Muscle Group Exercises: Tap a Muscle to Find the Right Move

How do I use the interactive muscle map?

Tap any muscle on the front or back body diagram and the list below filters to exercises that train it. Tap the same muscle again, or tap All muscles, to clear the filter. Use the equipment dropdown to narrow the list further, to only barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, machine, cable, kettlebell or resistance band exercises.

For example, tap Lower back and the Deadlift shows up as a top match. Tap Shoulders and you'll find moves like the Face Pull. Each result card shows the exercise name, its primary muscle, its equipment and its level, so you can scan the list before opening a page for the full instructions.

What do the major muscle groups do?

Each muscle group has a job in how you move. Here's a plain-English look at what the major groups on the muscle chart do, from chest and shoulders down to the calves.

• Chest: presses your arms forward and across your body, the main mover in the bench press and push-up.
• Shoulders: raises your arms out to the side and overhead, and stabilizes the shoulder joint in almost every pressing and pulling move.
• Biceps: bends your elbow and rotates your forearm, the main mover in any curl.
• Triceps: straightens your elbow, the main mover in any press or pushdown.
• Forearms: bends your wrist and closes your grip, working hard on every pull and carry.
• Abs: flexes your spine and braces your trunk, stabilizing your torso during squats and presses.
• Upper back: pulls your arms down and back, the main mover in rows and pull-ups.
• Traps: shrugs and rotates your shoulder blades and supports your neck and upper spine.
• Lower back: extends your spine and hips, holding your torso upright during deadlifts and squats.
• Glutes: extends your hip, the main mover in squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts.
• Quads: straightens your knee, the main mover in squats, lunges and leg presses.
• Hamstrings: bends your knee and extends your hip, working hard in deadlifts and leg curls.
• Adductors: pulls your leg in toward your body's midline, stabilizing your hips during squats and lunges.
• Calves: points your foot down, the main mover in any calf raise or jump.

What's the difference between primary and secondary muscles?

Every exercise page highlights two kinds of muscles on the body diagram. The primary muscle is the main mover, the muscle doing most of the work to complete the movement.

Secondary muscles assist the movement or stabilize your body while the primary muscle does the heavy lifting. An exercise's primary muscle usually matches the muscle group you tapped on the map, and its secondary muscles are listed underneath so you can see everything a single move trains.

How do you choose exercises for each muscle group?

Exercises come in two types. A compound exercise moves more than one joint and trains several muscles at once, like a squat or a bench press. An isolation exercise moves a single joint and targets one muscle, like a bicep curl or a leg extension.

Start with compound exercises for the muscle group you're training, since they let you lift the most weight while your energy is fresh. Add isolation exercises afterward to target a muscle that needs extra work, like triceps after pressing or hamstrings after squats. Compound vs. isolation exercises breaks down when to use each.

How do you put muscle group exercises into a workout?

Pair muscle groups that work well in the same session, like chest with triceps or back with biceps, so one set of equipment covers several exercises in a row. See muscle groups to work out together for common pairings.

How many reps you do per exercise depends on your goal. NSCA guidelines put strength work at 85% of your one-rep max or more for 6 reps or fewer, hypertrophy (muscle-building) work at 67-85% for 6-12 reps, and muscular endurance work at 67% or less for 12 or more reps. Use the 1RM calculator to turn these percentages into a working weight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• free-exercise-db (GitHub)

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