Hello ft members. Welcome to the Tip of the Week. This week we will take a closer look at the importance of basic muscle mass training, and some of the exercises involved. This article applies to both men and women, as the training discussed within can help anyone build a muscle foundation. Muscle mass training is not about becoming a muscle-bounded freak, nor is it about training until you faint. It is the basic training that all people should do at one point or another. The muscle built from basic mass training is in perfect proportion with the rest of the body, not favouring any muscles over others. We will help you learn which exercises are crucial for mass training every part of your body. Back - Deadlifts - The deadlift is the most effective mass-training exercise, but at the same time, it is also the most avoided back exercise. Perhaps people feel that deadlifts will injure their lower back, or maybe they don't like the fact that they are not easy. The second part of that statement is true - deadlifts are not easy. They involve many muscle groups (specifically the lower back, glutes, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, forearms) making them very demanding on your body. Although this is true, deadlifts provide your body with an almost complete workout. Doing them with light weights is less stressing for your body and still provides you with excellent benefits. Women that are afraid to put on too much mass should not avoid deadlifts, but rather do them with light weights. Besides, no other exercise can strengthen the lower back like deadlifts can. If done correctly, deadlifts actually help you prevent lower back injury rather than cause injury. Legs - Squats - When people choose exercises to avoid, we can put squats alongside deadlifts. Unfortunately, for some people, squats are avoided because of discomfort with their knees *if you feel discomfort with you knees, do not perform squats*. Squats are the primary mass builder for the lower body, targeting the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Without doing squats, it is almost impossible to gain the sweep in the quads that many people desire. When performing light squats (even as light as no weights at all), squats become a complete toning and strengthening exercise for the lower body - so squats are not all about massive legs! Deadlifts and Squats are considered the two main mass builders in training. There are other mass-building exercises, however, for the rest of the body. Although these are not as involving of the whole body as deadlifts and squats, they are also important. We will briefly cover a few exercises - more information about these exercises can be found in the muscle targeting section of FreeTrainers.com. Biceps - Barbell Curls - Standing barbell curls are great for overall bicep development. Starting from the fully extended position and contracting at the top of the repetition ensures that the bicep gets the full range of stress. Rear shoulders are traps are also trained during heavy bicep curls, making it more of a compound movement then you thought. Triceps - Close-grip bench-presses - For basic mass building of the triceps, close-grip bench-presses are the best exercise. Chest - Inclined bench-presses and dips - Inclined bench-presses hit the upper chest, as well as the front shoulders. It is recommended that you begin your chest workout with inclined movements as opposed to flat movements, since inclined presses target a larger part of your pectoral muscles for the "full" look. Dips are great for the lower chest, using your bodyweight, less than your bodyweight (with the help of a machine), or more than your bodyweight by strapping on extra weights on a belt. Shoulders - Dumbell presses - Dumbell presses hit the front and side deltoids, the largest parts of your shoulders. Dumbell presses are basic shoulder mass training exercises.