These are called core  workouts  because they  workout  more than just one  muscle . These are the upper body exercises that you have probably heard of, but maybe you don’t really understand why they are so important to  building  strong  muscles . If you think you understand why these are so important for gaining muscle mass, I still recommend reading on.

1. Bench press – You often hear guys talking about how much they bench as a testament to how strong they are. The bench press primarily works out your chest, shoulders and triceps. These are the three muscle groups that many people notice when you take your shirt off. This is also why many guys want to gain muscle mass in this area. The bench press is a full upper body workout, which is why it is very common for people to ask how much another person benches, as it tells a lot about ones upper body strength. If any one of the main muscles are weak (chest, shoulders and triceps), your bench press is going to reflect that.

2. Shoulder Press – This is another core upper body workout because it also works out a lot of the upper body. Obviously the main muscle group that the shoulder press works out is the shoulder. But if you have ever done a shoulder press, then you probably know it also works out the triceps. While this is not quite as good as the bench press, it is still a good compound core workout.

3. Inclined press – this is basically right between the shoulder press and bench press. It goes about half way between shoulder and bench press, and is slightly closer to the shoulder press in that it mainly works the shoulders. However, it does also work the chest.

So that’s it, those are the three main core upper body workouts. Now, many people will probably say that there are other core upper body workouts, but those are the main ones. It is also important to understand that there are variations to these exercises. For example, you can use dumbbells instead of a bar. They also have machines for these  workouts  which work your  muscles  slightly differently. You should also keep in mind that these workouts work out your abs and other areas of your mid section (hence the name “core” workouts).