Topic: Help With Upper Body Strength

[ParkourChick]

I am a very lazy person...well...was a lazy person.  Ever since my friend got me into this, i've really been working hard at a exercise plan.  I have one weakness..my arms.  I can lift my own body weight and that is my goal. (i weigh 110) I try to do pull ups, but i dont have anything to hang from, and when i do, i can lift myself up. Any suggestions on some really good exercises that might be able to help me?
Please and Thankyou
 

[Josh Klute]

Well, I've been doing handstand pushups against my wall everynight for about a month now (on and off since I'm lazy too) they seem to really really be helping my shoulder strength and they are tons of fun.  I have to give Demon the credit for introducing me to them, I love them.  A few days ago I was doing pre-season track in the weightroom at my school, and we were taking a little break, so I picked up one of the 20 pound dumbells and tried raising it above my head.  It was crazy, it felt like I was lifting a feather, I could barely feel it (well that might be a bit of an overexaggeration) but it was much much easier then it used to be. 
Another good excercie I know of is the bench dip, this really helps with tricep strength and it can be done almost anywhere.  Just find two chairs and your set.  You should also try checking out the fitness section on the main page, it has a huge list of great workouts, most of them are demonstrated by Gear

[ParkourChick]

i like the handstand pushup idea but what if i cant lift my body weight yet? 

[Josh Klute]

Well to start off just try getting into that position and holding it, that is a workout in itself.  Then after doing this for a week or so (it depends on how it's feeling) try lowering yourself a little bit and pushing youself back up.  As you begin feeling stronger just keep lowering yourself farther and farther down until you are doing a full handstand push up.  Now of course you don't necessarily need to even do a full one, you can either do more reps of small ones or less reps of full ones.  They both help, but repetitivity is the key.  Just gradually work yourself into the handstand push up (sorry about not talking about this before).  Wow, after reeding back through this it seems kinda confusing, I'm not quite sure how to restate it though so let me know if this helps.  If it doesn't I'll make another effort to say it someway else.

[The Manilla Gorilla]

I suggest just starting with regular push ups, They are amazing, start off with somthing small like 20 a night, then work your way up. A good warm up is the apk warm up, if you just want a little somthing to get you going. Back to the push ups though, start off small if you cant lift your wait, and in regards to not being able to find a place to do pulls ups, all you need is a flat ledge,even a door can do.

[Gearsighted]

You're spot-on. Start with regular pushups (or pushups from your knees), along with jumping pullups (jump into the top position, then lower slowly). Check out the workout of the day, and shoot me a line if you have any questions about appropriate substitutions.

[Josh Klute]

Ya, normal pushups are probably the best way to start, I should have said that .  I just can't stand doing normal pushups, they are so utterly boring to me (I'm saying that cause I suck at them) (I know that if I suck I should be doing them more) (I just hate them so much).  When I try to do them it's like my mind and my body are in a wrestling match, my mind wants me to do them, and my body hates my mind for that . 

[Haack]

It can be extremely difficult to build your pullup strength when you can't do pullups, so to build up to doing them efficiently you need to work your lattisimus dorsi (lats). The best way is to find a gym and use a lat pulldown (bar suspended by a cable attatched to weights), and build your lat strength. The lift is essentially a pullup using the resistance of weights instead of your own body weight. these muscles are essential to pulling yourself up onto ledges, bars, and being comfortable in the cat position.

[Stereo29]

Also, at some gyms they have pullup machines that can put on some counter-weight until you can do the pullups.  Another good pushup exercise is isometric pushups, where you hold yourself in the up position, count to 5, go down halfway, count to 10, go down to an inch off the ground, count to 15, go back up to halfway ONLY, 10, all the way up, 5.  They give alot of work for a small amount of time.

[coastal96]

Also, at some gyms they have pullup machines that can put on some counter-weight until you can do the pullups. 

I have to use that a lot with the Crossfit and APK WOD that are heavy with pull-ups.  The trick is to set the counter weight low enough to reach max effort but heavy enough to bet at least close to completing the required reps.  Although I wonder if I get as much out of using the machine as opposed to just struggling with non-assisted pull-ups doing as many as I can.

[IwishIcould]

You can try negatives to start with, its the co-centric part of an exercise. Like if you cant do a dip then start at the top and slowly lower yourself, don't just drop, keep your body in control, and breathe, you can do the same with push-ups and pull ups, and if you wanna concentrate on arms you can do chins for your biceps, and pushups with your hands close in ( diamond/ triangle pushups) for triceps, if you have access to a gym you can do reverse bicep curls to hit your bracchialis, and then you can get in to tons of other exercises.

[Josh Klute]

Oh, diamond pushups, those are killer .  There's a lot of good information, I didn't know exactly what muscles all of those excercises were for.  Thanks for that, now I'll actually have to do some of them  

[SovXietday]

Get yourself on a planche program, it'll do you wonders. Most strength comes from your core, so having a strong core will lead to having a strong body. Afterall, how many times do you lift anything with just a single part of your body?

- Pushups
- Pullups (palms facing away)
- Chinups (palms facing you)
- Handstands
- Handstand pushups

But honestly, the easiest as well as the funnest way to build upper body strength. Go out and run around. Wall climbing, vaulting, anything of that nature will get you in great physical condition and you'll have fun doing it. Gymnasts rarely spend time in the weightroom, but they're huge! So, honestly, if you want to build your upper body strength, just get practicing.

*I don't really like machines. Free weights or body weight!

[psycosis12]

Well, I've been doing handstand pushups against my wall everynight for about a month now (on and off since I'm lazy too) they seem to really really be helping my shoulder strength and they are tons of fun.  I have to give Demon the credit for introducing me to them, I love them.  A few days ago I was doing pre-season track in the weightroom at my school, and we were taking a little break, so I picked up one of the 20 pound dumbells and tried raising it above my head.  It was crazy, it felt like I was lifting a feather, I could barely feel it (well that might be a bit of an overexaggeration) but it was much much easier then it used to be. 
Another good excercie I know of is the bench dip, this really helps with tricep strength and it can be done almost anywhere.  Just find two chairs and your set.  You should also try checking out the fitness section on the main page, it has a huge list of great workouts, most of them are demonstrated by Gear

lmao those are jail-push-ups........the wall pushups........lol but i just do some push-ups nad some weight lifting.........