Increasing your upper-body bulk can be beneficial if you're competing in a bodybuilding competition, coming up to the start of sports season or have an event planned that you want to look your best for. Three weeks isn't a lot of time to make any big changes in your physique, but with hard work and dedication, you can make a small difference. According to Christian Thibaudeau, bodybuilder and author of "The Black Book of Training Secrets," the best way to focus on improving a few certain muscle groups is to follow a specialization routine, in which you train your target muscles three times per week, and do just one session for your other muscles.
Bench Press
Start your workout with bench presses. These are a great exercise for building strength and size in your chest, shoulders and triceps muscles. Use a shoulder-width grip and make sure you bring the bar all the way down to your chest, then back up until your elbows are straight again. Corrective-exercise specialist Mike Robertson advises ignoring the temptation to let your elbows flare out during the lift, as this can create excessive strain on your joints, and lead to injury. Perform five sets of five repetitions.
Chinups
Few exercises rival the chinup in terms of building upper-back and arm muscle. Grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip, and your palms facing either you or each other. As with bench pressing, you need to use a full range of motion, and pull yourself from a dead hang, right up until your chin clears the bar. Aim for five sets of five. Use a resistance band for assistance if this is too difficult, or wear a weighted vest if it's too easy.
Military Presses
Many people appear to favor seated dumbbell presses over military presses as a shoulder-building exercise, but according to Charles Poliquin, owner of Poliquin Performance Center, this is a mistake. The military press, also called the standing overhead press, is a great way to target your shoulders, traps and triceps, helps increase your bench press strength, and develops your core muscles. Do four sets of six to eight reps, with as heavy a weight as you can manage with perfect technique.
Other Exercises
After your three main exercises, you can add in any extra ones you like. It would be advisable to perform another back exercise because your back is a fairly large muscle group, so four sets of six to eight reps on barbell rows, dumbbell rows or seated rows would be a good idea. You can also add in extra work for any muscle groups that you feel are lagging behind or need improvement, such as your biceps, triceps or traps. Pick two or three extra exercises, and do three sets of 15 reps on each, but try to keep your workout to no more than an hour.
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