MLYW said:
Slacker said:
Last time it was checked at school my BMI was 20/21ish.
I used to be really skinny but then I started weight lifting for high school. I like it.
Hey, what are some good exercises for building upper body that don't involve weights? I got the whole diet down and last week I started doing sets of push-ups and situps but I not sure if that's enough(Does leave me sore so I know it's working). A few tips would be nice. I'm not looking for Dragon Ball Z muscles, just something respectable.
Oops I must've logged out right before you posted this.
There's three basic exercises that come to mind to build upper body without using weights.
Pushups. You're already doing these but to get the maximum effect, I'd do different types. For example, I'd do one set of 10-20 regular pushups or however many you usually do. Then I'd do a set of 10 diamond pushups (position your hands together so your thumb and pointer finger make a diamond shape). And for your last set do 10 alternating pushups where you position your left hand right above your shoulders and your right hand right below your shoulders, do a pushup, switch hands so they're in different positions and repeat. Regular pushups will work your pecs and upper arms, diamond pushups will work your triceps, and alternting pushups will get upper arm and other major areas.
Pullups. Pullups were really tough for me at first but if you keep working at them, you'll be able to do a lot (ideally you want to be able to do as many pullups as your age). Anyway you can get a really cheap bar from stores that attaches to doors or you can go to a gym or just use anything really. Do as many pullups as you can, then alternate and do chinups (chinups your palms are facing away, pullups your palms are facing toward you). I'd suggest doing one more set of each, trying to match what you did during the first set. If you're really struggling to do these, you can do support pullups to help, where you just lie flat on the ground and then pull yourself up using something like a table.
Dips. My favorite. I have a dips bar in my house now, but before I did I just used two chairs on either side of me. For dips, you'll want to lock your arms and push upward and then lower yourself until your arms are bent at a 90 degree angle (bonus points if you go down farther) and then push yourself back up. I'd start off with like three sets of five dips or whatever works well for you.
Pullups and dips work your chest muscles and pullups especially work the muscles around your shoulders. Unfortunately none of these exercises exclusively focus on your biceps, and really the best way to build those is to use weights and do curls. I guess you could curl something heavy at your house though.
If you have any questions just ask, I love talking about this stuff. Oh and by the way don't do upper body everyday, get protein in your body 15-30mins after you work out and alternate days to work on your upper body (like do it Mon/Wed, do Core Tues/Thurs, ect.)
