SubscribeTraining Your Weak Links: Upper Body
When it comes to weight training, we tend to focus on what we and others can see; Biceps, Pecs (guys), triceps (gals) abs, etc… in other words “beach muscles”. Consequently, we tend to ignore the smaller, postural muscles that help stabilize the body and keep the more dominant muscles in check.
The daily grind of life puts our bodies under different stresses which often leads to unbalance, ie. certain muscles tend to become overly tight, while others become more weak.
Here are some muscle groups you may be neglecting – and some basic exercises that may help you move and function better.
Deep Neck Flexors
“Chin jutting”, possibly a result of sitting for hours on end staring at a computer (I’m trying not to do this as I type) is at least partially a result of weak muscles deep in the neck.
Exercise: Isometric chin tucks
Place a towel (or your own hands) behind your head. Retract your chin so that the back of your head pushes into your hands/towel.
Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat 2-8 times.
Mid Trapezius
Our “traps” are divided into 3 basic sections; upper, middle and lower. The middle and lower traps tend to become weakened through prolonged sitting while hunching and/or poor or otherwise unbalanced strength training.
Exercise: Vultures
Leaning over a ball or standing bent over – place your hands at a 10 and 2 position with the thumbs up.
Raise arms upward while keeping the torso still. Stick your tongue into the roof of your mouth to maintain neck stability.
Note: This shouldn’t be a big range of motion – 4-6” elevations should do the trick.
Serratus Anterior
A couple of inches below our armpits lay a bumpy or “serrated” muscle that helps keep the shoulder blades (scapulae) stable and flush against the ribs where it’s supposed to be. A possible sign of a weak serratus anterior is a “winged” shoulder blade (a poking out).Exercise: Scapular Push-up
Find an elevated surface such as a bench or a chair. Place hands slightly more than shoulder width apart.
Keeping body in line (relatively straight from back of the head to the heels) let your shoulder blades collapse inward and than push them out – WITHOUT moving your elbows.
Repeat 12-20 times.
When to use these exercises
Give these exercises a shot on the front or tail end of your next workout. Be sure to get a thorough assessment if you suspect an imbalance or if you are experiencing any pain. Stay tuned for part II when I discuss the weak links of the lower body.Keep in mind that these are “common” weaknesses, not universal. Every program must address individual needs. Stay tuned for part II when I discuss the weak links of the lower body.
I used to do circuit training when I used to go the gym, and did a whole body workout, I think it's better to do this because you have fat burning muscle everywhere which is better overall.
ReplyBeach muscles. First time I hear this. :D
But to be serious: I'm looking for a good exercise program. Can you recommend me anything?
ReplyDefinitely have to make sure to pay attention to the overlooked areas. I know I'm bad about this -- wanting to hit not so much the muscles that everyone can see, but the strong muscles that can do a lot of work and make me feel proud. :o I try to balance things, though. Several of the people I've trained also neglect the lower back. They hit the upper back, and they do ab exercises till the cows come home, but never target the other parts of the core
ReplyThis isn't weight training. Find a Strength and Power website and ask for a routine. I go to Sherdog.com/forums strength and power forum. There is a FAQ there that shows you how to do everything. Diet-blog has no idea.
You need to train your whole body not just your upper body(not that this is strength training anyway)
SQUAT!
ReplyVery nice article.
I think it's also very useful to note here that most of the people who only train "beach muscles" are under the illusion that spot training works.
I can't tell you how many people I have heard talking about doing crunches because they want abs when they are 30 lbs overweight. I just want to grab them and yell "If you want to see abs don't do anymore crunches! Cut 500 calories a day out of your diet, up cardio, and do a full-body workout of ONLY multi-joint exercises two times a week! (and if you are a woman please use enough weight to break a sweat!)" but I'm sure they'll just go out and buy the next Ab* machine when a walk around the block would produce better results (calories burned is calories burned, doesn't matter which muscle is being used).
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I have never seen those first two exercises in my life and will have to try them out!
-Josh
ReplyFor the person asking about an exercise program. Keep it simple if you are just starting out.
Go to the gym and find three machines: leg press, chest press, and rows. Ask a staff member how to use them. Focus on good form and doing the movements very slow but make sure you are using enough weight so that it is actually hard to do. Do something like 3 sets of each, 8-12 reps, with 1 minute of rest between each. Then hit the treadmill, elliptical, bike, or whatever you like for 20-30 minutes and call it a day. Rinse and repeat 3 times a week.
After 6 weeks you'll branch out to more concentrated exercises but the beginner will make very good gains from good multi-joint exercises. Don't let a overzealous personal trainer convince you that you need to do 30 different exercises to gain strength and muscle, this is very untrue for a beginner (and for everyone else too).
ReplyNow is the best time to shoot for "Beach Muscles". So many people wait till a few weeks before summer to get in shape.
It's unfortunate that people think they can lose what they want in such a short period of time.
Good Article.
ReplyBeach muscles are only found once you burn the fat around them.
Other than that do compound movements only, pushups, modified pullups, squat/deadlifts. The muscles will get plenty big if you know how to challenge them. Keep your reps 12-8 as that is where strength and size come from.
ReplyLower reps are more likely to build size & strength. The problem is injury risk goes up as the percentage of 1rm you're lifting goes up (as it does with lower reps.) Most people are good within 8-12, but if your goal is size and strength, 6-10 reps is a good range. (Source: American Council on Exercise; Personal Trainer Manual)
ReplyHey SCal,
I agree, squats are one of the best exercises you can do in terms of overall function and stregth building. I make sure my clients can squat properly from day 1. The purpose of this particular article is to address some of the weaker points htat many people have that may not necessarily address them. The idea here is to add - not replace traditional lifting.
ReplyYeah. He even said "Add" to your workout, and that lower body weak points would be addressed next week.
