Fit as a Fiddle: 6 Major Muscle Groups You Should Focus Your Strength Training On

Hitting the gym is always a great way to improve your strength, but heading there with no plan in sight is almost as bad as not going at all. While a personal trainer can tell you what you need to focus on, they are also often pricey and not always a feasible option.

However, if you are working on strength training, a little research can go a long way. Certain muscle groups are better for building your strength than others. Here are the 6 major muscle groups you should be sure to hit while you’re working out to improve your strength.

Strength Training Muscle Groups

Quadriceps – Your quadriceps, or “quads” for short, make up the front of your thigh and are comprised of four often-used muscles. When you walk, run, jump, or squat down, you’re using these muscles.

The best exercises to strengthen your quadriceps are to perform repetitions of squats, lunges, or any kind of squat variation exercise.

Hamstrings – Located on the back of your thighs, your hamstrings are a huge system of muscles responsible for bending your knees when you walk, run, jump, or climb up stairs. Part of your hamstring’s muscles is also used to rotate your lower leg. Yet these regularly used muscles are often forgotten about in strength training.

While many lesser-known exercises such as Romanian Deadlifts and box-squats are great for strengthening your hamstrings, using the right leg curling machines can also get those muscles in shape.

Chest – Men and women both are concerned about strengthening their chest, or pectoral, muscles, but they don’t always know exactly what they are supposed to be doing to get them in optimal shape.

Your chest muscles work with other muscles in tandem to perform activities such as pushing up from a chair, bed, or the ground or throwing a ball. To strengthen these muscles, try bench presses or push-ups.

Triceps – A major area of concern for many people is their triceps area. Men generally want to increase the bulk there to get bigger arms and women want to make theirs smaller and less saggy. Whatever your reason, if you want better arms you need to work on strength training your triceps.

Your triceps are used every time you push something, so exercises that repeat those motions are good for training. Dips, reverse grip bench presses, weight lifts, and other compound exercises are good ways to improve your tricep muscles.

Back – Your back is a major muscle group responsible for basically your entire body’s functioning. Muscles in your back attach to your hips, chest, shoulders, neck, and abs.

Strength training your back is usually done through exercises like rows, pull-ups, and chin-ups. You can also do deadlifts if you were trained to do them correctly.

Forearms – While your forearms are automatically worked in multiple exercises, you use them for everything from holding to gripping, so it’s important not to overlook them.

Exercises such as hammer curls, pinwheel curls, or other curls are an excellent way to strength train your forearms.

Don’t Overlook Your Strength Training

Working out is an excellent way to improve your cardio health, but strength training has impressive benefits as well. Targeting these six muscle groups will help you with your overall daily activities and your body will thank you for it!