Toning Upper Body
My goal is to tone* the upper body (chest, back, shoulders, and arms) with dumbbells, I have no other equipment available. I have cut back on the number of moves that I do as my secondary goal is to do this in as little time as possible. So I am currently doing overhead press, flys**, rows, and pull-overs.
Am I missing any muscle groups that I should be hitting?
Just to add, I do three sets of 8 to 12 reps. I start with 8 reps and when I am able to complete 3 sets of 12 reps I increase the weight.
*I use the word "tone" in the old school way which was to differentiate between trained muscle and untrained muscle. I don't have a need to add mass or even strength. I just want to maintain strength and tone.
**I was doing bench press but I maxed out on available weight so I switch to flys since I still have weight available beyond my current capacity.
Instead of the flys, could you do pushups (with your feet up on a bench or with weights in a backpack, or both, to make it challenging)? I think that would be a better sub for the bench press.
Biceps/Triceps?
Original Post by amethystgirl:
Instead of the flys, could you do pushups (with your feet up on a bench or with weights in a backpack, or both, to make it challenging)? I think that would be a better sub for the bench press.
Yes, I could dig out an old backpack and do that.
Are the flys a good compliment or are they superfluous?
I used to do curls and tricep extensions but I cut them out.
pushups and presses hit the triceps and pullups/rows hit the biceps.
Tom, if you've got the equipment for it, incline benchpress is harder than flat-bench so you might still be challenged with the available weight. Also one armed dumbell bench/incline bench presses are a good option (though that might mess with your goal of cutting down on time).
You can also use a couple of dumbells for pushup handles and do rows between pushups.
Original Post by trhawley:
Original Post by amethystgirl:
Instead of the flys, could you do pushups (with your feet up on a bench or with weights in a backpack, or both, to make it challenging)? I think that would be a better sub for the bench press.
Yes, I could dig out an old backpack and do that.
Are the flys a good compliment or are they superfluous?
I think they are more of an isolation exercise, so I'd favor the compound exercise over them, especially if you are trying to reduce time.
Original Post by floggingsully:
pushups and presses hit the triceps and pullups/rows hit the biceps.
Tom, if you've got the equipment for it, incline benchpress is harder than flat-bench so you might still be challenged with the available weight. Also one armed dumbell bench/incline bench presses are a good option (though that might mess with your goal of cutting down on time).
You can also use a couple of dumbells for pushup handles and do rows between pushups.
I used to rig up an incline bench with my bench and an aerobic step thing. I stopped doing them because I was doing both bench press and inclines. Which would be better, weighted push-ups or incline bench? Or does it matter?
Original Post by floggingsully:
pushups and presses hit the triceps and pullups/rows hit the biceps.
True but he didn't mention pushups so I was just throwing the suggestion out there.
I'm thinking maybe the weightd push-ups would be a better option because they engage the core. I didn't mention the core but I'd like to hit it as well. Any suggestions for core? I feel like the the standing overhead presses and pull-overs engage the core, maybe straight leg dead lifts with dumbbells for lower back?
Planks - weighted or some of the single-leg/single arm variations; and as long as you've got the dumbbells out: one-arm dumbbell swing. If you use a variation where you aim the dumbbell to one side a bit so that it reaches the highest elevation straight out from your shoulder and work hard on maintaining your body in a square athletic position against the off-balanced strain of the dumbbell you'll be feeling it through your core the next day. Works a treat for improving core strength and stability, especially for someone likely to be exposed to unbalanced forces.
DB swings are what I use in place of Olympic lifting for someone who needs to develop explosive power and anaerobic conditioning but doesn't actually need to learn the snatch and the clean&jerk; takes about 2-3 minutes to learn the DB swing, takes quite a bit longer to get proficient at the Oly lifts.
Go light on this one the first few times you try it and if you want to increase the conditioning effect you can aim to increase reps quite a bit; not uncommon to aim for performing 100 reps total per session - split between arms.
I've never seen dumbbell swings before, they look a little tricky but I'll give them a try.
Looking at your profile, you seem like a hard-core cyclist, so i'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you think you don't need to do leg exercises because your legs are in good shape from cycling. If so, i disagree.. for two reasons:
1 - Cycling reduces bone density, and leg exercises help fix that.
2 - Lifting objects outside the gym is a team effort involving the entire body - upper & lower, and spine, all at the same time. Failure to train that entire team together can (and does) lead to injuries. "Leg exercises" do train the legs, but they keep the rest of your body functioning properly too, including your spine. So i would do at least a couple of sets of dumbbell squats and lunges, 3 times a week.. to keep your lifting ability alive.
/ end of preaching
For upper body exercises done at home, i'm partial to the resistance tubing chest press and the unsupported bent-over row as primary pushing all pulling exercises, since they use your body in a standing position - which is how we tend use our body in the real world.
For upward lifting ability, combining a bicep curl with shoulder press is a nice one.
Thanks for your input.
I wanted to comment on the above for other cyclists. It's long been accepted that cycling reduces bone density and can lead to osteoporosis but that has come into question recently. I notice that your article dates backto 2007 so it pre-dates the current discourse on the topic. The new wave of studies indicate that while bone density is lost the tensile strength of the bones does not decrease so the result is lighter but just as strong bones, think birds. Therefore cyclist shouldn't be concerned with possible bone density loss because you don't need density for just density's sake.
While the experts debate the topic I will continue to take my calcium and vitamin D, do weight bearing cross-training, and I'll follow the story as it develops.
Lose the flys and pullovers. Dips are a good substitute for the bench press, particularly since you are already doing the overhead press. Turkish getups and the overhead squat are two great core exercises. I know you are a cyclist, but for the love of God add some lower body exercises.
I looked and did not find much recent evidence that cyclists have good bone strength. How about posting a few links about what you're referring to.
to gain upper body strength, you should try pilates. it helps tone muscles that you dont normally use, but will help anything you do once you build the muscles . it will help u get out of your upper abs and into your deeper abs, which will help way more .
you could also try doing 25 situps, 15 pushups , and 10 jumping jacks ( repeat 4x ) . this should boost stamina and you will get stronger in many ways .
Original Post by amethystgirl:
Instead of the flys, could you do pushups (with your feet up on a bench or with weights in a backpack, or both, to make it challenging)? I think that would be a better sub for the bench press.
I agree with this. When I was super flabby, I started doing pushups every other day (girlie pushups) and eventually progressed to one-leg, elevated, and other kinds of pushups. My muscle tone improved significantly in a matter of a month, including my core. I think the pushup, along with the squat, is the god of all bodyweight exercises. I'm not a professional, though. Just a fan. :)
Original Post by cherimoose:
I looked and did not find much recent evidence that cyclists have good bone strength. How about posting a few links about what you're referring to.
Original Post by solid555:
Lose the flys and pullovers. Dips are a good substitute for the bench press, particularly since you are already doing the overhead press. Turkish getups and the overhead squat are two great core exercises. I know you are a cyclist, but for the love of God add some lower body exercises.
How do I do dips with the equipment I have?
Don't worry I do plenty of lower body work.
You can often find places where you can do them around the house, or in your neighborhood. I have been able to do them at most of the playgrounds near my apartment. You can also buy dip bars.
Don't worry, I couldn't care less about your lower body.
