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David B.PRO
David B. Sendmail

Upper Body Strength Training Routines?

posted 9 months ago | Report

Does anyone have any suggestions for good upper body strength training routines? I was well into training for a marathon when I suffered a small stress fracture to my heel. It's not enough to keep me from walking, but I'll be doing no more running for quite some time. In addition to running a marathon, another major fitness goal has been to increase size and strength in my upper body.

Any recommendations or routines, training sites, programs, etc?

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  • Pamela S H.
    Pamela S H. Sendmail

    sorry to hear about the stress fracture....I utilize upper body training all year long, particularly focusing on rowing activities, as well as weight work with free weights. You might consider Pilates classes, as these are great for the core and legs and don't put stress on the feet. I would go to the bookstore, go through the running books and most of them incorporate whole body workouts. Take some notes and you can develop your own routine. This is a great opportunity to strengthen your upper body which will help take the toll running has on the lower portion!!!!! Speedy recovery to you!

    posted 9 months ago

  • Johnny N.
    Johnny N. Sendmail

    I just do push ups, pull ups, rows, and dumbbell presses. Push and Pull in both Vertical and Horizontal directions. Simple and to the point. But with your heel injury, you may need to do bench presses instead of push ups.

    posted 9 months ago

  • Denny H.
    Denny H. Sendmail

    Get some dumbells for sure. Like Johnny said, body weight exercises are great. Pullup and pushups both. Check out Sixpackshortcuts on Youtube. That guy has amazing at home workout routines for just about every body part. Keep it simple!

    posted 9 months ago

  • Levi
    Levi Sendmail

    I seconds the push ups & pull ups suggestion.

    When I started, I start with this program
    http://hundredpushups.com/

    Or I do some metabolic conditioning as well. for example, in 10 mins, do as many rounds as you can for 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 (modified) squats.

    For the squats, I don't know if you can put pressure to it but you can do modified such as laying in your back (like a chair position) and straighten your feet up. Some core workouts will help too. Try to mix up leg raises, v-ups, crunches. And if you are pursuing the pull up bars, you can add some more core workout with it too (like leg raises).

    Good luck!

    posted 9 months ago

  • Chris B.
    Chris B. Sendmail

    Kettlebells are great for working out at home. If you belong to a gym switch up between chest, back, shoulders, bi's and tri's. It depends on how many times a week you want to work out.

    posted 9 months ago

  • Gil R.
    Gil R. Sendmail

    You can get P90X on craigslist for as little as 25 bucks! I might have to buy it too!

    posted 9 months ago

  • Amanda B.
    Amanda B. Sendmail

    I do a lot for upper body. I do pull ups, curls, row ups, lat raises... There is tons you can do. I suggest going to a local gym and talking to a trainer to get some ideas or a routine. Rowing machines are great for upper body. Kettle bells area also great!

    posted 8 months ago

  • Larry G.
    Larry G. Sendmail

    If you want to add bulk, then would focus on 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps of activities that work major muscle groups. If you want to keep your VO2Max somewhat maintained, I would perform pairs as a superset with very little rest between (do A then immediately B; rest 30 secs, repeat 3-4 times) Rest 90 seconds before next superset.

    1a) Bench Press
    1b) Lat Pull down or Pull ups or Dumbbell rows (any are good or mix them up on different weeks)

    2a) Squats
    2b) Knees to Chest (do 15+ rather than 6-8 reps since shouldn't be bulking up the stomach / core)

    3a) Push Press (or if feeling really aggressive can do clean and jerks).
    3b) Mountain Climbers (do 50+ count rather than the 6-8 since shouldn't be bulking up the stomach / core)

    I stuck more to upper body than lower body because that is where you wanted to focus.

    Another good all around strength + cardio routine I would recommend is the Spartacus Workout. Has a lot more legs but is great for keeping your VO2Max inline for running. Just google " the Spartacus Workout" and will take you to mens health.

    posted 6 months ago

  • Mark N.
    Mark N. Sendmail

    I started just push ups and sit ups every day about 3-4 months ago, after an injury too (IT Band). Go figure getting hurt makes you decide you're doing something wrong. I'm ready for something a little more hard core strength training wise. I have p90X and it looks awesome (and intense) but I haven't started on it yet because I need a few more dumbells and a pullup bar. Men's health had a nice article on core strengthening...
    http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/core-strength?fullpage=true

    posted 6 months ago

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