# arm strength training



## maggiemagooo (21 Oct 2004)

hey guys i know that training has been covered a million times and i have read alot about it.. but i'm having trouble with my training for my upper body. Also there seems to be quite different bits of advice on how to go about increasing your upper body strength. So here is my question.... i have been told by some to keep my weights low and do many reps, but i have also been told to use heavier weights and do less reps to increase my strength faster.. which is correct??? And should i be doing upper body exercises everyday since i am having the most problems there?? Or do i follow the routine of upper body one day and lower body the next day???  Sorry if this question is monotonous... but i'm a results NOW kind of person and not seeing much improvement is driving me to rip my hair out!!!


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## SEB123 (21 Oct 2004)

If you are able to go to the gym 4 times a week it's the perfect( for a young person that have other activities), work one day the upper and the other day the lower. The best type of exercise to have power and be strongwithout looking like a monster muscle man, is hypertrophy, that means you do between 10 to 12 reps with a weight that at the end you almost can't do another rep.


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## maggiemagooo (22 Oct 2004)

so do i just do one set of 10-12 reps or do i do more sets ???


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## SEB123 (22 Oct 2004)

3 or 4 sets , your choice, but if I was you I 'll do 4


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## Bograt (22 Oct 2004)

_Legal disclaimer: See your Physician before starting any new training program" _

I would suggest speaking with a professional trainer prior to starting a new program. Its not just doing reps, but rather doing them correctly.

With that said:

Do 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps. You should just be able to do the last 2 reps of each set. If it comes easy, then you are not using enough weight. Make sure your program is comprehensive- don't just focus on the stuff you can see ie chest, biceps and triceps. Also spend time on your back, shoulders abs etc.

My upper body routine is as follows
Running 15 minutes
Bench press 3 sets of 10 (first set is a warm up set with lighter weight)
Butterfly 3 sets of 10
Inclined dumb bell press (3 sets of 10)
Hyper extensions
8 Chin ups
2 sets of 10 lat pull downs
2 sets of 10 seated lat pulls
3 sets of 10 biceps curls
3 sets of ten hammer curls.
Shower

Cheers,


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## SEB123 (22 Oct 2004)

I have been a trainer for 2 years in a gym so I know what I am telling


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## Cyanri (22 Oct 2004)

Yeah, low weight and high reps will increase muscular endurance.  Whereas high weight, low rep (10-12) will give ya that raw strength that you are looking for.  You'll get enough muscular endurance from pushups ect.  Yep, these guys pretty much nailed it, 3 - 4 sets of 10 - 12 reps.


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## SEB123 (22 Oct 2004)

Don't forget your lumbar( the most forgot muscle but one who can avoid back spasms or lower back injury)


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## annemarielyman (28 Oct 2004)

What do you suggest for someone who can't do any pushups or chinups? I can only do pushups on an incline and chinups with swinging my body. I go to the gym and train as well as doing elevated pushups throught the day.

No problems with the situps though.


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## Bograt (29 Oct 2004)

Anne Marie,

I am not a trainer. SEB123 has indicated that he is.

What I would suggest is speak with your local trainer to develop a weight program specific to your needs. I would hesitate to tell you what to do online, because it may lead to improper technique, and injury. Don't expect to see noticeable results for about 6 weeks (that is with 3-5 days of training a week). What I would suggest it combine cardio (ie running) with weight training. Run for time, don't run for distance. Gradually your pace will increase as you become conditioned. After you run, check your pulse and measure your heart rate. You want to be around 70-85 of capacity. (Again speak t you trainer)

Going to the gym can be intimidating, especially when people are lifting lots of weight. Don't worry about trying to compete with what others are doing. Stay focused on your goals.

Cheers,


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## Sh0rtbUs (29 Oct 2004)

I noticed in your routine Bograt, you do hyper extensions. I cant say enough giood things about this exercise, anyone who doesnt know what they are should quickly do a search on google and give it a try.


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## ARMY 523 (30 Oct 2004)

Does anybody what exercise that could help with chin ups? have a hard time doing these.

Thanks


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## NavyGrunt (30 Oct 2004)

SEB123 said:
			
		

> I have been a trainer for 2 years in a gym so I know what I am telling



Who are you registered through? Because IF you were a certified trainer you'd realize who faulty your logic is providing fitness advice to someone you've never met. Where did you go to school?



			
				ARMY 523 said:
			
		

> Does anybody what exercise that could help with chin ups? have a hard time doing these.
> 
> Thanks



Yeah......and exercise that helps with chinups is....chinups. Who cares if you can only do 1. Do it rest...repeat.










			
				Bograt said:
			
		

> Anne Marie,
> 
> I am not a trainer. SEB123 has indicated that he is.
> 
> ...



Best advice I've seen on here regarding fitness. You dont get advice from people you dont know on the internet, would you let me tell you how to invest your money? Well your health is more important, so go talk to trainer.


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## Gouki (30 Oct 2004)

Once again, armyboi69's lack of knowledge about weight training shines through to illuminate us all.

Chin ups work your biceps only (as with a lot of back exercises) as a *secondary muscle*. Chin ups work your lats, ie, your upper back. Those things that flare out like a cobra on the sides of the torso when bodybuilders strike an overhead pose. Due to the curling nature of a lot of back exercises your biceps get recruited, but once again, chin ups are for your lats .. not biceps.

Armyboi69 if you don't know wtf you're talking about, don't give your darn advice. In the last topic I saw you said that because muscle is lighter than fat, that's why the body burns that first, and that's so wrong it's more sad than funny.

