Hello everyone,
this is my first post and I’ve got to say this is an amazing site! I enjoy the articles and been reading on the forums to find an amazing community!
So let start this with a question I have on my mind which I couldn’t figure out yet:
“Is there something similar for the upper body that is like the 20 rep breathing squat for the lower body?”
I seem to be very lower body dominant as I can just pound away on squats and deadlifts and everything just grows. Same goes for back work but everything thats pressing just plain sucks.
Especially my bench press is only progressing whenever I gain some weight, so it stays at bodyweight for around 5- 6 reps. Which is actually fine because I know how weak I started.
So after reading John McCallums “Keys to progress” I’ve been experimenting with 20-rep squats @ body weight and above after my general strength work for legs. I love 'em but hate 'em and I think everyone who tried them knows what I am talking about.
As I progressed very well on these I was wondering if there is something that I could do for my pressing movements which might have the same or at least similar outcome.
What I did so far are some back-off sets after bench pressing.
3x5 work sets followed by 5x10
5x10 because, well 1x20 just felt way to easy.
The funny thing is my chest seems to grow but I want to get stronger.
I played around with various techniques, grips, width, rep and set themes and so on and I have found that a powerlifting style works best for. Training chest twice a week also helped.
I know a bodyweight bench is considered anything but weak but its also nothing big.
I’m currently doing a McCallum routine. In Keys to Progress, he describes weighted dips as basically the upper body squat, just not quite as good.
For upper body, for me, I seem to be getting a lot out of weighted dips and behind the neck press. Obviously don’t do the 2nd if you don’t have the flexibility for it. I’d replace it with overhead press in that case.
Since you have Keys to Progress, read the chapter on Parallel Bar Dips, and also read through all four of “The Super Bulk and Power Thing”. That’s the program I’m currently doing.
I didn’t like dips; they felt awkward and uncomfortable in my sternum and shoulders, but once I built up to bodyweight dips and started adding weight – namely, once all the stabilizers figured out the movement pattern – they seem to be an excellent exercise.
For some reason my original topic name was changed…
I did weighted dips in the past and they worked very well but mostly on my triceps.
Behind neck press is something I started couple month ago because of McCallums book, had to do some mobility work and started very light.
Right now I do them after the over head press, very controlled or in ‘strict style’ as McCallums calls it and in the 8- 12 rep range.
Love that exercise and my over head pressing strength went up since I do them.
But my original question was more towards something equally brutal and “proven” like breathing squats.
What I have tried so far is this:
Bench press, couple warm up sets, 3 straight sets of 5 reps and then a set with a given weight for 20 reps.
The problem was that if I take a weight thats heavy enough to be as taxing as the squats I either cant finish the set without running the risk of injury or I am simply to fatigued to complete it.
Weight to light and it is not having that of an effect.
With the Squats it just works, take your bodyweight, squat 20 times, grow.
The reason why I asked the question is, that I can’t be the first to have thought about that.
Something similar to the 20-rep breathing squat. But for the upper body.
I love dips. If you aren’t getting pec stimulation try leaning forward as far as you can. You could even try a planche or feet elevated push-ups to really get the pecs.
[quote]Borderliner wrote:
I did weighted dips in the past and they worked very well but mostly on my triceps.[/quote]
Try using wider bar spacing and leaning forward then. Basically the decline bench movement pattern. Works for me, has worked for many others, might not do a thing for you.
[quote]But my original question was more towards something equally brutal and “proven” like breathing squats.
What I have tried so far is this:
Bench press, couple warm up sets, 3 straight sets of 5 reps and then a set with a given weight for 20 reps.
The problem was that if I take a weight thats heavy enough to be as taxing as the squats I either cant finish the set without running the risk of injury or I am simply to fatigued to complete it.
Weight to light and it is not having that of an effect.
With the Squats it just works, take your bodyweight, squat 20 times, grow.
The reason why I asked the question is, that I can’t be the first to have thought about that.
Something similar to the 20-rep breathing squat. But for the upper body.
Any thoughts are highly appreciated![/quote]
I see what you mean. I don’t know of anything.
As far as great, generalized, upper body mass builders… there’s dips, there’s BTN press, there’s standard overhead press, there’s weighted muscle ups, there’s snatch grip high pulls… but programming wise, I don’t really know anything that works quite as simply as the squats do.
Maybe you could try what you were doing but as soon as it feels unsafe just jump on push ups to continue safely(maybe elevated feet) or finish with a machine(again for safety).
This might seem obvious but if you’re not naturally gifted with a strong bench you need to work it both smart and hard. You need a real progressive strength program which includes enough volume and frequency to give you the necessary stimulus to get stronger. Something like sheiko, which uses high % but submaximal weights, frequently and in great volume to induce fatigue would be an option, but certainly not the only one.
I dont think you’re going to find a similar “all round” upper body movement in the same way as squats. One reason is that the muscle groups and whole-body stress are smaller. Push-press while not strictly an upper body only movement might approximate what you’re after, done heavy and for fairly high reps.
I always had a very difficult time feeling dips fully in my pecs. This always bothered me as the old school bodybuilders of the 50’s and 60’s all relied on the movement and had thick full pec development.
What I found that helped me a bit, was to stack a few 45 lb plates under one end of a flat bench, and create a low decline angle. The typical ‘welded in place’ decline bench allowed me to move a ton of weight, but never really felt the deep stimulation that this ghetto set up did. I kept this movement from '09 to last year, and if you look at my contest pics, my pecs, especially the lower region improved quite a bit.
(still a weak point, but progress none the less!)
Yeah, something like ‘breathing bench’ isn’t going to workout like breathing squats. You could could do something like rest-pause sets, but Breathing Squats work because number one your legs can take a LOT more then your chest/triceps can (I mean legs are literally half of your body). AND the Squats, when you lock out and catch your breath, you’re actually giving your legs a ‘break’ as the weight from the bar is being distributed across your upper body and such. Holding a BB over you during a press to catch your breath isn’t going to have the same effect on reducing the fatigue.
I would look at what Stu said, Decline Bench being a GREAT movement to hit the chest. And if you wanted something similar to the high rep squats for upper body, maybe do Strict Press for about 10 rep max, and then push press reps until you get to 20? Just and idea.
