10 best exercises for mass - part 2

Last time we brought you the top five volume exercises on Dennis Wolf's list. Today, Dennis will introduce you to the remaining five.

6) Military Press

"People ask me which exercise has helped me the most with shoulder volume. This is it," Denis says. "It felt great from the beginning, and my shoulders have always responded to it. I know some bodybuilders prefer to use single-arm machines or machines, but I like the military press best."

Wolf started the military press after only a month of training because he saw it in bigger fighters in the gym. Recently, he swapped the exercise for a while for multi-presses, but eventually associated those with worsening shoulder pain. It was a phenomenon called "pattern overload." You should watch out for it. It's when we overload a group of muscles with a movement that is consistently identical. It causes overuse injuries. You should be wary of overusing machines.

"This is an absolutely essential exercise for shoulder mass. You can push one-armed or big axle, even on a machine, but you have to work hard," adds Wolf. "Push-ups engage the whole shoulder, plus the triceps, so when you get stronger, you can handle a good amount of weight." He also thinks it's a good idea to do push-ups as the first exercise in your shoulder workout because they're very valuable, and you need to be fresh and focused on them. Starting with push-ups is also good because we all lose coordination and balance as fatigue sets in.

Denis does all his shoulder presses seated, as this keeps his torso upright and allows him to safely load more weight."I don't use a belt for this, so I need to make sure I don't arch my back too much. Some people lean back so much that you feel like they're practicing head-up chest bench presses instead of shoulder presses."

Dennis's final piece of advice is to warm up properly. " I always do at least two sets of 20 reps, then usually a third set of 15 reps before gradually working my way up to a workload," he says. "I've never had an injured shoulder and I'm not interested in it. I can't afford to skip training like I had to the other day because of a hernia - I still want to improve a lot."

If you're wondering how much Denis can do in the military press with those cannonballs for shoulders, he's done good reps with 185 pounds in the past. Today, he's more concerned with safety and athletic longevity, so he keeps his working weight somewhere between 145 and 165 pounds.

7) Squats

The big axis squat is generally considered the king of lower body exercises. The results of millions of people over the decades speak for themselves. "Squats are the best leg exercise," Denis agrees. "They exercise the quadriceps and also the hamstrings and glutes. I feel better when I do them. If I don't put squats in my leg workout, I feel like there's something missing, and I slack off. When you look at the best legs in the world, their owners like Ronnie, Branch, Kai and Jay have squatted a lot."

After warming up, Denis starts his quadriceps workout with squats (he does hamstrings and glutes on another day) because he wants the most productive exercise at the beginning when he's rested."Overhead squats only warm up the quadriceps and maybe the knees, but you're using a lot of other things like hamstrings, glutes, and even lower back for squats - I find it most logical to use lighter squats for the squat warm-up."

The other thing is that a lot of people train their forearms first to then engage the quadriceps more and the glutes and hamstrings less when squatting. "I need as much mass as possible in those areas," Wolf jokes. "Other people might have it differently."

Denis is easily able to perform 8-10 reps of squats with 225 pounds, and he's even loaded 265 pounds for reps. However, in recent years he has been successfully experimenting with higher repetitions. "I often use a maximum of 145 or 185 kilos, but I train four sets of 12 reps with it," he says. "I also keep the breaks as short as possible, so the weight seems heavier with each set. By the last set, I'm ridiculously pumped and my quadriceps are burning unbearably - but this way it's much safer for my knees and lower back."

The change described above has made it possible for Dennis to practice squats regularly. For several years, he alternated them with squats on the multipress because he was afraid of re-injuring a knee injury he suffered in 2002. He can't afford to do that as a full-time bodybuilder. Now that he's found that he doesn't always have to put a ton on his back for squats, he practices them in more or less every leg workout.

For squats, Denis goes just below parallel, not lower, because he sees no benefit in doing so. "If you have the body type and flexibility for it, sitting down to your heels can be beneficial for you," he says. "But most taller guys don't. For us, it's better to sit just below parallel. You can tell on yourself because one way just feels more natural."

The aforementioned multipress Denis only uses when he wants to get his quadriceps pumping properly, and he puts his feet well forward. "Only the quadriceps work that way, but obviously you can't do that with the big axis."

