Great Upper Body Workout

Well then, you've come to the right place. What I'm about to show you will chisel, sculpt and shred your torso without you having to lift any weights..."Impossible," you say.

For the longest time the thinking was that an upper body workout had to rely on lifting weights and using machines. Not so; at my training center, Leriken Functional Fitness, we sculpt physiques with the use of body weight exercises and circuit training.

I'll show you how to get the same results as my clients and I won't even charge you the price of a membership. You'll see the results every time you look in the mirror.

This upper body workout won`t just build your chest muscles (pectoralis) but also your shoulders (deltoids), triceps, back and your core, and you won't have to use a pec deck. We'll use a circuit training format with several different exercises that should be performed one after the other, with no rest in between.

The push-up is the launching pad for this upper body workout, and we'll use different variations of it for this session (go to the push-up link for a more detailed explanation on push-ups) to work the muscles in different ways and to keep your body guessing .

The first program should be 2-3 days a week, and make sure you leave one rest day in between sessions.

Upper body workout Program 1 will have 5 exercises labeled from 1 to 5, and upper body workout Program 2 will have 5 exercises labeled from 6 to 10.

Program 2 can be done 3-4 weeks 2 days a week, and don't forget the rest day in between.

Program 1: Fat Burning and Endurance

1. Plank into push up- Assume the plank position and explode into the push-up position. Crank out five regular push ups. Repeat this process for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds move on immediately to exercise 2

2. Plank into closed grip push-up- Get back into to the plank and explode into the push-up position. This time use a closed grip in order to work the chest and the triceps. Again, repeat for 15 seconds and then move on to exercise 3.

3. Plank- Hold the plank position for 15 seconds. This is our rest. After 15 seconds move on to exercise 4.

4. Hindu push ups- Get into the normal push up position. Spread your legs so that your feet are wider than shoulder width apart. Make sure that you butt is higher than your head.

After you descend with your head and shoulders bring your butt down. Your pelvis should be almost touching the ground, your back is arched and you should be looking up at the ceiling (if it sounds a little confusing go to the push-ups link to see the instructional video). Repeat for 15 seconds and move on to exercise 5.

5. Shoulder press on stability ball or chair- If you don’t have a stability ball you can use a chair. Get into the pike position with your toes on the ball or chair. You should look like the letter L on its side (view the video at the bottom for more details). Crank out shoulder presses for 15 seconds then return to exercise 1.

Program 1 will help to build endurance and prepare you for Program 2. Program 2 will work on developing strength and power.

Program 2: Strength and Power

6. Alternating horizontal shuffle push-up- Start in the regular push-up position, hand shoulder width apart. Do one push-up. Now, when you return to the `up` position bring your hands in and do another push-up. Return to the out position and do another push-up. Continue doing push-ups and switching hand position for 15 seconds then move on to number 7.

7.Plank- 15 seconds, then move on to exercise 8.

8. Alternating vertical shuffle push up- This is similar to exercise 6 except instead of your hands moving from side to side they’ll be shuffling in and out. Start in a regular position then move your left hand about 1 foot in front of you then do a push-up. Return to regular position. Move your right hand about 1 foot in front of you. Do a push-up then return to regular position. Keep alternating position for 15 seconds, then move on to exercise 9.

9. Plank- 15 seconds then move on to exercise 10.

10. Clapping push-ups- Start in the push-up position, body raised, arms straight but not locked. Go down for a push up and explode up and clap your hands, repeat for 15 seconds.

Perform Program 1 exactly as shown. Once you've completed all the exercises do active rest for 60 seconds--light jogging on the spot or a shuffle for example. Don't go into a full-out sprint, just go nice and easy, just enough so that your heart rate doesn't drop too low. Once 60 seconds is up start Program 1 again. Do this for a total of 3 times.

Program 2 should be performed exactly as shown. Once you've completed all of the exercises, rest. This time it`s passive rest so a slow walk will do, and the rest period will be 90-120 seconds. Perform Program 2 for a total of 3 times.

This is really important so listen up:once your form starts to break stop the exercise and rest. It does you no good to do these or any exercise with bad form.

So the first time you do any exercise, if you can only do a couple of them with great form then that's fine, you'll work your way up to doing them all if you stick with it, guaranteed.

Once you've done program 2 for 3-4 weeks you can you start putting together your own programs by mixing and matching from the list of 10 exercises, and you might even have some of your own to add. Try 1,6,4,3 for example, or try to run through all 10, any combination you want.

And here's small piece of advice: Know your goals for your training sessions.

If you want to burn more fat and build endurance your upper body workout should have more exercises from Program 1. You can shorten your rest periods, you can add more active rest, you can change the type of active rest from jogging on the spot to skipping.

If you want to build more strength and explosive power choose more exercises from Program 2. Increase the amount of time you can work while keeping good form, and increase the rest periods.

When working strength and power you want to make sure that you're well rested so that you can do each set with maximum effort.

So there you have it, a simple upper body workout to build a great looking physique, and the tools to start building your own training routines tailored to your own goals, so get off the couch and start building your own upper body training program and get started on the body you want to have.



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