I need more upper-body strength

[Gryffindorian]

... but I don't have a gym membership or don't want to renew at this time. Besides, when I was a member of 24HF, I did mostly cardio exercise. I also have recurring lower back pain and try not to overdo it. I have a pair of 15-pound dumbbells at home that I use occasionally.

Can anyone recommend some exercise equipment or techniques I can use at home? I don't have a lot of space (besides my bedroom). Also, what types of supplements do you normally use when you're trying to build some muscles? Hopefully, they don't cause diarrhea or other health problems.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Hellooo? Anyone home? I thought we had a couple of resident personal trainers in this forum (or the entire BBS, for that matter).

I realize DarkHelmet is probably busy looking after his wife and newborn (congrats, by the way). RAMA? Anyone else?

 

[RoJoHen]

Push-ups are an excellent start if you're at home and you don't have any weights to work with. If you have two chairs, you can do dips. I used to filled a backpack with lots of heavy books and pretend it was a dumbbell; I'd use it do bicep curls, tricep extensions, and overhead press.

Your back is a little harder to work at home if you don't have equipment, but if you had a couple dumbbells or a barbell you could do bent-over rows.

(and for the record, I just got home from work, so calm down)

 

[Gryffindorian]

My savior. So you wouldn't recommend anything like a Bowflex machine? It's probably expensive anyway. I occasionally used lat pull-downs and the "rowing" arm extension when I was at the gym.

Hey, wait a minute. We have a decent-sized fitness center where I work, complete with weight equipment. If I have some time in the afternoons, I might do some resistance training.

 

[RoJoHen]

From what I've heard from REAL people (not the people in the commercials), a Bowflex really isn't all it's cracked up to be. There are cheaper routes to go.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Pushups are good for triceps and both chest and lats (back). You can emphasize your chest muscles by having your upper arms perpendicular (90 degrees) to your upper body. You can involve more lats by doing them with your upper arms held closer to your body.

Dips are good for your chest, back and triceps. However, they can cause a lot of stress on the shoulder joint capsule.

A couple of home products that would also help are adjustable dumbbell sets and resistance tubing. Also a good anti-burst swiss ball is a great tool. This would take the place of a bench and is extremely versatile. I have one in my office here at work.

 

[Gryffindorian]

^^^ Cool ideas, thanks. I have the resistance tubing as well but don't use it quite often. I have the "Bean" inflatable bag, but when I use a fitness ball, I seem to have trouble balancing myself. The ball definitely helped when I had back problems 3 years ago.

 

[RAMA]

... but I don't have a gym membership or don't want to renew at this time. Besides, when I was a member of 24HF, I did mostly cardio exercise. I also have recurring lower back pain and try not to overdo it. I have a pair of 15-pound dumbbells at home that I use occasionally.

Can anyone recommend some exercise equipment or techniques I can use at home? I don't have a lot of space (besides my bedroom). Also, what types of supplements do you normally use when you're trying to build some muscles? Hopefully, they don't cause diarrhea or other health problems.

Sorry I've been busy training my clients here at home as well as training on my own.

Just a note...I always find it interesting that people say they need "upper body strength", it always sounds vaguely like they are ignoring their lower body! I think far too many people, including serious, dedicated lifters ignore the lower body. If as you say, you've been doing cardio, which involves the legs a lot, and you are satisfied with their development, then I won't dwell on this, but I just don't want you to ignore your lower body.

You may want to do some physical therapy because of your injury and then graduate to light lifting. Exactly how bad is it and have you consulted your doctor? I'd want to know before givign you any recommendations.

Supplements aren't absolutely necessary, but on top of a good nutrition plan (I hate saying diet) , you may want to take some multi-vitamins, as well as some protein, at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.

RAMA

 

[Gryffindorian]

^^ Well, I'm not experiencing any back pain now and haven't had it for a long time (knock on wood). I did, however, suffer from lower back injury three years ago while improperly lifting a heavy box in the office. Prior to that, I'd had chronic lower back pain on and off. So I guess when I say "chronic," it's really not regular and on-going, but I do notice that it starts to feel sore when I do dumbbells or lift something heavy. So I want to take extra precaution not to reinjure myself.

