Upper body strength

Lola123

Hey all,
I need to build my upper body strength as it's virtually non-existent! Am pretty fit, but not particularly strong.
Is there any way to build up strength in ones arms/upper body without using weights? not a big fan of these and would rather use another method.
Any suggestions would be great.
By the way, I've access to a gym which has a rowing machine/cross trainer etc.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Pushups, Pull ups, Sit Ups and Dips all work on upper body

Also the rowing machine will build strength what it's set on a high resistance

Dragan

Sean_K wrote:

Also the rowing machine will build strength what it's set on a high resistance

This normal annoys me a lot but i won't go into it and will let someone far more qualified cover it for me.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitC2_DamperSettings.wmv

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Dragan wrote:

This normal annoys me a lot but i won't go into it and will let someone far more qualified cover it for me.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitC2_DamperSettings.wmv

I can't view that at work, but am I wrong about the rowing machine?

Lola123

Sean_K wrote:

Pushups, Pull ups, Sit Ups and Dips all work on upper body

Also the rowing machine will build strength what it's set on a high resistance

Can't do push ups...Thats how weak my arms are!! Although, hopefully I'll be able to do them soon!
Would it help to start using the rowing machine first and then try the push ups?
Also what are "dips"?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Dips:

http://old.pinoymuscle.com/old/pages/Chest_Dips_training.htm

If you can't do push-ups yet, these may be tricky enough though.

Colm_OReilly

You could do push ups against a wall, your wardrobe, a chair, etc. until you can do them on the ground.

Gymnastics exercises will build strength, but so will free weights. If you want to build strength you might just have to start lifting a bit. Who knows, you might like it?

rubadub

Lola123 wrote:

Can't do push ups...Thats how weak my arms are!! Although, hopefully I'll be able to do them soon!
Would it help to start using the rowing machine first and then try the push ups?
Also what are "dips"?

Against walls & chairs as mentioned. I like a stable object, most accessible & stable for me is the stairs, you can vary the angle on the steps. Another method is resting your knees on the ground doing them. You will be amazed at how strong you can get, in a short time. I could only do a few pushups when I started, now can do 75 in a row.

Lola123

Colm_OReilly wrote:

You could do push ups against a wall, your wardrobe, a chair, etc. until you can do them on the ground.

Gymnastics exercises will build strength, but so will free weights. If you want to build strength you might just have to start lifting a bit. Who knows, you might like it?

Never thought of that!! Will try doing it that way til I can do them off the ground!
Also, does anyone know if combat type workouts are good for building up strength or are they more of a cardio workout?

blorg

Sean_K wrote:

I can't view that at work, but am I wrong about the rowing machine?

I don't know about rowing, but I imagine he is referring to the idea of setting the resistance high. With cycling, you are better off spinning at a high cadence in a low gear than a low cadence in a high one. I am guessing it is similar with rowing (?)

I suspect this would doubly be the case if you are have very little upper body strength, better to get in a base first. I found swimming to be quite good in this regard.

Vegeta

how does one improve at chin ups. I know do more chin ups but I can only do 4 in a row at the moment so can someone describe a method for getting better akin to doing push ups on the stairs

Dragan

Sean_K wrote:

I can't view that at work, but am I wrong about the rowing machine?

Not really, your not wrong about the benefits , just the "resistance" aspect.

That clip i posted is really worth a watch for those who enjoy some time on the rowing machine.

ali.c

Vegeta wrote:

how does one improve at chin ups. I know do more chin ups but I can only do 4 in a row at the moment so can someone describe a method for getting better akin to doing push ups on the stairs

eh there is a thing called greasing the grove, basically you take the max number of reps you can do and divide it into two, then you do them on a repetitive basis. So i am doing it for push-ups at the moment, everytime i go into my sitting room i do 5 press-ups, (yes my family think i am mad) but if you have a pull up bar at home this could do wonders.
Other than that, i'd say just do sets of max reps in the gym, so if you can do for do 4 then another set with the most you can manage and then again!

Vegeta

ali.c wrote:

eh there is a thing called greasing the grove, basically you take the max number of reps you can do and divide it into two, then you do them on a repetitive basis. So i am doing it for push-ups at the moment, everytime i go into my sitting room i do 5 press-ups, (yes my family think i am mad) but if you have a pull up bar at home this could do wonders.
Other than that, i'd say just do sets of max reps in the gym, so if you can do for do 4 then another set with the most you can manage and then again!

cool cheers I think I'll put this into action

I have a pull up bar at home as my gym set up is in my room

ali.c

Vegeta wrote:

cool cheers I think I'll put this into action

I have a pull up bar at home as my gym set up is in my room

Its was in one of the Pavel Tsatsouline books, but basically he was stressing that its important not to max out when you use method, hence the divide by the max number of reps you can do (in your case 4) by two. Though it should be done frequently, for example every time you walk into a room, then Every couple of weeks then you can test your new max!

