Having a goal to build muscle without weights can be achieved
with the proper attention to the types of exercise and grouping of the
exercises by body part. An often used practice is to conduct a split
body workout schedule to maximize the rest period of the muscle
groupings. Along this line, let us examine the types of exercises that
focus in developing the upper body. In this article, we will discuss
three key upper body exercises to build muscle without weights.
1. Pushups
The first exercise that we will discuss is the pushup. The pushup is very much equivalent to the bench press for weight training. The pushup exercises all of the arm muscles (bicep, tricep, forearm), chest muscles such as the pectoral muscles, as well as stimulating muscle growth in the upper back. Pushup routines vary in length and duration, and there are several different styles of pushups that you can consider. You can look at the full length pushup with just the hands and toes touching the ground during the routine. You could also do a half pushup where the knees maintain contact with the ground but the arms reach full extension. If you have really good balance, and have developed sufficient strength, you could even consider one arm pushups. The key here is to structure the routine to get the maximum benefit and exhaustion of the arm muscle groups.
2. Chin-ups
The second good exercise for upper body work is the chin-up. You can basically hang a rod and be pulling up with your arms to get your chin up to the bar. That will give you a very good workout for the lat muscles, traps and the whole upper back. As you pull your body weight against gravity, you will get the maximum exertion as you reach the top position of the exercise. As you lower your body, you will experience the full stretchout of the muscles.
3. Plank exercise
The third exercise deals with the core of the body muscles, the midsection, abdomen, side muscles and lower back. The plank position as an exercise without weights gives you the opportunity to build these core muscle groups, which will then provide the support that you need to accomplish a wide variety of exercises.
In short, these three exercises focus on stimulating different parts of the upper body muscle groups. The pushup, chinup and plank exercises will provide your upper body with a challenging workout that peaks the muscles ability and achieve the overload condition necessary to help you build muscle without weights.
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1. Pushups
The first exercise that we will discuss is the pushup. The pushup is very much equivalent to the bench press for weight training. The pushup exercises all of the arm muscles (bicep, tricep, forearm), chest muscles such as the pectoral muscles, as well as stimulating muscle growth in the upper back. Pushup routines vary in length and duration, and there are several different styles of pushups that you can consider. You can look at the full length pushup with just the hands and toes touching the ground during the routine. You could also do a half pushup where the knees maintain contact with the ground but the arms reach full extension. If you have really good balance, and have developed sufficient strength, you could even consider one arm pushups. The key here is to structure the routine to get the maximum benefit and exhaustion of the arm muscle groups.
2. Chin-ups
The second good exercise for upper body work is the chin-up. You can basically hang a rod and be pulling up with your arms to get your chin up to the bar. That will give you a very good workout for the lat muscles, traps and the whole upper back. As you pull your body weight against gravity, you will get the maximum exertion as you reach the top position of the exercise. As you lower your body, you will experience the full stretchout of the muscles.
3. Plank exercise
The third exercise deals with the core of the body muscles, the midsection, abdomen, side muscles and lower back. The plank position as an exercise without weights gives you the opportunity to build these core muscle groups, which will then provide the support that you need to accomplish a wide variety of exercises.
In short, these three exercises focus on stimulating different parts of the upper body muscle groups. The pushup, chinup and plank exercises will provide your upper body with a challenging workout that peaks the muscles ability and achieve the overload condition necessary to help you build muscle without weights.