Muscle mass indicates a relative degree of muscular strength. The more muscle you have, the stronger you are; the less muscle you have, the weaker you are. Building upper body strength if you are skinny requires a progressive program of weight training for your chest, back, shoulder, bicep and triceps muscles. You must continually increase the weight you are using even if it is just by one repetition or by 2.5 lbs., building your muscle mass and your strength. Following a nutritious diet including plenty of calories and protein will enhance your capacity to build muscle, improving your strength.
Step 1
Perform two warm-up sets for the first exercise of each muscle using a light to moderate weight for 10 to 12 repetitions. Complete four to six sets using moderate to heavy weights for each exercise; the weight should be heavy enough that you can only complete six to 12 repetitions.
Step 2
Work your chest and back muscles together on Mondays. These are the larger upper body muscles, which must be trained before the smaller muscles of your arms to maximize their strength. Pair flat barbell bench presses with one-arm dumbbell rows, incline barbell bench presses with lateral pull-downs on a pulley machine, flat dumbbell chest presses with barbell rows and incline dumbbell flies with seated cable rows on a machine.
Step 3
Train your shoulders on Thursdays. Pair a shoulder exercise with a leg or an abdominal exercise. Include barbell shoulder presses for the front of your shoulders, upright dumbbell rows for the sides of your shoulders and bent-over dumbbell flies for the back of your shoulders.
Step 4
Complete a biceps and triceps workout on Fridays. This gives your smaller muscles time to recuperate from their work on Monday when they assisted your chest and back muscles. Pair dumbbell curls with triceps barbell bench presses, EZ barbell curls with two-arm triceps dumbbell extensions and concentration curls with triceps rope press downs.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep a workout log for each routine, tracking your progress to ensure you are making your sessions challenging. Drink a protein shake one hour before or immediately after your resistance training workout to stimulate protein synthesis. This increases your rate of muscle tissue repair, remodeling and growth, enhancing your upper body strength. Blend two to three scoops or 48 to 72 g of whey protein powder with 1 cup of skim milk, 1 cup of water and one serving of fruit.
- Begin with light weights and two sets per exercise so you do not end up very sore and quit training all together.
Things You'll Need
- Dumbbells
- Barbells
- Bench presses
- Pulley machine
- Weight machines
- Whey protein powder
- Skim milk
- Water
- Apple
- Pineapple
References
- "Personal Trainer Manual"; American Council on Exercise; 1997
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; Thomas R. Baechle and Roger W. Earle; 2000
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