Upper body exercise

[Odie]

Im considering buying a set of dumb bells and a bench to start to do some upper body exercise, ie weight lifting.

Im not wanting to do anything serious but a couple of months back I started going hill walking doing about 8-10 miles on a saturday or sunday, and along with this I would like to do some work to tone my upperbody and stomach im not after building huge strength/muscles but would like to strengthen & tone my shoulders arms and back and work on my stomach.

I dont want to spend alot.

Does anyone have any suggestion on what I should look at getting? and also are their any websites with guides on getting started as a beginner (im not strickly a beginner as I used to do weight lifting a bit about 10 years ago), warm ups, technique guides and cool downs etc

Thanks for any advice chaps.

[bales]

To be honest given your aims I don't think you even need weights, lots of bodyweight exercises would do that, press-ups, sit-ups, dips, crunches etc...

A chin-up bar would be a good investment if you want to buy something...

[Odie]

bales said:

To be honest given your aims I don't think you even need weights, lots of bodyweight exercises would do that, press-ups, sit-ups, dips, crunches etc...

A chin-up bar would be a good investment if you want to buy something...

I was going to start by doing press-ups and sit-ups before I bought anything. I dont want to buy anything but thought having the correct equipment would help motivate me to exercise.

How do I work out what I need to be doing?

Also dips and crunches arent something im that familiar with are their any site online that could help me increase my knowledge and show me the correct techniques?

[ettore]

How do I work out what I need to be doing?

Also dips and crunches arent something im that familiar with are their any site online that could help me increase my knowledge and show me the correct techniques?
[/quote]

I'd be interested in this as well. I do push and sit ups currently but they do get a bit dull!

[Animal]

Here's an excellent upper-body workout for you:

Exercises should be done as a circuit, moving from one exercise to the next without stopping

Pressups (palms shoulder-width apart) x 20
Pull-ups (wide grip, palms facing away from you) x 5-10
Close-grip pressups (palms c.6-9 inches apart) x 5-15
Chin-ups (narrow grip, palms facing you and hands c.12 inches apart) x 5-10
Incline pressups (feet on a chair or similar, palms shoulder-width apart) x 10-20

Rest 60-90 sec between circuits and aim for 3-5 circuits per session. You only need do this twice a week at most, and the only equipment you need is a chinup bar which you can buy from Argos for about 20 quid.

For variety you can substitute bench dips instead of close-grip pressups or plyometric pressups (explosively done, your hands should leave the floor at the top of each rep) instead of the regular pressups.

I've assumed that you've got no equipment whatsover. Until you decide that you really want to use a specific piece of equipment for something (like a sandbag or sledgehammer and tyres) then I'd save the money! If you want some inspiration try www.rosstraining.com, there are plenty of sample videos you can look at to get some ideas on exercises and variations along with good technique. As an alternative, www.bodybuilding.com has an exercise video section which demonstrates many exercises.

As far as working your midsection, it's very cheesy but search for '8-minute abs' on YouTube. I've always found that to be a really effective workout. As an addition to this I'd add back extensions (aka 'Supermans) - 3 sets of 10-15 reps done nice and slowly at the end of your core workout.

HTH,

Animal

[Halb]

http://www.exrx.net/index.html
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/

These are two good one.

push ups and pull ups are two good push/pull exercises. There are many variations of push ups to give it interesting, clap, on med balls, elevate feet etc. Close grip under the sternum will work you hard.

If yoiu want a nice strong back to help you walk for Britain, get a kettlebell and practise swings.

[E21_Ross]

bales said:

To be honest given your aims I don't think you even need weights, lots of bodyweight exercises would do that, press-ups, sit-ups, dips, crunches etc...

A chin-up bar would be a good investment if you want to buy something...

agree totally with this. i wouldn't even bother spending any money at all. you can do plenty with your own body and some half decent floor space. absolutely st load (that's a technical unit of measurement ) of exercises to do for the abdominals and arms/shoulder. although perhaps not so many for biceps.

there are god knows how many varieties of sit ups as well as leg raises (both together, one at a time, or alternating), or lift your legs up and effectively pedal like on a bike, "the plank" (front, sides, or back) for your abdominals.

if you're even slightly concerned about spending money, IMO, it's not worth it. there is so much you can do without weights.