As for physical therapy, my employer gave me X number of sessions with a therapist after the incident, and I did learn a lot of exercise techniques. That's when I first made use of a fitness ball. Again, I saw a physical therapist (through my medical care provider) about two years ago when my back started to feel tight (after some strenuous activity).

 

[RAMA]

^^ Well, I'm not experiencing any back pain now and haven't had it for a long time (knock on wood). I did, however, suffer from lower back injury three years ago while improperly lifting a heavy box in the office. Prior to that, I'd had chronic lower back pain on and off. So I guess when I say "chronic," it's really not regular and on-going, but I do notice that it starts to feel sore when I do dumbbells or lift something heavy. So I want to take extra precaution not to reinjure myself.

As for physical therapy, my employer gave me X number of sessions with a therapist after the incident, and I did learn a lot of exercise techniques. That's when I first made use of a fitness ball. Again, I saw a physical therapist (through my medical care provider) about two years ago when my back started to feel tight (after some strenuous activity).

I noticed DarkHelmet's response to you. It looks like he has a lot of good at-home suggestions. As long as you know your limitations, those look like they will work out to me.

RAMA

 

[Gryffindorian]

Yes, I've been practicing some dips with a chair in my room. I plan on getting those "push-up contraptions" they advertise on TV. I think Target has them for $39/pair.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

A cheap home set up, get an old bicycle handlebar and run a rope through the tubing, hang it from the ceiling and do chin ups. Make sure to get some soft padding to wrap around the bar, or some cheap handlebar grips to slide onto it.

If you're having trouble, just do 1 or 2, but repeat every half hour or so. I have mine in the pantry off the kitchen and do a full set of chin ups every time I go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. During the week that ends up a set in the morning and 2 or 3 sets in the evening, on weekends the number gets scary sometimes.

I found that starting chinups did wonders for my back. The main strength build in the back is seemingly the upper back, shoulder blades, lats whatever, but now when I squat and do a proper lift anything I have to lift seems effortless. I should note that I've always done regular sets of chin ups and abs daily, and cycle long distances and have great leg developement, but adding chinups really turned around my whole day, it seems to power up everything I do in ways no other single exercise seemed to be able to do. It really really energised my cycling.

 

[Gryffindorian]

^^ Thanks. I've also seen those chin-up exercise bars they advertise on TV that you could attach up on your door jamb, but I don't know how stable they are. (Same issue with the bicycle handle.) I've noticed that my right shoulder blade hurts or gets sore from time to time, even when I'm not doing any back exercises. I've tried the dips that everyone else recommended.

 

[roarimaraptor]

I bought a book for school recently that feels like it weighs about 50 pounds. Carry it around for me for a few days and you'll build some upper body strength.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Just an update: I decided to buy the Perfect Push-Up handles from Target. I've been using them for the past few days. Basically, there are three different exercise varieties (Regular, Wide, and Close) and three difficulty levels (Easy using your knees to support your upper body, Regular push-up position, and Hard using a chair to assist your upper body). I've tried the exercises a couple of times, and now my right shoulder is sore. It hurts when I'm lying in bed at night, so I think I must've overdone it. But I think that the handles work really well, and given time, I could actually tone my chest, shoulders, lats, triceps, biceps, and deltoids.

 

[Luminus]

Just an update: I decided to buy the Perfect Push-Up handles from Target. I've been using them for the past few days. Basically, there are three different exercise varieties (Regular, Wide, and Close) and three difficulty levels (Easy using your knees to support your upper body, Regular push-up position, and Hard using a chair to assist your upper body). I've tried the exercises a couple of times, and now my right shoulder is sore. It hurts when I'm lying in bed at night, so I think I must've overdone it. But I think that the handles work really well, and given time, I could actually tone my chest, shoulders, lats, triceps, biceps, and deltoids.

I'm a lifter, so here's a few things:

1. The Bowflex. I have one of these and it does work. However, what you need to understand is that Resistance and Pounds are two different things. Using the Bowflex, you'll notice that your retractions don't provide any work for your muscles. With weights, you're working every second from the minute you pick up the weights.
   
   Another thing is people expect to get bulked up using this thing, but the problem with that is that not everyone is built the same. Unless you're juicing (illegally), your body type will be the determining factor in how your muscles develop. I've seen guys in the gym with chicken legs pushing outrageous amounts of weight, so that's that.
   
