What is an effective way to work out your chest and upper back (area around the shoulderblades)?

Question

And shoulders - I couldn't fit it in the question.

and shoulders and lower back?

Answer 1

Assuming you have access to a gym, the best way to work your chest is with pressing exercises -- mostly bench presses. I like to do exercises on the decline, incline and flat benches with a barbell or a dumbbells.

The shoulders are made up of three areas: the front, middle and rear. The middle are generally the most noticeable and will grow by lateral extensions or shoulder preses. I get a light of mileage off of the Smith Machine shoulder presses. I also hit my rear delts heavy as they can get weak with too much bench pressing.

For sample exercises check out:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

Also, consider picking up an issue or two of Muscle and Fitness. They generally have a variety of good exercises that you can do both at home and in the gym.

Good luck.

Answer 2

From experience, I learned that the bench press is by far the most effective way to develop the chest muscles. Basically, the explanation involves the synergistic interplay between various muscle groups throughout the movement. A wide grip is best, but be careful not to stress out your wrists.

The big problem is that the supraspinatus tendon, which is a rotator cuff tendon, takes a beating when you do a bench press. This tendon entends fom your back muscles, inserts between some bones, and smacks against a ligament every time you do a bench press. So never do more than one maximal-weight set for a bench press. Trying this stunt caused me immense heartache, which eventually led me to quit the bench press altogether.

It is important that you emphasize your "core muscles," i.e., your back muscles. One sports physician (and I saw plenty of doctors) informed me that my problem was that I needed to do more work on my upper back. This did work, but I still learned that once I developed the supraspinatus problem, it was permanent, so I really needed to stop trying to be a "bad, tough dude."

For the upper back, I did many bent over rowing sets. When you do these, make sure your upper arms are at about a 45 degree angle with your body to prevent supraspinatus impingement problems. Some people recommend also doing lat pull downs. The problem with this is that this excercise involves some impingment of the good old supraspinatus tendon.

I also learned from experience that too much weight training can lead to premature osteoarthritis. Believe it or not, studies show that heavily muscled people are far more likely to develop osteoarthritis at a young age than are thin people. Try to emphasize cardiovascular exercise.

These excercises are all great for the shoulders. For the lateral deltoids, I recommend simply lifting dumbells directly to the sides, with your arms straight. The military press is also good, but it can be dangerous because sometimes the back bends, and this eventually leads to devastating results.

[For the lower back, do not do deadlifts, please! These will only lead to later injury. Lie, with your face down, in the supine position, and lift yourself upward.

Don't try to be a bad dude or dudette.]

Answer 3

My ideas? Try to do 200 minutes of cardio a week. Remember fat does not turn into muscle, so you need to lose your fat while putting on muscle. Work hard, but don't over 60 minutes at a time. Do planks and other abs exercises on alternate days.

On training days, do 5-10 minutes of cardio to warm up, then do your weight training. Do 30 to 60 minutes more of cardio, then go home.

The best time to eat is just after your workout within an hour when your metabolism is raging. For your muscles, incorporate some isolated soy protein or whey protein. Whey is more potent but the soy tastes better!

Don't look at your scale as the be all and end all, but get a measuring tape to check your progress, and that will show more tangible results.

Read magazines like Shape, Womens Fitness, Fitness, etc to get tips and to stay motivated.

Good luck and stick at it. This plan has lost me 20 lbs in 12 weeks so far, just go for it!

Answer 4

PUSH UPs.

life stinks!!