Strength Techniques and Strategies Print How to Target Muscles With Specific Exercises By Paul Rogers Updated June 29, 2018 More in Strength Techniques and Strategies Beginners Injury Prevention Reducing Fat Strength Training Total Body Workouts Programs for Sports Abs Ever tried to remember which exercises are best for building certain muscles? I still have to check out some of the finer points at times. Once you start doing this in detail it can get a little tricky because there are many small muscles, and even the target muscles have helper muscles (synergists) and stabilizer muscles that get involved as well. In this article, I’ll concentrate on the most important target muscles of the major body sections and the best weight training exercises to target them. Because there are literally hundreds of exercises, I’ve chosen a mixture of the most common and the most useful across a range of free weights, machines and bodyweight exercises. If you’re a bodybuilder and you need to make your muscle targets a little more specific, then check out Hugo Rivera’s Bodybuilding site for further information. Weight Training Exercises for Leg Muscles Weight training for legs. Richard Theis / EyeEm / Getty Images Keep the back straight and knees tracking over the feet and not swaying in or bowed out in leg-bending exercises. SquatLeg pressLeg extensionLeg curlLungesCalf raisesDeadliftPower clean Weight Training Exercises for Arm Muscles Gillette BODY and Jason Khalipa Help Guys Get #BODYREADY For Summer. Steve Jennings/Getty Images Try not to "cheat" when doing arm exercises by using the momentum of a swaying chest or abdomen to move the weights. Force the focus on the targeted muscles. CurlsKickbacksPushdownDipsOverhead pressPower clean Weight Training Exercises for Back Muscles Australia Training And Press Conference : News Photo CompEmbedShareAdd to Board Australia Training And Press Conference. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Keep the back straight, head still and squeeze the shoulder blades together when doing back exercises. Rows - seated or bent overPulldownsPullupsShrugsDeadlift Weight Training Exercises for Shoulder Muscles 2013 SupeRugbY: Melbourne Rebels Gym Session. Steve Haag/Gallo Images Don't overextend the shoulder joint because it is one of the most complex—and perhaps one of the most fragile—joints in the body. Don't use heavy repetitions for front and side raises. When doing the upright row, use a wide grip, and don't raise the weight too high as this may cause impingement of the joint. Presses - overhead, seated benchArm raises - front, sideUpright rows Weight Training Exercises for Buttock Muscles 2013 SupeRugbY: Melbourne Rebels Gym Session. Steve Haag/Gallo Images Remember to squeeze your glutes together when doing butt exercises. LungesHip abductionsHip extensionsBird dogDeadlifts Weight Training Exercises for the Abdominal Muscles Wallabies World Cup Training Camp. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images No need to draw your abs in so that you "hollow out" the midsection. All you need to do is brace the abs firmly in preparation for abdominal exercises. CrunchesHanging leg raisesTwists (obliques)Situps Weight Training Exercises for the Chest Muscles Juan Smith in action during the Springboks gym training session on September 24, 2007 in Noisy le Grande, France. Tertius Pickard/Gallo Images If you find you get sore shoulders doing the flat bench press, do the incline bench press instead. Bench press - flat and inclinePec deckCable fly The above is a reasonable selection for all muscle groups to start with even though many variations and innovative techniques exist. If you need to brush up on weight training principles and practices, try this beginner's guide. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get exercise tips to make your workouts less work and more fun. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit