Looking for some exercise tips

[StuntDouble]

Anyone have any tips or know any exercises for strengthening the upper chest? It seems to be the one area I'm having trouble with. Currently my exercise equipment consists of 2 15# dumbbells, 2 20# dumbbells, a large exercise ball, and that's about it. I don't have a bench or anything I can use for dips.

[Vincent]

When I played football and wrestled, we did a lot of weight lifting. I have experimented a lot and found the absolute best way to gain chest strength and mass is by the following this plan.

Bench press
a)1x Bench Press 10 reps Max weight you can do 10 reps at, a includes bar + plates.
b)1x Bench Press 8 reps weight from (a + 25lbs on each side)
c)1x Bench Press 6 reps weight from (a + 35lbs on each side)
c)1x Bench Press 4 reps weight from (a + 45lbs on each side)

Decline Bench press
a)1x Decline Bench Press 10 reps Max weight you can do 10 reps at.
b)1x Decline Bench Press 8 reps weight from (a + 25lbs on each side)
c)1x Decline Bench Press 6 reps weight from (a + 35lbs on each side)
c)1x Decline Bench Press 4 reps weight from (a + 45lbs on each side)

Incline Bench press

a)1x inline Bench Press 10 reps Max weight you can do 10 reps at.
b)1x inline Bench Press 8 reps weight from (a + 25lbs on each side)
c)1x inline Bench Press 6 reps weight from (a + 35lbs on each side)
c)1x inline Bench Press 4 reps weight from (a + 45lbs on each side)

[

B]Fly's[/B]

a)4x Flys 10 reps at a/4. so if a was 225 then do flys with 60lbs dumb bells.

Go back to Bench and then do some minor resistance work.

Take the original a on a flat bench, just like the first exercise. Take the bar and move it slowly down to your chest, It should take 5+ seconds to go down to your chest, then hold the bar 1 inch above your chest, as if you are getting ready to lift it. Then after the 5 seconds, go up slowly and it should also take another 5 seconds. So about 15 or so seconds all together, Try to do as many of these as you can. It gets quite hard, so please have a spotter.

With the above regimen 2x a day, I went from benching 240 lbs to 370 lbs in just about 11 months.




For your equipment you have you just need to get maybe 1 more set of dumb bells, so you could have 15,20,30 sets, I would go for the 35, but that depends how strong you are. You just need to try and emulate the plan I have above. You don't need a bench, though getting one might help. If you want to work out at home, Dumb bells and a Bench can do anything the big equipment can do, and sometimes even better. The flys are really important, I fond them to be the most critical part of the work out. Also if you are stuck without equipment, an excercise that we used to do in football, was staying in a push up position for a while. It was mostly punishment, but boy did it make all the stabilization's muscles strong in your arms. It is done easily by getting into a position for a push up, Back 100% straight, so your heels and shoulders would level out a leveling tool.

Just a standard bench like this is all ya need, plus a few sets if dumb bells. Also get iron or steel ones, they dont shift and give ya more solid results.




if ya have any questions let me know.

[JBE]

You can use the ball as a bench if it's large enough to support you. Do dumbell presses (bench press with the dumbells) and chest flys. 3 sets of 10-15 reps apiece should work. Also, the venerable "push-up" is a great chest builder. I'll try and find a few links with pics when I have a little more time. You're just kind of limited with the equipment you have.

[white cloud]

i think vincent has great plan for weights. i find that weights and lot of pushups do wonders. i do 3 sets of 100 pushups a day with weight training. pushups have the advantage of being quite portable so one can work out in a hotel room or whatever. try doing the pushups on your knuckles. it builds and saves the wrists.

[para-force]

Try Hindu sqauts and pushups
http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm

[coltsfan8116]

Man i got sore just reading this post

[i.v]

The way which has always worked best for me was pushups, simple, cheap yet effective.

You can start with 3 sets of 10 with a 10-30 second rest between sets.
After a couple of days increase to 4 sets of 10.
From there on increase the ammount by one every other day.
Example:

Day 1-3:
3 sets of 10

Day 4:
4 sets of 10

Day 6:
4 sets of 11

Day 8:
4 sets of 12

And so on.. I find that simplicity in the routine tends to help people going for longer.
Using this method I was able to reach 4 sets of 110 pushups.

Important note: as you start doing more and more pushups, get something to support your wrists or use free weights aligned on the floor to do pushups while holding their handles (keeps the wrists straight).

I know there are better ways to get stronger faster - but this is easy to do and easy to stick to.

[silverback]

If you have any tool skills at all, you can make your own bench for bench presses. When I started weight training, my father and I built our own like this:

Get a wooden board of about 2 m x 30 cm x 5 cm, or whatever width fits you.
(not wider than your back between your shoulders)
Saw off two pieces of about 15-20 cm, which you'll then attach to the main board with long screws, these are the feet.
Sand off any splinters and use a folded woolen blanket as padding - you're done.
Plus, this will easily fit in a corner or under the bed.

This and a set of dumbbells and a long weight was all the equipment we needed to exercise any muscle we wanted. You'll get good results doing bench presses with the dumbbells and pushups.
Just remember to exercise your back and shoulders, too. For example you can incline the bench by putting one end securely on a chair, lie face down on it, and pull the weights off the floor towards your shoulders.
You should have a training partner for spotting and motivation, don't forget to stretch before training!

[Vincent]

If you have any tool skills at all, you can make your own bench for bench presses. When I started weight training, my father and I built our own like this:

Get a wooden board of about 2 m x 30 cm x 5 cm, or whatever width fits you.
(not wider than your back between your shoulders)
Saw off two pieces of about 15-20 cm, which you'll then attach to the main board with long screws, these are the feet.
Sand off any splinters and use a folded woolen blanket as padding - you're done.
Plus, this will easily fit in a corner or under the bed.