[Taita]

Posting so shows up in my stuff from iPhone plz ignore

[Lost_BMW]

E21_Ross said:

bales said:

To be honest given your aims I don't think you even need weights, lots of bodyweight exercises would do that, press-ups, sit-ups, dips, crunches etc...

A chin-up bar would be a good investment if you want to buy something...

agree totally with this. i wouldn't even bother spending any money at all. you can do plenty with your own body and some half decent floor space. absolutely st load (that's a technical unit of measurement ) of exercises to do for the abdominals and arms/shoulder. although perhaps not so many for biceps.

there are god knows how many varieties of sit ups as well as leg raises (both together, one at a time, or alternating), or lift your legs up and effectively pedal like on a bike, "the plank" (front, sides, or back) for your abdominals.

if you're even slightly concerned about spending money, IMO, it's not worth it. there is so much you can do without weights.

Another agreement FWIW . .

Push ups and pull downs are fantastic for so many reasons. Body weight only lower body/trunk work like 'free squats' and lunges ditto, plus crunches, leg raises, side twists etc.

If and when you feel ready for a change I'd suggest that a coupe of medicine balls (say 5kg to 10Kg, maybe the handled type) and a decent mat to use them with would add interest and some additional (or easily achievable) capability?

[Odie]

Thanks Animal I will certainly look at doing what you've advised or building upto it possibly adding in 10-20 situps & crunches ,

Ive looked at pull up bars (the argos one wont hold my weight) but I think ive found a solution in that the flat above mine has a balcony of steel contruction so I will see about using that for pull ups or get a pull up bar somehow attached under it.

[E21_Ross]

just make sure when you do sit ups you don't go up all the way to your knees. doesn't matter if you do them with legs straight or bent.

[Jeux]

i was once told if all you ever did was chin ups and dips you would hit most of the major muscle groups in the upper dody...

[5unny]

Lots you can do with Dumbbells, and you don't even need a bench. Some of them just need a flat surface (a chair):











Although you do lots of walking don't neglect your lower body:




And of course your core, hold these position for 30 secs +

[ukwill]

Jeux said:

i was once told if all you ever did was chin ups and dips you would hit most of the major muscle groups in the upper dody...

Thats probably not far off the truth. Two absolutely excellent exercises for upper body.

[bales]

ukwill said:

Jeux said:

i was once told if all you ever did was chin ups and dips you would hit most of the major muscle groups in the upper dody...

Thats probably not far off the truth. Two absolutely excellent exercises for upper body.

Or do a clean or a snatch and hit nearly every muscle in the body with one exercise!!

[Jeux]

bales said:

ukwill said:

Jeux said:

i was once told if all you ever did was chin ups and dips you would hit most of the major muscle groups in the upper dody...

Thats probably not far off the truth. Two absolutely excellent exercises for upper body.

Or do a clean or a snatch and hit nearly every muscle in the body with one exercise!!

not so much chest involved in clean or snatch.... and you need to have a very good understanding / technique to actually do those properly....where as its pretty hard to cock up dips...;-)

[LordGrover]

I dunno... depending on whether you're targeting pecs or triceps dips ain't as easy as many think.

[bales]

LordGrover said:

I dunno... depending on whether you're targeting pecs or triceps dips ain't as easy as many think.

Really? What variables are there, I would have thought there isn't much to get wrong!

You can either vary the width or the depth...

[LordGrover]

Width and angle was what I was thinking of. A wide grip and lean forward for emphasis on pecs and shoulder width and as vertical as possible for triceps. I think.
Whichever way round it is the emphasis is quite different depending on the variables.

[cheadle hulme]

I'm not sure recommending pull ups to a beginner (the OP) is that great. It can be very demotivating if you can't do 1 rep.

At least with some weights, you can do variations on rows to build up the back. Agreed though, they are one of the basics of any workout.