There are ten primary muscle building exercises that will form the core of your weight lifting workout. Whether you’re new to muscle building or just wanting to refresh your understanding of the basics, these exercises will help you develop a weight training routine to gain weight or get tone.

1. Squats. Squats are generally recognized as the best leg exercise. All weight lifting routines should include squats. They are a natural movement and work your entire lower body.

2. Barbell Bench Press. This is generally considered the best upper body weight lifting exercises. Consider barbell bench presses to be like squats, where the upper body is concerned. They build your upper body and develop your torso like no machine can.

3. Deadlifts. Deadlifts are difficult and require a lot of effort to do propertly, but as a muscle building exercise, they are a great upper body/spinal erector exercise, and if you’re after the “no-neck” look, deadlifts are the way to get it.

4. Chin-ups. Chin-ups are the best back-building exercise, though they may seem a little outdated now that lat pull downs are so popular. One of the great things about chin-ups is that they don’t require any equipment other than something horizontal to pull up on. You can do them on a playground or put up a bar in your office or even your living room, if you want.

5. Barbell Rows. Barbell rows are excellent for your inner back, and because they require you to both lift and balance the weight, they are much more effective at building your muscles. Barbell rows are a more natural movement than the T-Bar rows, and a great overall exercise for your back.

6. Seated Barbell Press. If you want really well-defined shoulders, you should definitely do seated barbell presses. These are one of the classic exercises every person trying to gain weight or build muscle should be doing.

7. Barbell Curls. Bicep development is much faster and much stronger with barbell curls than with cables and machines. Barbell curls were almost certainly the first barbell exercise, and they are still the most effective. Definitely add these to your weight lifting routine.

8. Lying Triceps Extensions. Lying triceps extensions with dumbbells are one of the best exercises you can do. If you’re wanting to bring out the “horseshoes,” lying triceps extensions are the exercise you need to be doing.

9. Push-Ups. Push-ups may actually be the original muscle building exercise. They are one of the best exercises available for your chest, shoulders and triceps. You can do push-ups anywhere, which makes them great if you travel, and you can change the height of your legs to work on different parts of your chest.

10. Crunches. You may think of crunches as solely an exercise to strengthen your abdominal core, and they will, but they will also improve your posture and protect your lower back from injury during your weight lifting routine. Many people think of crunches as “modified sit-ups.” Unlike sit-ups, they do not place a lot of stress on your lower back or involve your hip flexors.

These 10 exercises should keep your routine going strong for a long time.