If you have read any of my past articles or newsletters then you know that I put a huge emphasis on squats when it comes to gaining weight and building muscle mass as fast as possible. Nothing can ever substitute for squatting hard and heavy, not more exercises, supplements, nothing.

If you've been having trouble gaining weight and/or putting some muscle mass on your frame, then I suggest you start doing some serious squatting. If you have been squatting but still aren't seeing results, I would then suggest that you take a look at your squatting poundage's. Almost 90% of weight trainer's problems with gaining weight and muscle mass can be solved just by getting serious about squatting.

However, if your squats have been feeling more and more heavy and you want to switch things up a bit temporarily, then try the next best exercises for size and strength: parallel dips.

Next to squats, parallel dips are the fastest way to build muscle on your upper body. Now, what I am NOT talking about is how many dips you can do. This is great for athletes and muscle endurance, but I would assume that if you're reading this article that you are looking for ways to build muscle fast.

Because your trying to gain some muscle mass in your upper body, you'll be doing the dips just like any other exercise used for gaining mass, relatively low reps with heavy weight. If you have never done dips with added weight before, you are in for a treat. They are defiantly more demanding then most upper body exercises, but the results they produce are just as good if not better.

What I love about parallel dips is that they are one of the few exercises that will add massive bulk to your chest, shoulders, and triceps all at once. Not only will you get a pump in your whole upper body like never before, but dips are a wonderful exercise for size and strength as well!

My favorite way of doing dips is from the late John McCallum's book The Complete Keys to Progress. Here is how he broke it down on how to do them for the best possible results:

-First start out with either body weight or really light weights tied around your waist for a set of five.

-Do a second set of five with a little more weight. -Next jump to your best poundage's (you'll have to experiment with this to find out what weight is good for you) for three more sets of five.

-After you finish your first five sets, finish off by doing ten more sets of eight with much lighter weight with only thirty seconds in-between each set. Continue to strip the weight off each set if necessary.

-The weight for the last 10 sets doesn't matter, just focus on no longer then 30 second rest periods and getting a really good pump.

Try these out for a while and try to add weight to your three heavy sets for each workout. Once a week is all that is needed, twice a week at most. Note that after a hard set of dips, you won't have a lot of strength and energy to do many other upper body pushing exercises, nor will you have to!

As always with a weight gain and muscle building program, don't ever forget about your diet and nutrition, and especially don't cut yourself short on protein while doing the dips. This exercise alone will take a lot out of you and you MUST make sure to put a lot of protein and other nutrition back in.