Upper body building, with no gym?

Rukas

Capo Dei Capi
Staff member
#1
Im getting back into working out but dont have the time to go to the gym and dont have much equipment other than some weights.

What can I do to build up upper body muscle? Primarly I want to expand my chest and arms. Ive been doing push ups and and chair pumps. Im not sure if thats what they are called, I sit on my bed, put my hands next to me, slide my ass off the bed and lower myself to the floor and then lift with my arms.

What else?
 
#2
push ups and chair pumps will do nothing more than tighten your muscles temporarily(well until you stop doing them on a regular basis).So you might end up looking more toned,again temporarily.

You say you have some weights,well thats a good start.no need for fancy equipment.

basically building muscle requires a good diet,and weight training.without a good diet,you will not gain muscle. the body has a maintenance level of calories.if you eat your maintenance amount of calories,you will neither gain nor lose weight.if you eat more than maintenance,you will gain weight(muscle or fat).if you eat less than maintenance calories,you will lose weight(muscle or fat).no two words about it.you cant fool the law of thermodynamics.

now what determines if your gains are fat or if they're muscle? its the partitioning of your macronutrients.For example,if you eat too many refined carbs,little protein,and high fat,your gains will be pure brown adipose tissue(fat) with little muscle.If you consume moderate complex carbs,moderate protein and low fat,you gains will be in the form of lean muscle mass with a tiny bit of fat,and this is what you want,lean mass.gaining fat is inevitable,theres no way to gain muscle and not gain an ounce of fat with it.you most likely will not notice the fat since it would be a 10:1 ratio of muscle vs. fat if you do it right.

you have to start counting calories if you want maximal results.if you just estimate,you might one day eat too many calories,and the next day you might eat less.this will sabotage your whole plan.you have to be consistent.either do it right,or dont do it at all.

if you give me your current weight,height,and waist size,i will give you a pretty accurate estimation of your maintenance calories.basically,what you want to do is eat 700 calories more than your maintenance level.

make sure you eat about 6-7 meals a day,split up evenly throughout your day.one of these meals will be a pre workout meal,which should consist of complex carbs(pasta,brown bread,legumes) and protein.have this meal 45 mins before you start working out.

another one of your meals is a post/after workout meal,which will be a sugary drink 15 mins after you finish working out. this can be gatorade,kool aid,powerade,tang. This will replenish your muscle glycogen stores and promote protein synthesis.Then after another 15 minutes,consume protein(doesnt have to be a protein shake,any protein source works).

Now this is what your workout routine should look like(for arms and chest).(you can rearange the excercises dates but keep them grouped the same)
----------------------
Monday: Biceps,forearms
Tuesday:triceps,chest
Wednesday:shoulders
Thursday:biceps,forearms
Friday:triceps,chest
Saturday:shoulders
Sunday:rest

I would advice you to workout your shoulders too,you don't want your body to look unproportional.Without shoulder training as well,you will look weird.

You want to do 2 excercises for each body part.3 sets of 10 reps each excercise.So for monday you'd do 2 excercises for biceps,3 sets of 10 reps each excercise.Then you would do 2 excercises for forearms.3 sets of 10 reps each excercise.Very simple.Don't even give yourself a time limit.You want quality lifts.

As for how much weight to use,well you have to find out through trial and error.Find an amount you can do comfortably(not too comfortable heh) for the amount of excercises, sets and reps.

thats basically it.follow the plan and watch your body go into a monster anabolic state.Theres no secrets or shortcuts to gaining muscle.Good diet + Good training routine = results,guaranteed.Training without good diet will do absolutely nothing positive.As a matter a fact,training when not on a good diet will cause you to lose muscle.After you train,your muscles are hungry to get replenished.If you dont feed them right,the body will break down your own muscle to make protein available for other muscles.You will accomplish nothing.On top of all that,you will slow down your metabolism tremendously and be highly suceptible to fat gains. take it from someone with experience. good luck
 

S O F I

Administrator
Staff member
#3
They're called bar dips, I believe. I love them, because they puff up my triceps. :)

btw, how many push-ups can you do, ruk?
 
#4
if your in the UK Men's health magazine last month ( october issue ) did a large feature on exercises you can do it your own home without machines/ free weights stuff like use of towels your own body weight etc... real good read use it on the days i can't make the gym.
 
#5
I'll give you the best home excercise I do. Hand stands. Total shoulders and chest workout!

It's kinda difficult at first, so you can start by doing it in a hallway in your house. First stand yourself up on your hands, with back against the wall. You'll have a hard time balancing yourself at first, so use the other wall in the hallway to keep your feet up. Once your balanced upside down, begin lowering your head/body towards the floor like pushups kinda then push yourself up. Repeat.

