Health and Wellness

The Secrets To Improving Your Upper Body Strength

Building the upper body is something that many men are keen to do, and it is easy to see why. Having a good muscular upper body frame can work wonders in terms of making you feel more manly, masculine and look more in shape.

However, it is also true that the majority of men do not really fully know how to build their upper body strength. As long as you gain a basic understanding of how to do it, you will be surprised at how quickly you can see the results you would like to see. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some must-know facts about developing the upper body.

During any exercise, there are two major parts: the concentric and the eccentric. Put simply, the concentric portion of the lift is the raising motion itself, while the eccentric is the resulting, releasing portion. Most people put most of their energy into the concentric, but the most effective way to develop muscle is to focus instead on the eccentric. There are many ways to ensure that you do this properly. If you are carrying out a push-up, for example, make sure that you control the descent more rather than the ascent. Slow it down and really feel the burn at this point, as that is where the magic is really taking place.

 

During a pull-up, likewise, focus mostly on prioritizing the release motion, for the same reason as stated above. This might only seem like a small change, but you would be amazed at what a difference it can make overall. By making this small change, you will develop muscle and strength much faster, so it is definitely worthwhile taking this simple change on board.

Use The Right Equipment

 

Often, it might be the case that you are doing exactly what you should be doing, but you’re still not quite getting anywhere. This can be incredibly frustrating, but there are always simple solutions. One is that which we mentioned above, and that is worth taking on board. But you might also be able to make huge strides simply by changing up what equipment you are using. Using the right equipment can make all the difference in the world, so it is worth ensuring that you have the best possible item for the job. But how do you know that you have the best piece of equipment for what you are trying to achieve?

One way is to ensure that it is built specifically for the exercise at hand. You will want a good quality Pull Up Mate for your pull-ups, the right weights for your lifts, and a rowing machine that actually fits with your body size and strength. If you don’t have equipment that works for you, then it is highly unlikely that you will be able to improve your strength at the rate that you would hope. Clearly, this is both a simple solution and one which is too easily overlooked. Make sure you don’t make the mistake of having the wrong equipment, but rather treat yourself to that which really works for you.

The Value Of Goals

Having goals is hugely important for any fitness regime, and building strength and muscle is no different. If you want to improve your upper body strength as much as you can, then it will help hugely if you have a lot of goals along the way which you know you are aiming for. Just having those goals there can make all the difference in the world, so it is definitely worthwhile. A good way to make them more concrete and set them in stone is to get yourself a diary, and track your progress along the way. You should mark dates in your diary for when you hope to achieve your specific smaller goals, and that way you can keep closer track on how you are really progressing. This is a remarkably simple and effective way to improve your upper body strength much faster.

 

Pay Attention To The Different Muscle Groups

You should try to avoid making the common mistake of thinking that the upper body is all one thing. You will need to pay attention to the different muscle groups, and work on them individually, in order to build your upper body strength on the whole. This means working on the arms one day, the chest the next, and the abdomen and torso the next. As long as you are paying attention to the different parts of your body in this way, you can be sure that you are really doing everything you need to in order to improve your overall upper body strength. Pay attention to every muscle that counts, and you will see results much sooner.

Know Your Diet

It is important to know the ways in which diet affects your ability to train, as having this understanding can massively improve how well you are able to build muscle in your upper body. There are some essentials to your diet which you will want to pay particular attention to in order to ensure you are building muscle as well as possible. Let’s take a closer look at what that might actually entail.

 

You should ensure that you are mostly eating whole foods, as these are what your body needs in order to build muscle most effectively and for a longer lasting result. Whole foods is essentially anything that is naturally grown, so stick to fruit, vegetables and meat and you should be fine. You’ll also need to ensure you are eating enough protein in order to actually build that muscle, but it’s not as much as you might think. Generally, around 110-140 grams of protein a day is plenty for muscle building. As long as you are doing this, you should find no difficulty in building upper body strength and muscle in a short space of time.

 

Follow the above, and you will be well on your way to building much more upper body strength and muscle.

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