These are the 4 best upper body exercises for muscle mass according to Alain Gonzalez.
Coach Alain Gonzalez is an author, personal trainer and YouTuber with over half a million subscribers. He often comes up with the exercise selection for specific muscle groups.
In this video, Alain Gonzalez focuses on exercises that will build bigger and stronger chest, shoulders, back and arms, in other words, your entire upper body.
Check out below the best upper body exercises for muscle mass in Alain Gonzalez’s opinion. Or you can read down below each exercise that he talks about in the video.
According to Gonzalez, these 4 exercises are not only great mass builders, but they will also result in stronger and more resilient joints that improve health and longevity.
Best Upper Body Exercises for Muscle Mass
1. Flat Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press is considered by a majority of gym-goers as the best chest exercise you can do. Alain Gonzalez is no different and put this exercise first on his list of the best upper body exercises for muscle mass.
How to Bench Press for Chest Growth
Source: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.2. Overhead Press
The overhead press is to the shoulders what the bench press is to the chest. One of the best shoulder builder exercises out there. This exercise gets an extra start because it will also develop your upper chest and triceps if performed correctly.
Learn how to do the overhead press.
3. Bent-Over Barbell Row
There are many muscles on your back and most of them are responsible for one shared movement: to extract your scapula. And according to Gonzalez, the bent-over barbell row takes the crown. “By far the best overall mass builder when it comes to back development.”
Click here to learn how to perform it correctly.
4. Pull-Ups / Chin-Ups
The pull-ups are the better option here, but if you cannot perform pull-ups at all, you can swap them for chin-ups. If that is still not possible, then do assisted pull-ups, but work your way towards normal pull-ups.
Cannot do one pull-up at all? Click here to get your first pull-up.
Image Sources
- bench press with spotter: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
- upper body workouts: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.