By Vic Magary, Author of The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure, Personal Trainer and Former U.S. Army Soldier

Walk into a commercial gym these days and you’ll see the same thing again and again… a heavy guy walks on the treadmill for a few minutes, then hits the fly machine for some sets, then he gets the curl bar, stares into the mirror, and cranks out 3 sets of bicep curls. When he’s done with all that, he grabs a mat and does crunches for about 10 minutes (all while checking out the cute chick on the elliptical). If this sounds like it could be you, you’re in for a very rude awakening…

Let’s think about this rationally for a second. Hundreds of years ago we got our exercise as we sprinted through the woods and tracked down big game with a spear; today, we’re sitting on a $5,000 machine doing flys and calling it a workout? It’s time to dump this BS and focus on compound muscle exercises that will jumpstart your testosterone, help you look healthy, and make you feel like a real man.

Here are the best 7 exercises that will make you look and feel like a real man:

Deadlifts

What’s more manly than grabbing a bar with the maximum weight you can possibly lift and ripping it off the ground?

The deadlift requires all of your strength and all of your focus, a true max effort to be sure. The deadlift is without a doubt the best path to a powerful and strong appearance.

Its emphasis on the glutes, legs, and back while being the best overall body developer in your fitness arsenal leads to impressive results. It is vital to know how to deadlift!

Squat

As men, we can feel at times as if the weight of the world is on our shoulders. Well, get used to bearing some serious weight by stepping under the squat bar!

Legs that are pillars of strength and a torso that is rock solid are tangible benefits to be had from doing the squat.

So be like Atlas and squat big! If you ignore the value of squats because you’re an “upperbody only” type of guy, then it’s time to make a serious change in your workout routine.

Heavy and deep squatting will make you look and feel like a warrior inside and out.

Push Press/Shoulder Press

If deadlifting as much weight off the ground as possible is the exercise that makes you feel the most manly, then pushing as much weight overhead as possible comes in as a close second.

The bench press receives way too much credit. It is difficult for me to imagine a scenario in life where we are we caught with our back stuck to the floor and a heavy weight extended towards the ceiling.

However, the functionality of pushing weight overhead from a standing position is incontestible. Need to put away that heavy box up in your attic? Or help lift your buddy over a tall fence when it’s time to evade and escape?

The push press will help you move heavy objects to high places and give you the broad, rounded shoulders that make women weak in the knees.

Sled Drag

With a chain, rope or nylon strap, connect yourself to a shoulder harness hooked to a tire, weighted sled or other heavy object.

Now, lean forward, begin moving and pull with all your might! Your legs will get the maximum workout, and your heart and lungs will be used at full capacity.

Enjoy the feeling of your heart pounding strong and know that you are training like a real man.

Sledge Hammer Drills

Manual labor is always, well, manly. And in modern society’s sea of white collars and cubicles, it is beneficial to your health to create some physical work even when your paycheck doesn’t require it.

Repeatedly slam the sledge hammer with all of your might into an old tire or some soft dirt. Your forearms, midsection, shoulders and back will reap the rewards of this manly workout and sledge hammer drills are excellent for stress relief as well!

Sandbag Clean

Another reversion to manual labor, the sandbag clean is a handy exercise for overall physical development a well as for strengthing the grip. Sandbags with handles are not to be used.

Grip the bag by the cloth only and work on developing some man-hands. A strong grip equals a strong man.

Weighted Pull-Ups

It’d be great it if the common gym question of “How much can you bench?” were replaced by “How many pull-ups can you do?”

Most guys cheat the pull-up by failing to fully extend their arms at the bottom or get their chin completely above the bar at the top, and this creates problems.

If you can finish 10 real manly pull ups, try adding some weight. You can hold a dumbbell between your ankles, sport a weight belt and hang some plates, wear a weighted vest or back back, or put your wife or girlfriend on your back if you’re up to it (and if they’re willing, of course).

The added weight on the pull-up will help add width to your back and give you that tapered V-shaped look.