# Want to start building upper body strength but i am kinda injured.



## The Mat Harris (Dec 25, 2019)

This year has been mostly been me fucking up my body with injuries this summer i fractured my arm by running into a tree with a bike when out in the fields.
And while ago i twisted my ankle, twice!
I wont be able to use the foot properly for at least 6 months apparently.

At the same time i kinda self dieted by minimizing my food intake to 2 meals small launches and lost 15 kilos  since that summer.
If anyone wants me to write down my eating schedule just ask.

In any case i am now lighter and feel like i want to start doing some upper body exercises.(yes my arm is ok now)
Never really attempted exercise in my life and i don't know how to start.
I have a 2 old rubber dumbbells at home that are 1kg each.
How much is one supposed to do as a starter?


----------



## edboy (Dec 25, 2019)

Eat clen and tren hard


----------



## Queen Elizabeth II (Dec 25, 2019)

There's no starting point per say, though if you've just hurt yourself I'd start doing reps with something very light such as canned food or large bottles of water. Slowly increase from there. 

It shouldn't be so heavy that it's actually hard to lift, but enough that you feel it after doing several reps.


----------



## Dave Meltzer (Dec 25, 2019)

I'd just start with push ups. You can progress pretty quickly with them. If you need to you can start doing them with your knees down on the ground to make them easier. Do 5 sets with the last set going to failure. I would do them every other day at first. Increasing the amount each time. If you start doing something like 5 sets of 5 next time do 6, 5, 6, 5, 6. You'll be surprised how quickly you can advance. 

If your dumbbells are light for you try doing these 5 minute workouts meant for using lighter weight. 








						Intense 5 Minute Dumbbell Bicep Workout
					

Download My Workout App Exerprise FREE - https://bit.ly/2J1WiRM Intense 5 Minute Dumbbell Workouts Weekly Schedule HERE - https://www.anabolicaliens.com/prog...




					www.youtube.com
				




If you can comfortably do 10 or more reps with the weight you are using you will just build endurance not strength. For strength 10 reps should be pushing you to your limit.


----------



## ThePurpleProse (Dec 25, 2019)

Dave Meltzer said:


> I'd just start with push ups.


This ^
Everyone underestimate how much you can build just by doing push ups, add pull ups too like in the pic below, you can add weight over time.


----------



## DrunkJoe (Dec 31, 2019)

Hit the weights.  I was in a similiar situation years ago.

Phase 1 start lifting kind of lightly.  You want to feel sore.  The sore is good.  Once it diminishes your ready to work.

Phase 2 start lifting heavier.  Setup a cycle like arms monday, chest tuesday, rest day ect.  Eat 2g protein per lb of body weight.  Make sure your getting plenty of calories, take a good multi vitamin, fish oil.  This is were some training sups can help, creatine , bcaas and a pre workout.  Basically setup a 4 week lift schedule, same lifts add more weight.  Than switch it up.

I went from not being able to do a push up my arm was so trashed after a car accident to benching over 225 in a year and broke the 300 in under 2.  I way over simplified it but each person is different and you kind of need to do your own personal tweaking.


----------



## ??? (Jan 1, 2020)

Body-weight exercises are a good start if you don't have access to equipment, but they are time consuming relative to strength training with free weights and compound lifts. Ideally you would do something like Stronglifts5x5 (google it) or Starting Strength (pirate the book by Coach Rippetoe). I can give you the tl;dr on those programs if you request it, but until then I will assume you are stuck with body-weight exercises.

You should work out your upper and lower body, instead of just upper body.

One of the principles of physical fitness is progressive overload, which is that you start with something that is easy, get the form of the exercise perfect while it is easy, and then gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise. Improving physical fitness is a biological process, and biological processes take time. You exert yourself; stress your muscles, connective tissues, and skeleton; let your body rest and get enough nutritious food and water to eat so you heal; and repeat the process with slightly greater difficulty to continue to stress it as it adapts to the previous level of difficulty.