   The last thing to take into consideration is that the Bowflex is very limited, which is one of the reasons why bodybuilders frown on it. You get somewhere around 410 lbs of resistance on this thing. But resistance doesn't add up to pounds. For example, you could be doing 50 lbs of resistance on the Bowflex, but another day go to pick up a 35 lb dumbell and barely pull off 2 sets of 10 without failing.
2. Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar. I own this thing and it's great. I can't imagine it holding very heavy weight, though, if you're using a wooden doorframe. There's a warning on the packaging about this, anyway. In any case, you can also do ab excersizes on it, although I've stopped using it because of the type of workout I do, which brings me to my next point.
3. Body For Life. This is a website that shows you how to sculpt your body and it works wonders. However, again, it depends on your genes. Your best look is your best look and unless you're willing to bring chemical or surgical science into the picture, that's how it's going to stay. Don't expect to look like the Rock, is what I'm saying. It may happen, but maybe not.
4. Finally, supplements are poison. Stay away from that garbage and I'd be very wary of anyone telling you to use supplements, especially creatine. Just take a look at the ingredients and you'll get an idea of the toxic crap they're trying to sell you and it seems like all of it hasn't been regulated by the Food & Drug Administration. I've had issues with supplements and I know others who have as well. DANGEROUS!

Good luck!

 

[Gryffindorian]

Thanks, Luminus. I always thought anyone could get an Arnold Schwarzenegger type of body but would have to work really hard at it. (Not that that's my main goal.) I've always been pretty average, so average, in fact, it sucks. I have thin arms and "chicken legs" and my upper body isn't very toned at all. Then again, I've always done mostly cardio exercises most of my adult life and very little resistance training (used the weight equipment at the gym when I was a member).

 

[RoJoHen]

I completely disagree with the whole "supplements are poison" thing. Especially creatine? Creatine is one of the most popular and effective supplements out there. You just have to do your research to know you're getting stuff of good quality.

 

[Luminus]

I completely disagree with the whole "supplements are poison" thing. Especially creatine? Creatine is one of the most popular and effective supplements out there. You just have to do your research to know you're getting stuff of good quality.

It's dangerous. And, like soda, that makes it poison. I've taken it from several different sources (other supplements as well) and know people who've taken it as well. I've known people who have claimed that it sped their heart rate up. You're only the second person out of a bunch of others that I've heard claim that there's nothing wrong with it. Man, there are people who will tell you there's nothing wrong with steroids. The thing is, everyone's body is different. Every supplement I've taken has caused medical problems for me, and i've taken my fair share.

Maybe your body is better at handling that creatine poison than mine, just like my smoking coworker's bodies are better at handling smoking than mine. People who drink alcohol frequently are better at handling liquor than I am as well. Either way, it's still poison. You keep taking it, if you want. I've learned to stop playing with my life like that.

 

[RoJoHen]

I completely disagree with the whole "supplements are poison" thing. Especially creatine? Creatine is one of the most popular and effective supplements out there. You just have to do your research to know you're getting stuff of good quality.

It's dangerous. And, like soda, that makes it poison. I've taken it from several different sources (other supplements as well) and know people who've taken it as well. I've known people who have claimed that it sped their heart rate up. You're only the second person out of a bunch of others that I've heard claim that there's nothing wrong with it. Man, there are people who will tell you there's nothing wrong with steroids. The thing is, everyone's body is different. Every supplement I've taken has caused medical problems for me, and i've taken my fair share.

Maybe your body is better at handling that creatine poison than mine, just like my smoking coworker's bodies are better at handling smoking than mine. People who drink alcohol frequently are better at handling liquor than I am as well. Either way, it's still poison. You keep taking it, if you want. I've learned to stop playing with my life like that.

Directly from that article:

Although most healthy people can take it with no problem, creatine can, in rare cases, have adverse effects, particularly when used in excess.

This is true of pretty much everything, and it certainly doesn't make creatine a poison. Like anything you consume, you just have to be smart about it.

A healthy person could get sick from eating too many apples, but I seriously doubt anyone here is going to say that apples are poison.