Upper body strength training plan

ashleymp777

Hi all

Recently joined a gym to give myself some variation in training and am interested in increasing upper body strength - usual suspects, arms, shoulders, chest.

With the gym being very basic there's no trainers there i could ask to steer me on the right track. So is there anyone on the forum that could direct me towards some decent, free online training schedules?

Any help gratefully received

Ashley

DCR00

Read this - http://www.westside-barbell.com/article ... te-system/

The princpal is pretty straightforward once you get your head around it. I swear by this system. It easily the best ive used, and got me up and over a few plateaus id had for years. Dont get me wrong, im not as strong as some of the blokes that train at that gym, but im no pussy either.

Dont just focus on upper body. You should train the whole system. Any training you do for lower body will only aid your cycling.

Focus on compound lifts i.e. deadlift, squat, bench and any olympic lifts you fancy trying. Loads of stuff on YouTube on how to lift properly. Start small and build from there. The important thing is to switch what you are doing every 6-8 weeks (which is basically what the conjugate system is promoting - variety). Nothing wrong with machine work, but supplementary to the compound work.

Dont get obsessed with having big biceps. Big triceps are far more useful.

You dont need to train as intensively as it states in the sample programme. I tend to split the max effort and dynamic workouts over two weeks as my work commitments, and my desire to focus on core and balance exercises, means that i simply cant fit in 4 workouts in one week.

Good luck

jonomc4

I go to the gym once a week - I used to be a total gym bunny (4 hours - 6 times a week) I have the damaged joints to show for it.

I find it good good to vary across all the machines but starting with a run of 20 mins and then just vary it - I do concentrate more on the core and legs - but I would say 40 5 I spend on upper body - maybe not for just cycling but for a good overall feeling of being healthy.

mcnultycop

ashleymp777 wrote:

With the gym being very basic there's no trainers there i could ask to steer me on the right track

I'd ignore the personal trainers, they'll have you kneeling on a Swiss ball fannying about with kettlebells. I've had loads of success with 5x5 on stronglifts.com. It's like a starting strength programme but it works.

miker

I've been in Afghan for 2 months now and have got back into training in a big way, I've done a lot less heavy weight lifting this time but still had better gains. I've found that wide arm pull ups, chin ups, clap press ups, squats, dead lifts and bench have all really helped. Definitely don't discount doing legs, they are your biggest muscles and working them helps promote muscle growth elsewhere with greater release of hormones etC.

Really concentrate on form over what weight you are lifting, the amount of people you see lifting massive weights but using terrble form!! Think about the muscle you are trying to work and isolate it, when you are lower the weight let it down slowly and under control as this also helps to work the muscle. I would also say, unless you want to just have slow bulky muscle that mixing it up with a fast, high intensity weighted circuit every couple of days will help to burn fat, and retain lean muscle. Also don't stick to a rigid plan of 'I will do this muscle, this exercise on this day' mix it up, if one set of muscles is aching, don't train it.

There are shed loads of books that would help give some idea, Arnies Encyclopedia to modern bodybuilding, even though it's old is still awesome!

One last thing as I've gone on for ages! REST! If you don't rest and train like a demon you won't see the gains, your body needs time to recover after you have worked, good nights sleep, try and cut down on alcohol and feed it a good balance of protein, carbs, good fats etc!

Hope the ramble helps!!

Richie63

Find out where your local climbing wall is. A better way for upper body strength has not been found.

dsmith682

Hi Ashley,

For upper body strength training it's a good idea to use weights which seem slightly to light for you

and hit high reps, this is much more beneficial than straining with heavy weights and injuring yourself

Also, no more than 60 seconds rest between your sets

DCR00

dsmith682 wrote:

Hi Ashley,

For upper body strength training it's a good idea to use weights which seem slightly to light for you

and hit high reps, this is much more beneficial than straining with heavy weights and injuring yourself

Also, no more than 60 seconds rest between your sets

I'm sorry, but this is not true

its well known that high rep/low weight is an endurance set, whilst low rep/high weight is for strength/power

in-between is for growth

kathg

+1 for climbing wall... awesome upper body strength training. Also works your core muscles and helps your balance. I've always climbed aswell as biked and its really noticeable that I'm strong enough to handle all-day uplift sessions and have never suffered badly from hand and arm pump in long enduro DH events (mega etc).
The biggest bonus is that its great fun, gets the adrenaline going...I struggle with the boredom of multi-reps in a gym.
Give it a go and good luck!

styxd

Bench, squat and deadlift heavy weights. Anything else is just beating around the bush.

paulneenan76

A growing baby! Babies get heavy, car seats aren't light, carrying loads of crap whilst carrying the baby has shown a marked improvement for me. But you'd have to do this for half a dozen kids before you hit Arnie like levels of muscle size.

concorde

WHy just training upper? Get squatting and deadlifitng.

But if you're def only doing upper, make sure pull ups are in there, chest press and military press. That's all the compounds you need. Isolation on bi's tri's if you must.

DCR00

Concorde wrote:

WHy just training upper? Get squatting and deadlifitng.

But if you're def only doing upper, make sure pull ups are in there, chest press and military press. That's all the compounds you need. Isolation on bi's tri's if you must.

agreed

Deads do virtually the whole body

try some of this too - http://www.sicklines.com/2013/02/15/aar ... pplements/

if its good enough for Gwin, it will work for you

also look at unilateral training i.e. one legged deadlifts (Gwin does these as well)

hard work, and sore, but effective

mrmonkfinger

paulneenan76 wrote:

A growing baby! Babies get heavy, car seats aren't light, carrying loads of crap whilst carrying the baby has shown a marked improvement for me. But you'd have to do this for half a dozen kids before you hit Arnie like levels of muscle size.

what, like this?

mrmonkfinger

ashleymp777 wrote:

Recently joined a gym to give myself some variation in training and am interested in increasing upper body strength - usual suspects, arms, shoulders, chest.

to what end? do you want to help your biking, or just develop raw strength?