It's important to get enough to eat. Strength requires muscle, and muscle requires food. It doesn't matter if you get a little fat especially if you are doing compound lifts and progressively overloading, because your metabolism will increase as you gain muscle. If you are concerned about fat, limit your carb and especially sugar intake (follow a limited keto diet - google it), perform intermittent fasting (fast 14 to 16 hours a day - again, google it), and avoid trans fats and polyunsaturated fats (tree nut oils and vegetable oils) as they cause inflammation. Saturated fat is good for you, as is protein and cholesterol. Avoid processed foods too. Eat plenty of fiber.

There are 3 types of difficulty: intensity, volume, and frequency. Intensity is the amount of weight, or speed at which you move. Volume is the number of repetitions, sets, and workouts hitting the same muscle groups you do. Frequency is the number of days you work. While all programs will improve all three, most are optimized for one or another.

This article has more information:








						Tip: Manipulate Intensity, Volume, and Frequency | T Nation
					

Smart training will allow you to recover. Strategize the most important variables to recover quickly and make faster gains. Here's how.




					www.t-nation.com
				




What is considered difficulty varies depending on what you want to train for.

---

To gain strength or mass, do compound lifts and do between 5 and 12 reps, and 3 to 5 sets, 2 or 3 times a week, with between 50% and 80% of your max weight. Programs like Stronglifts and Starting Strength start you out with low weights and require you to slowly but gradually add weight (about 5 pounds a week), which allows your body to gain strength and muscle while you master the forms. The risk of injury is low at low weights, which is important when learning forms. There is an upper limit on how much muscle you can gain in a week, so there's no point in overexerting yourself and risking injury with heavy weights early on.

Do something like:
Upper body day
Lower body day
Rest day
Upper body day
Lower body day
Rest day
Rest day

Then when you are more advanced do:
Total body day
Rest day
Upper/Lower Body day (vary every week)
Rest day
Total body day
Rest day
Rest day

Compound Lifts:
* Overhead Press, dumbbells or barbell; front and side shoulders, triceps, upper back, backs of shoulders.
* Bench press, dumbbells or barbell; chest, front of shoulders, triceps.
* Barbell Row; upper and middle back, lats, biceps, forearms.
* Squat, barbell; quads, glutes, hamstrings.
* Deadlift, barbell; lower back, hamstrings, quads, forearms.

Accessory Lifts:
* Shoulder Shrugs, dumbbells or barbell; sides and back of shoulders, traps, deltoids, sides of neck.
* Biceps curls; biceps, front of shoulders.
* Skullcrushers, EZ Bar on bench; triceps, lats.
* Leg Press; quads, glutes, hamstrings.
* Walking Lunges, dumbbells; glutes, quads, hamstrings. 

---

To gain endurance and agility, do bodyweight exercises 4 or 5 days a week.

For easier exercises like push-ups, start with something like 10 sets of 25 reps, and add 5 reps every week. In 10 weeks you will be doing 75, in a year you will be doing hundreds.

For harder exercises like dips and pull-ups, try for ten sets of 1 to 3, and try to increase by 1 each week. In ten weeks you should be doing ten sets of 5, in a year you should be doing ten sets of 20. If you can't do 1, do them with a spotter holding your legs or use exercise bands to assist you (google assisted dips/pull-ups). Chin-ups are usually easier than pull-ups, as the former rely more on chest and arms.

Do something like:
Upper body day
Lower body, core, and cardio day
Upper body day
Lower body, core, and cardio day
Rest day
Total body and cardio day
Rest day

Upper Body Body-weight Exercises:
* Push-ups, flat or incline; chest, triceps, and shoulders.
* Diamond Push-ups, flat or incline; chest, triceps, and biceps.
* Dips; triceps and shoulders.
* Pull-ups; back, chest, biceps.
* Chin-ups; biceps, chest, back.

Lower Body Body-Weight Exercises:
* Walking Lunges; quads, hamstrings, glutes.
* Squats; quads, glutes.

Core Body-Weight Exercises:
* Planks; abs, lower back, glutes, hamstrings.
* Leg Raises; abs, quads, possibly obliques if you kick to the side.
* Side Planks; obliques, abs.

---

The quickest way to gain cardiovascular fitness is high intensity stuff like uphill sprints or stair running. Start by jogging or walking up and slowly walking down, for two weeks then gradually increase the pace and sets. Start with 5 sets twice a week, then add one set each week until you are at 10 sets. Then add another day so you are doing it 3 days a week.


----------

