Best Exercises for Bulking – The Squat

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This is considered one of the basics. If you’re looking to bulk up your frame, whether you’re a guy or a gal here’s why squats are one of the best exercises for bulking.

Table of Contents

• Why Are Squats One of the Best Exercises For Bulking?
• Your Squat Form is Very Important
• Mark Rippetoe – I Trust Him
• Nutrition is Important

Why Are Squats One of the Best Exercises For Bulking?

Squats are considered one of the best exercises for bulking up because they fall under the category of compound exercises. Compound exercises simply put are exercises that (when done correctly) work more than one muscle group, so you get more of an effect from them.

Squats work the muscle groups listed below:

Erector Spinae – Muscles in your back.
Gluteus Maximus – Muscles in the butt.
Hamstrings – That long muscle in the back of your thigh
Quadriceps – The front of your thigh.

Now think how long it would take you to train each of those muscles individually, a long time. Not to mention the muscle groups I mentioned are only some, there are lots more benefits to the squat.

Your Squat Form is Very Important

After about 2 weeks of doing good squatting you will notice a change, but to maximize the changes you see, you have to get your form right.

The best way of attacking the squat, is to spend time perfecting your form.

Get your body accustomed to the movement and develop some form of memory of the movement so that you don’t arrive at the gym and try to copy everyone else because for all you know the person you copy could be doing them incorrectly and worst still maybe he/she copied it from the village idiot, you never know, so it is important you practice first without any weights.

*In the bathroom while you brush your teeth.

*While you’re talking on the phone.

*While you’re waiting for the microwave to finish.

*You get the idea

Generally practice the movement and make sure your foot position is right, your back is straight and you don’t feel any pain.

When you’re a beginner it’s common to feel as though you’re going to lose balance and fall flat on your butt when squatting, would you rather this happen at the gym with a massive barbell on your back?

That’s why I suggest you work the mistakes out before you go onto the heavy stuff.

Unfortunately there is a lot of conflicting information out there which can confuse you before you have even set foot into the gym and started squatting.

I’ve found Mark Rippetoe‘s personal coaching videos on YouTube to be very helpful, your aim is to avoid ‘bro science’ at every cost.

Do what works for you and try to take advice from reputable sources. This guy to me is a reputable source. So use this video to help you perfect your form.

Once you are ready, practice with a light weight before hitting the heavier weights.

Improper form with this exercise can be very bad for you as an injury can greatly mess up the likelihood of you reaching your goal.

If you got the money to spare go down the route of hiring a good personal trainer.

Nutrition is Important

Aside from considering what the best exercises for bulking are, nutrition is just as if not more important.

In order to get the most out of your heavy squat workout, you need to make sure you are loaded up on energy beforehand.

Squats take a lot of energy because they work so many muscle groups simultaneously.

When I plan on doing a routine of heavy squats I try to make sure I have eaten the right foods beforehand otherwise I just won’t have the energy to get through the whole workout.

Before every morning workout, I eat a couple of bananas which are full of sugars to give me an extra boost of energy, but if you’re working out later in the day, it’s important to make sure you have eaten enough from the moment you have woken up so that your body is ready to work.