I think it's great this was posted, because people do have a tendency to ignore the less trumpeted muscles.
ReplyToo true...I often just focus on the "big" muscle groups. Like my biceps, deltoids, glutes, quads, and abs. When I worked with a personal trainer, he told me I was neglecting my lower back muscles and some of my smaller supporting muscles. Once I started doing exercises that worked those smaller muscles, I found that my core strength improved a lot.
Reply6-10 reps for strength? No way.
How strong can you be, with any given weight, if you're able to lift it for even 6 reps?
Try 3 reps instead. 8-10 sets of 3 reps for strength.
Then on your next workout, do 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
Trust me, it's better to change it up this way, than to do 5 x 5 every single workout.
Split the difference, and you often end up with nothing. Or, at best, slowed progress. Don't go there.
ReplyOn an unrelated topic - does anyone have any links that discuss weight work while on the road? I'll be traveling for two weeks, and I can keep my mileage up, but I won't have access to weights.
ReplyHi Quito,
Do you own resistance tubing? This is a very portable solution in addition to performing body weight exercises.
ReplyMike, I've never used them. There are some in my gym, so I'll see if I can get some demonstrations and try them out. Thanks!
ReplyDo you know of any other corrective shoulder exercises? Ever since I started mildly weight training, and even in my daily life, I get a good bit of pain in my shoulders (usually right) when lifting in a certain direction.
For instance I can easily push my shoulders up and in, as in shoulder presses, but can painfully do exercises like shoulder raises.
ReplyInjury risk goes up significantly under 6 reps (with the percentage of your 1rm you have to do to be able to exhaust on that few reps) Which is why 6-10 is the recommendation.
I'm sorry, Kailash, but that recommendation seems a bit odd. Where did you get your Trainer certification / degree in Kinesiology from? In the course of attaining both, I was told that for maximum gain with the least amount of injury risk (you aren't getting much stronger if you can't lift), that's what you do? I'm wondering where you got your information in that matter.
ReplyHi Jeff,
Depends on what the exact cause is... the shoulder is a very complex joint. I suggest seeing a physio to see if they can pinpoint the problem. Many rehabilitative efforts are geared towards strengthening the scapulae (muscles around the shoulder blades) to incprove integrity of the shoulder joint itself. Try keeping overhead movements to a minimum for now and focus on scapular push-ups, band work for the rotator cuff (both medial and lateral... tie a band to an immovable abject and keeping the elbow close to the body roate outward and then inward).
ReplyMax Power is reps 1-3
Max Strength is reps 4-6
Max Muscle Size is reps 8-12
Max Endurance is reps 15+
You get strength with muscle size training...and you get some muscle size with strength training. Also you have to look at the body type and muscle fiber makeup of a person.
As far as size and strength...it's more complicated than just how many reps...because are you talking about short or long rests? Compound sets? Supersets? What's your muscle time under tension? Rep tempo? Drop sets? Failure? Workout 2-3x a week? What's your diet? Are you doing post workout glycogen reloading? etc...
For the majority of people sets of 8-12 is safe, effective and if you know how to really challenge yourself you can get plenty of "beach muscles" to grow.
For more advanced people...they can mix up the reps like mentioned above. Deadlift 5x5 one day.....3x10 another.....10x3 the next. The body love variation and will react in a positive way.
ReplyMaximum effort, dynamic effort and repeated effort. There's no such thing as "Medial effort".
You never heard of the Westside method?
ReplyJeff,
Treat the source of the problem as it sounds like inflammation. The shoulder complex is a small and complex joint, any inflammation will be noticed very quickly. Get rid of all sugars/white flours, take some fish oil and even try to go without wheat/gluten for 3-4 weeks. Hopefully you will notice great improvements over time.
ReplyThis is a good article to introduce one to conjugate periodization and its applications for physical conditioning:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/russian_conjugate_system.htm
ReplyThe best exercises for upper body are:
Compound row
Pull ups(assisted or non-assited if you can)
Barbell shoulder press
Barbell bicep curl
Tricep pulldowns
anything else is wimping out.
ReplyHow about:
weighted dips
weighted pushups
on top of weighted (or assisted depending on level) pullups. You'll get plenty big arms from doing those correctly. Ask a gymnast how many curls they do!
ReplyKailash, nobody is going to do Russian commando-style training except really pumped-up ego freaks.
ReplyJust about everyone I talk to now is using some form of conjugated periodization. From high school athletes to fat powerlifters, to your ordinary gym rat (like myself), we vary our set/rep schemes.
Most guys will just say "sometimes I go heavy, with low reps, other times I lighten it up and do high reps". But there it is, ME and RE sets, described in their most basic nomenclature.
These lifters do tell me that they are working on both strength and endurance, by these methods
From what I have seen, the Westside method has filtered down, and become canon.
ReplyNow is the best time to shoot for "Beach Muscles". So many people wait till a few weeks before summer to get in shape.
It's unfortunate that people think they can lose what they want in such a short period of time.
ReplyTreat the source of the problem as it sounds like inflammation. The shoulder complex is a small and complex joint, any inflammation will be noticed very quickly. Get rid of all sugars/white flours, take some fish oil and even try to go without wheat/gluten for 3-4 weeks. Hopefully you will notice great improvements over time.
ReplyHi,
I often feel pain in my left shoulder. Definitely it is due to muscles weakness. What should i do to overcome this problem.
Kindly recommend me some health tips.
kindly email me
ReplyI'v just started back weight training but hav a little bit of fat i want to get rid of while building muscle.What would u recommend?
Isit better to do a certain muscle each day i.e chest mon,shoulders tues so on and do some fitness at the end? or do upper-body workouts say 3 times a week with 2-3 cardio workouts?
Reply