Tips for increasing upper body mass

[child of wonder]

About 2 years ago I started a diet and have since lost a lot of weight.

I'm 6' tall and was 282 lbs. Now I'm down to 225 and still would like to lose a little more weight. My goal is to gain a bit more upper body mass (my legs are already very muscular) to not only gain strength and look better, but also to up my metabolism to help me lose those remaining 25 lbs.

So far I've just been doing push ups and my body is taking to them well. At the start I could barely do a couple push ups and now after 3 weeks I can do 10.

I have some dumb bells in the garage and was going to add bicep curls soon.

Any other suggestions?

 

[paulxcook]

First, congrats on the weight loss, that's tough to do.

I personally think if you're going to work out part of your body, you should work out the whole body. You will likely find others on here suggesting the same thing. However, I also think doing something is better than doing nothing, so if you don't want to make this a big enough part of your life that you devote time to it and work out your whole body, you can check out some dumbell options here: http://www.sport-fitness-advis...dumbbellexercises.html

If you decide you want to give the full-body stuff a try, there are a ton of other options that will take more time and money, but will be exponentially more beneficial.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
First, congrats on the weight loss, that's tough to do.

I personally think if you're going to work out part of your body, you should work out the whole body. You will likely find others on here suggesting the same thing. However, I also think doing something is better than doing nothing, so if you don't want to make this a big enough part of your life that you devote time to it and work out your whole body, you can check out some dumbell options here: http://www.sport-fitness-advis...dumbbellexercises.html

If you decide you want to give the full-body stuff a try, there are a ton of other options that will take more time and money, but will be exponentially more beneficial.

The reason I hesitate towards working on my legs is that they are already very muscular. My calf muscles, for example, are HUGE and all muscle.

Plus, time is a factor as well and I'm restricted to working out at home.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to read it this afternoon.

 

[Koing]

You still need to work your legs. THIS is the number one muscle to work to get a bigger upperbody.

Work legs = cause your body to produce more testerone = build your upperbody faster then if you did not do any leg exercises.

So do squats, deadlifts and that bascially covers your leg exercises. Do this 2x a week in addition to your upperbody training and you will put on decent muscles. Ignore your legs and fail miserably. THIS is why most guys in the gym aren't that big. Because they ignore legs because they think they have muscular legs or because they 'run or play football'. In reality your legs do not bend that much when you run or playball and you work a limited range of motion with your legs.

Koing

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Koing
You still need to work your legs. THIS is the number one muscle to work to get a bigger upperbody.

Work legs = cause your body to produce more testerone = build your upperbody faster then if you did not do any leg exercises.

So do squats, deadlifts and that bascially covers your leg exercises. Do this 2x a week in addition to your upperbody training and you will put on decent muscles. Ignore your legs and fail miserably. THIS is why most guys in the gym aren't that big. Because they ignore legs because they think they have muscular legs or because they 'run or play football'. In reality your legs do not bend that much when you run or playball and you work a limited range of motion with your legs.

Koing

Listen to this man. I do compound lifts, as well as chin ups and pull ups and push ups and my biceps grow even without direct biceps work (I don't do any curls).

These exercises grow my shoulders too.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: paulxcook
First, congrats on the weight loss, that's tough to do.

I personally think if you're going to work out part of your body, you should work out the whole body. You will likely find others on here suggesting the same thing. However, I also think doing something is better than doing nothing, so if you don't want to make this a big enough part of your life that you devote time to it and work out your whole body, you can check out some dumbell options here: http://www.sport-fitness-advis...dumbbellexercises.html

If you decide you want to give the full-body stuff a try, there are a ton of other options that will take more time and money, but will be exponentially more beneficial.

The reason I hesitate towards working on my legs is that they are already very muscular. My calf muscles, for example, are HUGE and all muscle.

Plus, time is a factor as well and I'm restricted to working out at home.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to read it this afternoon.

How much do you free weight squat to parallel? Exactly how big are your legs, in inches? I'm not trying to nitpick, but I think everyone could benefit from leg training. Compound leg exercises like squats work your entire body. I think they would make a good addition to your routine.

 

[gramboh]

There is no reason not to work your legs, you don't accidentally get ripped and huge like a bodybuilder, it takes an extreme amount work to get like that. You want to work your entire body to develop all muscles equally, this is the healthy thing to do.

I also have strong/large legs compared to my upper body, but I am doing the Stronglifts.com 5x5 program and it's working well so far (only one week in). Your legs will get more toned and powerful but most important your core and back will get more developed which is key to all sports and general strength.

 

[skace]

A lot of people starting out think their legs are big. Your legs are naturally bigger, they can actually stand to get smaller as you gain muscle and lose fat though. Your calves aren't really what you are looking to build up, your thighs probably stand the most change. Remember, a lot of the leg exercises also deal with the glutes, which is your ass and I doubt that is perfect if you are losing all that weight. As silly as it sounds for a guy to worry about your ass, if you are looking to get in shape you don't want a flabby one. It creates a terrible image. Think of your calves like your forearms, size there will be very slow compared to your thighs/biceps.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: gramboh
There is no reason not to work your legs, you don't accidentally get ripped and huge like a bodybuilder, it takes an extreme amount work to get like that. You want to work your entire body to develop all muscles equally, this is the healthy thing to do.

I also have strong/large legs compared to my upper body, but I am doing the Stronglifts.com 5x5 program and it's working well so far (only one week in). Your legs will get more toned and powerful but most important your core and back will get more developed which is key to all sports and general strength.

Well, also there's the additional hormone release that is entailed in leg workouts. Your body releases more testosterone and GH due to the size of the massive muscles doing the work. These will actually help you in your upper body goals a fair amount. Don't neglect your legs. They're just as, if not MORE, important as your upper body.