involvement can happen to specific muscle fibers of the muscle.

For example; during the incline bench press the pectoralis major (the main chest muscle) contracts entirely, but because you are on an incline the force from the weight is not distributed evenly across the chest and therefore the fibers of the upper "pec" are working hardest. Therefore, this exercise is performed in order to prioritize and build the upper portion of the chest.

Recommended Reading

Note: For explanations and illustrations on performing most of the listed exercises

Strength Training Anatomy and Women's Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier (both published by Human Kinetics) are two excellent resources that I highly recommend to anyone involved in resistance training or thinking about beginning.

The beautiful illustrations and explanations of various exercises are easy enough for any beginner to understand yet in depth enough to educate seasoned athletes. At least three individuals that I've introduced these books to like them so much that they bring them to the gym with them every day.

Both of these books can be found at major bookstores or at www.humankinetics.com.

Legs

Buttocks

Back

Chest

Shoulders

Arms

Abdominals