10 Workouts To Build Your Muscular Strength

Lisa Mulcahy
·5 min read

Get your workout on! These easy exercises help strengthen and tone your muscles.

How many times have you paused to thank your muscles for everything they do for you? Probably never, but they deserve it. Your muscles are the workhorses of your body, giving you the power to accomplish virtually anything physical you want to. Focusing on increasing your muscular strength, then, is key, and you can do this by working out the right way.

"It's important to include muscular strength exercises in your workouts that target each major muscle group—chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abdomen, quadriceps and hamstrings," says Chris Gagliardi, ​scientific education content manager, for the American Council on Exercise and an ACE-certified personal trainer, health coach, group fitness instructor and medical exercise specialist. "This will reduce the risk of developing muscle imbalances and overuse injuries, use all three planes of motion—sagittal, frontal and transverse, plus the five primary movement patterns—bend-and-lift, single-leg, pushing, pulling and rotation."

What is muscular strength?

Muscular strength is a different concept than muscular endurance. According to data from the American College of Sports Medicine, muscular endurance means you're able to do something physical—say, push-ups or sit-ups, over and over and again, but you don't get as tired. Muscular strength, on the other hand, means you can exert a lot of force in doing a physical movement, such as lifting a heavyweight multiple times. The great thing about developing your muscular strength is that you can use it in so many different ways to make your life easier, from picking up your kids to moving furniture around your living room. The stronger your muscles are, the more you can master these kinds of movements without struggling.

Related: 23 Ways to Incorporate Cardio Into Your Strength Training or Workout Routine

What are the benefits of muscular strength exercises? 

According to Cleveland Clinic, building good muscular strength is a very good idea. For one thing, incorporating muscular strength exercises into your workout routine can limit muscle loss we experience as we age. Also, through strength training, you can preserve your muscle mass and increase your metabolism, which can help you lose some weight if you want to.

So, what's your first step when starting a muscular strengthening workout routine?

"Do a proper warm-up to prepare," advises Gagliardi. "Your warm-up should last about five to ten minutes and begin with low-to-moderate intensity and gradually increase in intensity.”

Make sure your warm-up targets the parts of your body you’re about to train. “If you're doing an upper body workout, be sure to warm up your core, chest, shoulders, back and arms,” Gagliardi continues. “The cool-down you'll do at the end of your session is equally important, and should be of approximately the same duration and intensity as the warm-up. The cool-down is a great time to focus on improving your flexibility and returning your body to a more relaxed state."

Related: 17 Best Ab Exercises for Women

Best muscular strength workouts

Triceps Press Down Exercise

"This is a beginner-level pushing exercise that targets your triceps. It's a pushing movement that supports the development of arm strength in a standing position, which helps you to support your upper body when you push during sports, or during your daily activities," says Gagliardi.

Dumbbell Chest Press

"This intermediate-level pushing exercise targets your chest, arms, and shoulders," Gagliardi says. "Your chest, shoulders and arms work independently from each other to control the resistance of the dumbbells as the load is moved."

Pull-ups

"An intermediate level pulling exercise that targets your back and arms," says Gagliardi. "This exercise is recommended because your arms must work together to lift your body weight in a controlled manner while maintaining a good position. If you can't do a pull-up, a lat pulldown may be a better option."

Hammer Curl

"Another intermediate level pulling exercise that targets your biceps specifically in a standing position," Gagliardi says. "It can be combined with other exercises, and improves your ability to do pulling movements."

Squat to Row

"This is an intermediate level pulling and bend-and-lift exercise that targets the back, thighs, hips and arms," Gagliardi notes. "This works your full body, to enhance your ability to perform integrated movements."

Kettlebell Swing

"This is another intermediate level hip hinge exercise that targets the entire body," Gagliardi says. "It incorporates a hip hinge movement while integrating your entire body to support the movements."

Lunge with Overhead Press

"Here's an advanced level exercise that combines both pushing and single-leg movements to target the shoulders, thighs, abdominals, hips/butt and legs," Gagliardi explains.

Standing Hay Baler

"This is an advanced level rotational exercise that targets the abdominal muscles in a standing position by incorporating a rotational component, which enhances your ability to rotate your torso while working out or just doing things during your day," says Gagliardi.

Lateral Lunge Wood Chop

"This is an advanced single-leg and rotational full-body exercise that targets the abdominals and thighs," Gagliardi says. "This exercise is recommended because it integrates the entire body and targets multiple planes of motion while combining single-leg and rotational movements to support both sport and activities of daily living."

Turkish Get-Up

"This is an advanced exercise that incorporates multiple movement patterns into one full-body integrated exercise," Gagliardi explains. "This exercise is recommended because it effectively targets multiple upper and lower body muscle groups while also requiring core stability."

Next up: Get Fit and Tone Up With These 15 Straightforward, Easy-to-Learn Resistance Band Moves

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