problems with upper body

C

cian

0
I've been doing a routine prescribed by the esteemed Karky but I'm having some problems doing stuff with my upper body. I've no problem doing most things with the routine but I'm having huge problem with my upper body.

I have no good bench so I use a cheap pine one, I can lie on it but the fact I need to roll it over my body in order to lift is a problem. I'm using a weight which I find a challenge to lift but I'm unable to push it onto a rack when I'm done the way you can on a proper weightlifting bench. This seems to be a problem as I'm worried to lift too heavy as when I'm done with a set then I have to lower it to my chest, roll it along my body before I can stand up.

When doing squats I really "feel the burn" and get a lovely warm, worked out feeling throughout my legs the following day. I don't get this from bent over rows and bench presses. Sure I find them hard to do when I get to the end of my set but my body feels unchanged after 5 minutes and I don't feel the burn, I was wondering if anyone could help me with this as I loved the feeling in my arms the first time I ever bench pressed.

Even press ups are a problem, I find them hard to do after about 20-30 but I still don't feel worked out properly.

THanks
Cian
 
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With rows, and bench thats a pretty normal feeling actually, spechally for people who havent been lifting for a while, but if you are moving the weight, the muscles are working. You really need to get a rack, bench pressing without a rack is a risk! Make sure with the bendt over rows that you are using your upper back to pull the weight. The arms should be moving, not the whole body, dont jerk the weight. And keep your shoulderblades retracted when you do rows.
 
Yeah,I can't afford a proper bench. When I first started bench presses I got some great feeling in my arm, it went really really quickly. It's still hard to do at higher reps but I don't get the feeling anymore
 
you dont have any friends who you can get to workout with you and spot you?

For higher rep ranges (or depending how strong you are) you should do pushups, its a good exercise
 
Push ups are great. Try variations. Don't worry about feeling the burn so much. It's the gains that count.
 
Well I live in Brussels which is a pretty sprawling city, most of my friends live out in the sticks so I really don't see em enough to get em to spot on a regular basis.

I'm awful at push ups:S I can never tell if I'm doing it properly with a good form etc.
 
Do one arm bench presses with that dumbbell with each arm until you find a bench. Start doing reps with your weakest arm first then do the same reps with the stronger arm next( it's to balance the strength with both arms). You should probably do high reps with them first until you get used to it.
 
yeah, thats a good idea. And if you suck at pushups, try to get better at them. How many can you do on your toes? remember to keep the body straight through the movement.
 
Pushups about 20-30. Depends how much energy I have.
Big problem is I don't feel my form is right.

How does one do a dumbell bench press?
What weight for my dumbell is a good idea?
 
I tried dumbbell presses but I was wondering.

Am I better off with something I find hard to 15 reps with, then using that weight for 3 sets of 10 reps

Or using a lighter weight and working out until my arm feels exhausted.
 
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why are you donig bench presses if you find pushups hard to do? i think you should get your pushups perfect then move into bench. plus if you dont have a good bench, and you find pushups are challenging, do pushups!!!
 
When I first came on here I was told pushups are only a bodyweight exercise and hence not good etc etc. I'm getting conflicting stuff here, are they actually any good?
 
you were probobly told that BW pushups only last for so long. If your goal is muscle strenght and you can do 25 pushups, they wont build strenght, however, if you can only do like 5 with good form, keep working on them!
 
cian said:
When I first came on here I was told pushups are only a bodyweight exercise and hence not good etc etc. I'm getting conflicting stuff here, are they actually any good?
Click to expand...

Push-ups are a very good option if done properly IMO.

If the purpose of doing push-ups is to build muscle mass in your chest, the same progressive overload principles apply to bodyweight exercises like push-ups as they do to free weight exercises.

If it takes 6/8 reps etc. to per set to build muscle, strength or endurance using dumbbells and barbells, it will take 6/8 reps etc. using bodyweight exercises as well ( btw I'm onlly using 6/8 reps as an example as that is what I use, it could be 8-10, or 10-12 reps etc. depending on your fitness level and goals...so if you see 6/8 ....that's just for me :) ). The princples don't change just because you change the tool ( exercise ) you use to get there. It's the same reason, doing 65-70 reps on a bench press to failure is a waste of time ( for building muscle in an opitmal way ) , when you will get the same muscle building effects for your chest by simply going 6-8 reps etc. of bench press to failure. The goal is to try and get the maximum amount of improvment in the minimum amount of time.

To build your muscle mass in your chest muscle mass with free weights and bench, you have to bump up the the overload / intensity by adding more weight plates to the bar to ensure to fail at rep 8 ( in my case). To build your chest muscle mass with free weight exercises - i.e a push-up - the same principle applies. But, since virtually 99% of people can do more than one 8 pushups... the solution to get there ( i.e failure ) in weightless or bodyweight training is different than with weights.

In weightless or bodyweight training you have to change among various exercises, adjust the pace of each exercise, adjust the rest periods between exercises etc. to opitmize progressive overload. You achieve the progressive overload in weightless training either by making the exercise so hard you can only do 6/8 reps ( i.e doing it in super slow form ), modifiying the exercise some how so you can now only do 6/8 ( i.e using push-up handles ) or putting it in the sequence of your routine so that although you could do more than 6/8 reps if you started with it, you now can't do it after doing exercises before it ( sort of a pre-exhaust )

Here's a sample weightless chest home routine to build muscle mass that I once used to do at home ( and away from home ) that illustrates what I mean - btw it assumes doing slow reps in perfect form allowing no more than 30/45 seconds between sets ......


3 sets..................Dips with a chair or push-up handles....................6/8 reps
no rest​
2 sets .................Push-Ups using push-up handles..........................10-12 reps
no rest​
1 set ..................Wide Push-Ups using push-up handles ..................6/ 8 reps
no rest​
1 set...................Roman Push Ups....................................6/8 reps
no rest​
3 sets ..................One-Arm Side Push Ups .........................6/8 reps
no rest​
2 sets ...................Tent Push Ups.....................................6/ 8 reps​


So, if you don't have access to free weights or a gym - done properly - a challenging push-up routine can be viable option and do wonders for your chest development IMO.
 
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