This and a set of dumbbells and a long weight was all the equipment we needed to exercise any muscle we wanted. You'll get good results doing bench presses with the dumbbells and pushups.
Just remember to exercise your back and shoulders, too. For example you can incline the bench by putting one end securely on a chair, lie face down on it, and pull the weights off the floor towards your shoulders.
You should have a training partner for spotting and motivation, don't forget to stretch before training!

aren't you scared it will break.

[silverback]

aren't you scared it will break.

A 5cm board? Nope.
But this was just a suggestion. Build it however sturdy you want.

[shu]

Chris, Vincent has a good plan (commonly used in high school & college programs) but the listed frequency could lead to overtraining unless you are in your teens or 'juicing'. Depending on your age, 1-3x per week should be sufficient if you indeed start with a 10-rep max.

However, you do not appear to have adequate equipment to try the program. If you are serious about training with resistance, you will either need to invest in a decent weight set or join a gym.


Based on the equipment you have and your goal of increased upper chest strength, I would try the following combination of the suggestions listed above:

Start with 3-4 sets of push-ups with feet elevated on the exercise ball. Elevating the feet will shift more of the emphasis to the upper (clavicular) pectorals and increase resistance while use of the exercise ball will increase recruitment of stabilizer muscles.

Follow this up with 2-3 sets of incline DB flyes on the exercise ball (simply drop your butt toward the floor to attain the desired angle). I don't believe you have enough weights available to make DB bench presses worthwhile so I wouldn't waste my time on these.

Because of the moderate resistance, this combination could be performed every day, or every other day, depending on how you feel.

Just my thoughts.

[StuntDouble]

Thanks for the tips and information guys. I think I might try my hand at building a bench, and pick some more weights up this weekend. Thanks a bunch!

[flipe8]

How about checking out www.crossfit.com ? It's more about functional fitness than it is building any one specific muscle group. If you can follow the workouts and train HARD, you'll see real fitness gains.
Good luck.

[Episteme]

I have been bodybuilding/powerlifting for a while now, and I have found that if you want to get stronger / bigger in a particular muscle group, most people will need to add muscle to the legs and back structure as well. Just as the typical, drug-free trainee will not build much size on his/her arms by doing only arm-work, it will be very difficult and to build a strong upper chest by just working the chest muscles. Entire books are written on this topic, but I'll be brief:
1) Work basic compound movements (deadlifts, benchpress, overhead press,rows,chin-ups, squats), save the isolation exercises (lateral raises, flys, scott curls, etc.) until you're already big and strong.
2) At most, train the whole body no more than 3 times per week, no more than 3 sets per exercise
3) To gain muscle mass, you must EAT. Gaining muscle and staying very lean, for the most part, is an unrealistic goal. 5-6 small meals per day that provide 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight is adequate.
4) Work up to the so called "300-400-500" bracket (300 lbs. benchpress, 400 lbs. Squat, 500 lbs. Deadlift), and you'll be well on your way to having a strong upper chest.
The main thing to remember is to get the leg/hip and back structure growing, and gains in the chest will follow so long as you work the chest with compound movements. Years ago my benchpress was stuck at 250 lbs., and it wouldn't budge. Then I decided to deadlift and T-bar row. As my deadlift weights and rowing weights went up, so did my benchpress. At present, I can benchpress over 300 lbs. at a bodyweight of under 180 lbs. So, work the whole body, and your goals can be achieved.
-Mike

[shu]

Episteme/Mike- While I agree with most of what you wrote (even the experts don't agree on everything), it is possible over the short term to make size and strength gains in a muscle group without working the entire body--but as you stated, those gains will be limited as the body tries to avoid injury by governing a balance.

Also, even with a 'whole body' approach, "lagging" bodyparts can be given extra stimulation by working them first in the workout, and more frequently over the microcycle.

Those points aside, I do find it bemusing that most lifters work only what they can see in the mirror while functional strength tends to come more from the posterior chain.

I haven't seen the 300-400-500 in a while, have you read some of McRoberts' work?

[Episteme]

Episteme/Mike- While I agree with most of what you wrote (even the experts don't agree on everything), it is possible over the short term to make size and strength gains in a muscle group without working the entire body--but as you stated, those gains will be limited as the body tries to avoid injury by governing a balance.

Also, even with a 'whole body' approach, "lagging" bodyparts can be given extra stimulation by working them first in the workout, and more frequently over the microcycle.

Those points aside, I do find it bemusing that most lifters work only what they can see in the mirror while functional strength tends to come more from the posterior chain.

I haven't seen the 300-400-500 in a while, have you read some of McRoberts' work?

Shu:
You make very good points, and I agree on all of them. I have read Stuart McRoberts' work in "Brawn" and on some misc. online pieces by him. A lot of what he promotes is many times better suited for the genetically typical, drug-free trainee. Also worth a read is Dr. Ellington Darden, Arthur Jones, and Charles Poliquin.
Most lifters, (myself included many years ago) work the 'mirror muscles' (pecs, biceps, triceps) exclusivley I think because 1) they want big arms and big pecs 2) Squats, Deadlifts and heavy Rowing are extremely taxing and very 'painful'.
Like I said, once I began working the posterior chain with seriousness, my benchpress weights went up after a very long sticking point, as did my bodyweight and overall strength.
-Michael

[shu]

Also worth a read is Dr. Ellington Darden, Arthur Jones, and Charles Poliquin.

All good, and I would add Dr. Michael Colgan, Bill Starr, and Charles Staley... OTOH I found out the hard way that about the WORST thing you can read as a natural athlete is M&F or Flex.