EDIT: I also noticed army532 you asked for what exercises help doing chin ups. A good exercise that's basically the same movement is lat pulldowns. Also, you can't go wrong with barbell rows.


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## Gryphon (30 Oct 2004)

agreed with the above comment..

now all of these routines are all nice and good for people who have the money to go to a gym to train for a few hours every other day...

any tips on those who train at home??

Keep up the good fight, I know I am..


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## Gouki (30 Oct 2004)

Depends on the equipment you have at hand, and your finances.

But, I've read some stories about some famous bodybuilders, and (don't quote me here) it may have been Arnold who went into his backyard and basically converted what he could into probable weight training devices. Cinder blocks, heavy weights, that kinda stuff you know? Just have to be creative. Weight training, despite all this new machinery, is best when kept simple (like most things). The best equipment are barbells and dumbells hands down, so I'm sure you might be able to find something.

But if you can't, there's always plyometric routines you can do, you could put up a cheap bar in a doorway for chin ups, you could run a few miles... Realistically, it shouldn't cost you too much to weight train..the only time training gets very expensive is if you go to some rich upper class type of health spa or something, and I find most people that go to those aren't really hardcore lifters anyhow, more concerned with appearance.. (in other words, spray on perfume, dress up, go and do like 3 leg extensions and 1 set of dumbell curls, then go relax for an hour in the sauna).

Think of the KISS method man and you can't go wrong.. But it would help to know what your ambitions and goals are, it would be easier to narrow down what you need at home.


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## NavyGrunt (30 Oct 2004)

Gouki said:
			
		

> EDIT: I also noticed army532 you asked for what exercises help doing chin ups. A good exercise that's basically the same movement is lat pulldowns. Also, you can't go wrong with barbell rows.



I didnt even think of lat pulldowns. Thats a REALLY good one.


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## Gouki (30 Oct 2004)

Yea, well they're all pretty much the same eh? Just different angles and junk (excluding the stuff for the christmas tree area obviously).

I heard chin ups though are the king of lat exercises, maybe because it works more in opposition to gravity directly than lat pulldowns do?


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## Gryphon (30 Oct 2004)

i'm living in a dorm, so think about it this way if it helps.. i have NOTHING that i can use  

but i was thinking of a training routine that i can do in the gym (which is basically a small room with a chin up bar, and a bike) to stay in somewhat shape while i'm off duty (i'm in the SHR)


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## NavyGrunt (30 Oct 2004)

gryphon664 said:
			
		

> i'm living in a dorm, so think about it this way if it helps.. i have NOTHING that i can use
> 
> but i was thinking of a training routine that i can do in the gym (which is basically a small room with a chin up bar, and a bike) to stay in somewhat shape while i'm off duty (i'm in the SHR)



Thats really all you need. Chinup's, pushups, situps, and cardio right there. Its not the best case scenario, but its most certainly not the worst. Im sorry though- what is the "SHR"? 

Oh and Gouki- my reading suggests that any exercise you can do against gravity is superior to any machine....
As well there can be zero "cheating" when it comes to wide grip chins. Unlike lat pulldowns where you can swing your toro, even just a bit, to make things easier. With the hins you either get up or you dont...


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## Sh0rtbUs (30 Oct 2004)

A suggestion, a friend of mine a while back put up a bar in the door frame between his kitchen and living room (they arent expensive and can go in any frame). he had thise rule of thumb, that any time he passed through that door frame with empty hands, he had to do 5 chin ups. I believe he's bumped the number up around 10 now. I havent checked, but im sure you could pick 1 up at Canadian Tire for a fairly low price


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## Gouki (30 Oct 2004)

armyboi69 haven't you read anything I said? *Chin ups are not the same as a bicep freakin workout.* Enough already, the two are not the same.

gryphon: This is just a rough program, but you could try this since you got nothing:

Pushups for your chest
Chinups for your back and *as a secondary effect* your biceps
Normal squats for your quads (just gotta do a good deal of them) or bunny hops
Reverse dips for your triceps
Stair calf raises for your.. well, calves (balance the ball of your feet at edge of stair and do calf raises as you normally would)
Boxer situps for your abs (boxer situps are done with your knees pressed together and held above you at a right angle from hips to knees to feet this way it targets all 8 ab muscles instead of the 6 that conventional situps hit)

That's all I can think of now but I think that would be very sufficient for a workout.

Aaron: your reading is right, I mean physiologically our muscles are made to work against gravity. Machines not only take this away a fair deal, but their pre-determined movement paths take away a persons natural range of motion which is a big thing. IMO, machines are only made for people who don't really want to work hard (a few exceptions to this obviously, for example using the cable bar for a tricep pressdown cause sometimes you need to use machines to hit certain spots) but generally machines = bad

shortbus: you know.. that is a really, really good idea. Once I've shed off the pounds I gained from my injury I just may do the same thing, and I definately will once I'm living in barracks. I'm sure that would build up your endurance pretty quickly!


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## Gryphon (2 Nov 2004)

Thanks everyone, it'll help me out alot..

the SHR is the Supplementary Holding Reserve... basically i'm in the reserves, but i'm not working right now... The army didn't give me a year leave with out pay (i'm in Hungary right now studying, and that makes it kinda difficult for me to go in every tuesday night), but i want to continue working when i get back.. so, the transferred me to the Supplementary Reserves.. fun eh?? still subject to all the military laws, but with none of the perks


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