At the op, some of the bodyweight excercises like dips, push-ups i have found working with partial ROM to be effective. For ages i could get a body weight dip so i worked with isometric holds at the top of the dip position and partial roms for a while and then i got a full ROM rep. I know you can do push-ups against a wall, but full push-ups build up your core strength ( to keep your body aligned) so you could add in some planks and some partial ROM stuff too. Also if you are in a gym, most of them have assisted pull-up and dip machines.....
Edit: to correct spelling

rubadub

Vegeta wrote:

how does one improve at chin ups. I know do more chin ups but I can only do 4 in a row at the moment so can someone describe a method for getting better akin to doing push ups on the stairs

-do negatives. Get a stable box/chair, so when standing on it you are in the uppermost position. Do your 4 as normal, then stand on the box/chair and lower yourself nice and slowly and controlled, get up again and do as many of these as you can manage.

This helped my pull ups & chinups hugely.

Reyman

ali.c wrote:

Its was in one of the pavilou (sp) books, but basically he was stressing that its important not to max out when you use method, hence the divide by the max number of reps you can do (in your case 4) by two. Though it should be done frequently, .....

I am curious to know Pavilou's logic here. It seems to go against the accepted technique of pushing yourself hard to get results.
Did he explain the reason?

ali.c

Pavel Tsatsouline: The naked warrior wrote:

Your technique will become so good from doing so many submaximal sets
(in other words, from practicing) that once you decide to go all out, more
‘ n e rve force’ will reach your muscles because your nerves will have become
s u p e rconductors.

From the stuff of his i have read, he approachs strength training as a skill so he emphasis' practice.

ronbyrne2005

Vegeta wrote:

how does one improve at chin ups. I know do more chin ups but I can only do 4 in a row at the moment so can someone describe a method for getting better akin to doing push ups on the stairs

Negatives as pointed out already or if you have access to gym some have assisted pull up machines. Also work on lat and bicep strength with machines and free weights.

Hanley

Reyman wrote:

I am curious to know Pavilou's logic here. It seems to go against the accepted technique of pushing yourself hard to get results.
Did he explain the reason?

The problem with attempting to push yourself hard on pull ups when you can only do 3 or 4 is that you can't vary the resistance.

You wouldn't bench 100kg for 4 to failure every single time your tried and expect to make progress so why do it with pull ups? You might go 90x6, 95x6, 100x6 over the course of a few weeks. You can't do this with pull ups unless you've access to some form of band assistance (assisted machines are junk from what i've seen).

So the logical thing to do is not train to failure and bump up the sets (volume, in the form of high sets and low reps with 80-90% is VERY effective when it comes to increasing strength)

If I were the OP I'd do lie 5 sets of 2 reps twice a week, 6 sets of the 2 twice a week the week after and 7 sets of 2 twice the following week. Then retest and see whre I was at...

Reyman

Hanley wrote:

T

If I were the OP I'd do lie 5 sets of 2 reps twice a week, 6 sets of the 2 twice a week the week after and 7 sets of 2 twice the following week. Then retest and see whre I was at...

I haven't read Pavilou but the theory of skill being part of strength sounds reasonable enough. You become more efficient and use less energy at any movement if you practise enough.

I'm just wondering would it apply with press ups say where you can do 16 and practise according to Pavilou with lots of 8 rep sets.
I would have instintively tried to do 17 or more every time for just a small number of sets. Maybe my approach is all wrong?

ali.c

i suppose those, if you were doing it 4-5 times a day it would build up up pretty quickly, at least thats what i am hoping. My press-ups are grand for the first set of ten and subsequent sets if i take a longish rest otherwise they are utter bollox, i read the book alot of what he has to say is interesting so ill figure no harm in giving it a shot, as soon as i get a pull-up bar ill do the same for partial rom pull-ups. It makes sense to me anyways!

davyjose

Lola123 wrote:

Can't do push ups...Thats how weak my arms are!!

Lola123 wrote:

Is there any way to build up strength in ones arms/upper body without using weights? not a big fan of these and would rather use another method.

Have you thought, maybe, that there could be a correlation between these two statements?
Do you mind me asking why you don't like weights?