Like I said, it's really hard at first, but once you get used to it, you can do this exercise anywhere that there is a wall. And you will really see a diference in shoulder definition in no time!
 
#6
BigMack dropping knowledge once again :thumb: With your weights, if you have some heavier dumbells, you can use them the same was as you would a barbell for your chest.
 

Rukas

Capo Dei Capi
Staff member
#7
Fuck, bigmack that sounds way too complicated and time consuming lol.

Im 6'4, 98 kilo at the moment.
 
#9
Rukas said:
Fuck, bigmack that sounds way too complicated and time consuming lol.

Im 6'4, 98 kilo at the moment.
maintenance is 2800 calories.

nah its neither complicated nor time consuming,just seems so at first,trust me.you'll get used to it quick.
 

Rukas

Capo Dei Capi
Staff member
#10
^^ So Im supposed to eat 2800 calories per day? Before excersise or what?

Im in the middle of exam prep so I cant really start a work out regime now, I wont stick to a diet, my schedual is all over the place, but will next month.
 
#12
Rukas said:
^^ So Im supposed to eat 2800 calories per day? Before excersise or what?

Im in the middle of exam prep so I cant really start a work out regime now, I wont stick to a diet, my schedual is all over the place, but will next month.
your maintenance is 2800 meaning eating this much per day maintains your weight. when you start your workout regine,you add 700 on top of it ,so you will be eating 3500.

and yes make sure to start at a time you can stick to it.at first you will need little time to adjust to it,but then after it will be a piece of cake.
 
#14
bigmack said:
your maintenance is 2800 meaning eating this much per day maintains your weight. when you start your workout regine,you add 700 on top of it ,so you will be eating 3500.

how much would it b 4 sum1 who iz about 6'ft n weighs 65Kg? and also wat would be a good exersise 4 workin out your back & wing muscles? im only 16 but im tryna make it into the under 19's rugby side but all i need iz a bit more meat on me. i have alot of natural muscle but i went abit skinnyer becauz i smoked dope 4 a period of about 6 months, not 2 mention i waz gettin up about 9am in the mornin drinkin.
 
#15
=black_inc= said:
how much would it b 4 sum1 who iz about 6'ft n weighs 65Kg? and also wat would be a good exersise 4 workin out your back & wing muscles? im only 16 but im tryna make it into the under 19's rugby side but all i need iz a bit more meat on me. i have alot of natural muscle but i went abit skinnyer becauz i smoked dope 4 a period of about 6 months, not 2 mention i waz gettin up about 9am in the mornin drinkin.
eat 2500 calories and lift weights,you will definitely put on a good amount of meat.for back excercises,id recommend the reverse flyes and lat pulldown.
 
#16
bigmack, i don't eat like you said 6 or 7 times...don't count calories and any specific diet, of course i'm working out 4,5 times a week...half of my trainings i do at the gym and the other half at home with no special equipment, just barbells. and i got my arms size 19", other people say they're huge, but i'd like to add some more..any suggestions how to do it? btw i'm 6'5" (230lb) and got pretty long arms.
bigmack you also cannot skip the fact of genetics..some guys can gain muscle with putting less effort to it than other, i guess i'm on of them..but of course it doesn't come quick.
 

TheCat

Well-Known Member
#17
i find rock climbing very productive, again it will give you growth but it will give you strength and its strength that you need for life and the bonus is youe getting toned and having fun at the same time, its a great adrenaline rush
 

ill-matic

Well-Known Member
#18
im 6'3" and about 75 KG - pretty slim. what do i do?

What are reps?

where are the triceps?

How do i work out forearms?

What the hell do i eat? what contains carbs and necessary proteins?
 

Pittsey

Knock, Knock...
Staff member
#19
ill-matic said:
im 6'3" and about 75 KG - pretty slim. what do i do?

What are reps?

where are the triceps?

How do i work out forearms?

What the hell do i eat? what contains carbs and necessary proteins?

Reps are the amount of times you do the exercise in 1 go. If you can do more than 10 reps, you are wasting energy.
You usually do the reps more than once, called a set.

Triceps are a muscle under your arm. Opposite your bicep.

There's a lot of exercises for the forearms. Buy a book on weight training, there are loads around for less than $20.

Eat foods loaded with protein. Again buy a book or use google.
 

ill-matic

Well-Known Member
#20
Pittsey said:
Reps are the amount of times you do the exercise in 1 go. If you can do more than 10 reps, you are wasting energy.
You usually do the reps more than once, called a set.

Triceps are a muscle under your arm. Opposite your bicep.

There's a lot of exercises for the forearms. Buy a book on weight training, there are loads around for less than $20.

Eat foods loaded with protein. Again buy a book or use google.

exercise in one go? like lifting?
 

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