8) Leg Press

When Denis started training in 1998, he had no idea how to squat properly or that squats would be so crucial to his leg training. For the first few months he only did leg press and overhead squats for his quadriceps. For years after that, he didn't just do squats. As a heavy leg exercise, he would occasionally alternate between squats on the multi press and leg press. He takes them as a supplement, not a replacement for squats. If you want big legs, you should do them anyway. "It's logical for me to do squats first, but you have to keep your balance and help your lower back with them. Those muscles will tire quickly, and you'll be grateful after a few sets that you can lie down in a leg press and push with just your legs."

Wolf also recommends using a variety of leg presses if you have access to them. "Many gyms don't have a variety of equipment, but if you can, try a vertical leg press. Old bodybuilders like Arnold and Franco used to do it all the time, and I like it too."

Regardless of the type of leg press, Wolf recommends focusing on the feeling in your thighs and glutes rather than the amount of loaded discs. "Exercise through the full range of motion and feel the muscles," he stresses. "In any gym you'll see guys loading up the maximum they can even fit on the machine and doing those funny half reps - and nine times out of ten those guys don't have very big legs. Forget the weight. I don't even know how many discs I'm putting in because I just don't care. It might seem like a lot to some people, but I could put a lot more in there if I didn't care about perfect execution and feel."

Dennis Wolf often uses the regular leg press and the vertical in the same workout because each offers a completely different feel.

9) Lunges

It's safe to say that until very recently lunges were considered solely a shaping exercise, and you saw them more or less only in women. In 2001, everything changed, as the DVD "Ronnie Coleman - The Unbelievable!" was released, in which Ronnie finished his training with the famous parking lot lunges in preparation for Mr. Olympia 2000. The famous giant had a 145-pound axel on his back as he walked around the parking lot. This was definitely not a shaping exercise for the ladies.

If you perform them with decent weight, lunges will definitely add mass to your quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings. Wolf prefers squats and leg presses, and incorporates lunges into his training more before competition. But he definitely considers them a comprehensive and useful exercise. It's up to you whether you want to practice them on the spot or walk around with them. Dennis prefers walking. "It's easier for me to complete a set when I can see the place in the gym I need to walk to," he says.

10) Shoulder shrugs

We'll end the list of volume exercises with a shoulder shrug. A proper trapeze will give you the look of pure strength. Weak traps can ruin an otherwise excellent physique. We see this with Kai Green. Trapezius gets a workout indirectly in various shoulder and back exercises. However, direct work is essential for them. "You can use one-armed pull-ups, a big axle, or even a machine, but always aim for full range of motion and a snatch at the top of the movement," Dennis notes. "Each rep should have a pause at the top and a full extension at the bottom."

Wolf trains trapeze with shoulders, and he has two compelling reasons for doing so. First, the trapezius engages during any overhead presses or pull-ups. However you try to isolate the deltoid muscles, the trapezius always helps. They can't help themselves; the whole structure of the shoulder is connected. Second, training the trapezius with your back would be useless. "After a good back workout, I'm done," Dennis admits."The trapezius is a strong muscle group, and it can take a lot of load, but after a back workout, I don't have the energy for it anymore. " Instead, he trains them shoulder by shoulder, and it works great.

Wolf likes to alternate shoulder shrugs with the big axle, single-arm and machine. One exercise always lasts for two workouts and he switches it up. "Each of the three variations exercises the traps a little differently. Even on the Hammer machine, you can shift the load depending on how you rotate to it. By alternating, you'll always force the trapeze to adapt."

Dennis will talk about execution one last time here, because even with shoulder shrugs, you don't see good technique very often. "Pull as high as you can, as if you're trying to touch the trapeze to your ears. I see guys all the time taking the biggest single-arm machines in the whole gym or loading up whatever they can fit on the machine, and then their shoulders barely move."

Volume Ten

You can use these ten exercises to transform your body into the biggest, scariest thing you can possibly squeeze out of it. As you pack on mass to your chest, back, shoulders and legs, you'll start to look so powerful that no one will mistake you for the classic gym-goer who focuses on just a few areas. The weight will also start to separate you. You'll start to move away from the average, and you'll be closer to elite bodybuilders like Dennis Wolf.