Work These 11 Muscles to Look Bigger and More Muscular

Man working out in a gym, doing weight training with a barbell.

RichLegg / Getty Images

Whether you call it getting ripped, swole, or a built physique, having well-defined muscles is often the goal whether you are lifting recreationally or a bodybuilder who lifts competitively. You can't just get big, however, by simply bulking up all your muscles in a random fashion. You should take a more scientific approach to building mass and make sure to target individual muscles and muscle groups that are responsible for that highly-defined look.

It is important to note that there are many factors that determine how much muscle mass you can gain and how quickly you gain it. Genetics plays a large role, with some people naturally being able to gain more muscle mass than others. Men have more testosterone, which helps to build muscle at a faster rate than women. However, women can also make huge gains with the right diet and exercises. Other factors including age, nutrition, and training also play a role in how big you can get.

You can’t control all factors, but making sure you work the right muscles in the most effective way to build muscle mass can make a huge difference in helping you look sculpted, big, and muscular. 

Workout Tips to Maximize Muscle Gain

In order to gain muscle, experts say you need to lift moderate to heavy weights. You should focus on 6 to 12 reps per exercise, and the last few reps should be difficult. If they aren’t difficult, you need to increase the weight. You should do 3 to 6 reps of each exercise, and rest for 30 to 90 seconds between each set. This is the science-backed formula for muscle gain.

You also need to lift weights at least twice a week (but three times a week is better), if you do a full-body workout. If you split it up between the upper body and the lower body, you should lift weights four days a week, so both areas of your body get two days of weight lifting.

A comprehensive program of diet and exercise is key to getting a sculpted and ripped look. You have to reduce any body fat that covers your muscles to make them shine, so make sure you include some cardio, such as HIIT, into your routine as well.

Work These 11 Muscles to Look Bigger

Focus on these 11 muscles to give you that big and muscular physique. Remember, for muscle mass gain, you need to lift weights that are heavy enough that the last few reps feel difficult.

Pectoral Muscles (Chest)

The "pecs" are the muscles of the chest. These are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles. The bench press is a good exercise for developing the pecs. Well-defined pecs with low body fat—under 10%—and a small waist are important components of that good-looking upper body. There are many great exercises to build your chest, but you can start with these two:

Lats (Back)

The "lats" are the latissimus dorsi, the somewhat large muscles of the upper back on the outside below the armpit. When well-developed, as they are in some elite swimmers, they tend to bulge outward. There are several exercises to work your lats, however we like the following two:

Trapezius Muscles (Back)

Your "traps" are the fan-like muscles that spread around back and sides of the neck. In bodybuilders, you can see that they protrude significantly.

You may not wish to build your traps to such epic proportions, but enhancing the traps, along with the shoulder muscles, can provide that meaner, leaner look.

The bent-over row, shrugs, and the farmers carry are all good exercises for the traps.

Glutes

The "glutes" are the muscles of your butt—gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. Everyone wants a nice, rounded, firm butt like an Olympic sprinter. To get them, you'll need to achieve low body fat levels and develop those muscles with deadlifts, bridges, hip extensions, hip thrusts, and leg presses. You can mix up which glute exercises you do, however these two are a good starting point.

Quads

The "quads" are the muscles at the front of the upper leg (thigh). These include the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius. Bulk out those quads with squats of any type.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are made of or several muscles including the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Improve the shape of the hamstrings with leg curls, deadlifts, and "good mornings."

Calves

The calves include the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles—the gastrocnemius being the large muscle that mostly gives a nice definition to the lower leg. Build up this muscle with any exercise with which you push against weight with the front of the foot, raising your heels heels. In addition to calf raises, jumping rope not only strengthens your calf muscles, but it also is a good way to get in cardio.

Biceps

The biceps muscles (biceps brachii) of the upper arm are important working muscles and also provide a fine sense of width and bulk in conjunction with solid chest and shoulders. Dumbbell or barbell arm curls are popular exercises, but cable curls are also useful for variety and a slightly different engagement of muscle in the whole arm.

Triceps

The triceps muscles are at the back of the upper arm.

Big triceps make your arms look better, even with adequate biceps muscle.

Don't neglect them. Build up your triceps with exercises like pushdowns, overhead extensions, and dips.

Delts (Shoulders)

The "delts" are the big, compound shoulder muscles that include the front, middle and rear deltoids. They go nicely with the chest, arm and back muscles to give that powerful upper-body look. Bulk them out with shoulder exercises such as the overhead presses, front raises, upright rows, or an incline press. That's what they're there for.

Abs

And for a bonus—of course, the one and only abdominal muscles, which seems to be a firm favorite muscle group of many.

Trouble is, those rippling, exposed abs are probably not possible for everyone. Genetics determines the best lookers in this department.

Even so, you can get solid-looking abs by working hard on the main muscle, the rectus abdominis, while shedding fat—under 8% body fat for men and 12% for women. The best exercises for visible abdominal muscles include crunches, rollouts, bicycles, and captain's chair.

3 Sources
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. American Council on Exercise. 2017. How Muscle Grows.

  2. National Academy of Sports Medicine. [n.d.] Muscular Hypertrophy: Back to the Basics.

  3. Schoenfeld B. Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy. Human Kinetics; 2016.

By Paul Rogers
Paul Rogers is a personal trainer with experience in a wide range of sports, including track, triathlon, marathon, hockey, tennis, and baseball.