Anyone have a Upper Body gym workout?

coronalime

I have to restart some sort of weight training. Cannot do lower body per dr right now (messed up my knee). But I need some arms, chest, back, abs etc. Anyone want to write up a plan for me?

randyv99

Things I have done which have given surprising results:

Perfect pushup routine. Just look that up in google. You don't need the perfect pushup to do it but it really gives your back, abs, shoulders and triceps a good work out.

In the gym I usually just go through a circuit of machine arm curls, chest press, shoulder press, flies, incline press and tricep extensions to failure. That's only about 1x/week though.

Also throw some kundalini and ashtanga yoga videos by Gaiam in there as well which usually kill my arms and sides.

msbanana

Here's pretty much what I do on the upper body days:
Chin-ups (on the assist)
Dips
Bench Press
Barbell Curls
Upright Row
Tricep Press
Straight arm raises Front
Straight arm raises Side
Overhead Press
Push-ups on the BOSU ball.

(The only machine I use is the Chin-up assist)

Hope that's helpful! Expect sore arms and feel free to write me hate mail if you try it! :bigsmile:

randyv99

Here's pretty much what I do on the upper body days:
Chin-ups (on the assist)
Dips
Bench Press
Barbell Curls
Upright Row
Tricep Press
Straight arm raises Front
Straight arm raises Side
Overhead Press
Push-ups on the BOSU ball.

(The only machine I use is the Chin-up assist)

Hope that's helpful! Expect sore arms and feel free to write me hate mail if you try it! :bigsmile:

Dayum girl, now I know where you got those guns from! I use only machines because a) everyone's always hogging up the free weights and b) they're all right next to each other so I can turn my workout into a circuit training routine relatively quickly and c) don't have access to the gym all the time. When my classes start i Jan I'll probably switch it up.

binary_jester

Here's pretty much what I do on the upper body days:
Chin-ups (on the assist)
Dips
Bench Press
Barbell Curls
Upright Row
Tricep Press
Straight arm raises Front
Straight arm raises Side
Overhead Press
Push-ups on the BOSU ball.

(The only machine I use is the Chin-up assist)

Hope that's helpful! Expect sore arms and feel free to write me hate mail if you try it! :bigsmile:

This is good. Especially staying away from machines. Don't get me wrong, they do their job by targeting that specific muscle. But when you use dumbbells, you recruit stabilizer muscles, accomplishing more. I would reverse the dips and bench press. Fatigue your chest muscles first, then move to one that focuses on your tri's like the dips.

msbanana

Dayum girl, now I know where you got those guns from! I use only machines because a) everyone's always hogging up the free weights and b) they're all right next to each other so I can turn my workout into a circuit training routine relatively quickly and c) don't have access to the gym all the time. When my classes start i Jan I'll probably switch it up.

lol I work hard for them guns!! I've learned if you make friends with the meat heads in the free weights area they will get off a bench if they're not using it and spot you when you need it... and they're good to have around cuz they can lift heavy stuff if you ever have to move. :bigsmile:

@binary jester- I like your thoughts there... I'll have to try that tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

@coronalime- you can mix up that upper body a little I forgot to add
pec fly
tricep kick backs
and dead lifts.
(I alternate these in)

binary_jester

Dayum girl, now I know where you got those guns from! I use only machines because a) everyone's always hogging up the free weights and b) they're all right next to each other so I can turn my workout into a circuit training routine relatively quickly and c) don't have access to the gym all the time. When my classes start i Jan I'll probably switch it up.

lol I work hard for them guns!! I've learned if you make friends with the meat heads in the free weights area they will get off a bench if they're not using it and spot you when you need it... and they're good to have around cuz they can lift heavy stuff if you ever have to move. :bigsmile:

@binary jester- I like your thoughts there... I'll have to try that tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

@coronalime- you can mix up that upper body a little I forgot to add
pec fly
tricep kick backs
and dead lifts.
(I alternate these in)

Deadlifts will be hard on the knees.
If you are doing a full body workout, always fatigue the major muscle before the minor muscle. Back, then bi's...pecs then tri's...you medial delt before working on your anterior and posterior delt, etc.

randyv99

[This is good. Especially staying away from machines. Don't get me wrong, they do their job by targeting that specific muscle. But when you use dumbbells, you recruit stabilizer muscles, accomplishing more. I would reverse the dips and bench press. Fatigue your chest muscles first, then move to one that focuses on your tri's like the dips.

I much prefer free weight exercises! They give me a way better workout but like I said I got to a college undergrad gym and it's full of students taking up all the weights. Last time I went all the 20-60 l dumbbells were being used and I had to wait a half hour. So I gave up on the free weights for now and settled for 2nd/3rd best.

guardup

Gotta disagree here with the group against machines. I used BOTH.

The machines add bulk, the free weights add shred.

The reason is that the machines allow you to focus on larger muscles exclusively. These exhaust FAR less easily than the smaller stabilizer muscles. The free weights allow you to focus on the both the large and smaller muscles groups which is what gives you more definition (along with a low body fat percentage). However, your smaller will exhaust before your larger and thats when it becomes unsafe to continue lifting with free weights.

So I do machines one day or two days and then free weights later in the week. Also, when I do free weights, I use Versa Gripps for all back and most shoulder exercises. I lift regularly and they are worth the expense - they are much more durable than cloth grips and they don't stink. They also dont take as much time to put into place. With these, I can lift three times longer because my hand/forearm muscles arent giving out before my back/shoulder muscles are. There may be cheaper versions out there, but I have been using the same pair of VGs for 2 years now with no signs of wear and tear.

Another point is that when I am recovering from an injury or overuse, I always start with machines because I can control what muscles are engaged more easily. I also use machines when i am tired and don't feel as focused. Free Weights take solid concentration and focus to do safely when you are hitting high weights.

Good luck on whatever you choose!

guardup

One more note... I always get compliments on my arms... but the truth is, I spend very little time on my biceps and triceps. I spend A LOT of time on my core (abs, obliques, chest - lower, middle, upper, outside & inside - as well as upper and lower back). I have an 8 pack and am now finally seeing signs of a 10 pack.

It is inevitable that if you work you core, you will work your arms. I do bi's and tri's only once a week. And rarely to failure. This is because I need them for all of my other core exercises.