Upper Body Specialization Program?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey there
Have always been a fan of TNation but have never registerd as i just read it forever and never bother.
sadly im my noob gains time, i scrwed my rotator and as a result didnt do much lifting and had zero clue about training but all has changed since coming on this site.

ive read the dud to stud article but was wondering:

Is there any upper body ONLY specialization program here? none that ive found?

My left knee is quite bad and hence stopped back squatting and sub’d for fronts.pains still there but less. Ditchd fronts as well and do kettlebell fronts as forms easier.
Yes I know training legs is a must etc i love to do them myself, 10x10 and 1x20 being my favourite.

ANYWAYS

The only split i could find on the net was this:

Mon/Thur- Chest-Bacl
Tues/Frid- Shoulders/arms.

Wed/sat - cardio or legs( me cardio or intense cycling)

I wana drop as much a fat as possible.Yes i know its near impssible to do both muscle gain and fat loss at the same time besides noob gains period but yea.

So long story short:

Is that a good routine to follow for a good upper body routine for 4-6 weeks?
Im 84kg now , would need around 10more kgs of to see the abs/get lean. Im not fussed about the 6pack but a decent leannesss.

any TNation experts can help please? CT? Nate?
(p.S ive read almost all the articles on the fatloss routines etc but this is more of a long term routine for upper im asking/ more of a specialized one).

its my first ever post so if ive posted anything wrong/stupid etc please excuse me

many thanks

Alz
NZ

2

There’s an article by hmm either Tate or Wendler I don’t remember off the top of my head, called “6 weeks to a bigger bench” that might be a program to consider. If I remember right it was 1 dynamic bench day and 1 speed bench day then you could use the other days for Shoulders, Biceps and Back. (I think it had a fair bit of Triceps built in to the program)

3

Walk into any gym in america. 99% of the people working out there are following an upper body specialization program.

1 Like
4

Thanks for the insight people.
but im looking for more u know, set stuff. like reps etc

for me ,i was a former skinny guy and still am (just less skinny).But 5x5 is one of the best for me as going to failure takes forever to recover from IMO as its going to hinder the frequency of training.

Here is what ive thought of/ kinda similar to other net programs ( except i ditchd back squats):

Monday/Thursday- Chest/back

Chest
-medium incline- 5x5(increasing weight each set )
Followed by one set of 20
-Hammer bench press- 3x8
-Incline barbell press(or flat)- 5x5

Back-
Deadlifts 3x5
Supine Rows 5x5
Overhand rows 5x5
DB Rows 5x5

Tues/Frid
-Shoulders

Heavy Barbell cleans - up to 5-6 sets of 3-4 cleans

  • Military- 5x5
    -Push press- 3x3 or 5x5
    Dumbell snatch
  • Neutral DB Press( doesnt hurt my rotator that way)

Front/side/bent over raise- circuit- 4xto failure

Arms( i never do them as my right wrist hurts as well but incase)

-Heavy Hammers ( with middle pause CT style)- 5x5
-supine DB curls- 2x10
-Finisher- either 5 sets of machine curls/ rope extensions with 10secs rest-takes around 3mins but insane pump

was wondering is that too much as it seems ok to me when i looked at other programs ?
Also, any exercises people recomend to failure instead of 5x5( I just like to keep it heavy and leave some energy in the tank and 5reps is the sweet spot for that IMO)

MANY THANKS AGAIN TNATION’ERS

5

Let me ask you this. And be honest:

This reminds me a lot of my roommate in college. I was running around 80 miles a week or so at the time, and I would always see him at the gym while I was doing some light supplemental lifting. He was always either using the Smith machine or leisurely using the elliptical. I asked him why in the world he would use the elliptical when he could be running. He replied that he “always” gets shin splints, that he would love to actually run, but he just can’t. So he can never run because of his “bad legs.”

Here’s the thing: he could have been right. Maybe his body is just terribly inapt at running. But I call bullsh** on the whole thing. As with the smith machine use, I’m convinced that he was just afraid of the physical exertion required for actual running. The guy was just a big p***** who was afraid of being left alone with the weights or the road with no machine there as his safety blanket.

So when you say your knee is “bad,” what exactly do you mean?

*This isn’t to say that no one should use elliptical ever–it’s a situational thing. But for average Joe in his 20s who works out but isn’t serious about making progress in the weight room, I strongly feel his a should be outside running.

6

If you’re a kiwi (as suggested by the NZ in the OP), then you should get this bluntness coming from another kiwi.

Harden up, go to the beginner forum, read the stickies, train your ass off, and stop looking for hand-holding.

Kia kaha

7

[quote]DJS wrote:
Walk into any gym in america. 99% of the people working out there are following an upper body specialization program. [/quote]
99% of the guys in my gym are following a biceps specialization program.

8

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
Let me ask you this. And be honest:

This reminds me a lot of my roommate in college. I was running around 80 miles a week or so at the time, and I would always see him at the gym while I was doing some light supplemental lifting. He was always either using the Smith machine or leisurely using the elliptical. I asked him why in the world he would use the elliptical when he could be running. He replied that he “always” gets shin splints, that he would love to actually run, but he just can’t. So he can never run because of his “bad legs.”

Here’s the thing: he could have been right. Maybe his body is just terribly inapt at running. But I call bullsh** on the whole thing. As with the smith machine use, I’m convinced that he was just afraid of the physical exertion required for actual running. The guy was just a big p***** who was afraid of being left alone with the weights or the road with no machine there as his safety blanket.

So when you say your knee is “bad,” what exactly do you mean?

*This isn’t to say that no one should use elliptical ever–it’s a situational thing. But for average Joe in his 20s who works out but isn’t serious about making progress in the weight room, I strongly feel his a should be outside running.[/quote]

Lol
mate
sorry not trying to be rude.
Ive done PLENTY of running for years now.
Hill sprints, HIIT training, done tabata ,
I started the M W F full body 3x/week routine for the first year(best program i rekon still but ive changed alot since then).

So as for the running, no, ive done alot of it and the reason i stopped:
-im flat flooted- which i realised few years too late

  • My dads got arthritis in his left knee and ironically,my left knee is hurting alot since running
  • squatting hurts cos of my imbalance,all the load goes to my rite knee, so that was getting scrwed as well after, left knee also getting hurt.
  • il order orthapedics and get back into running sometime tho def as i love it, def sprinting is a must.

But yea and @Gluteus- ive done good programs already and just am ASKING.

-whats a good upper body specialization? no ones answered.
can someone just help instead of acting all the fukn man etc not being rude

im a REGULAR tnation reader and have read 100s of articles from all the authors.

But yea.
any hints on how I should lay it out??

Thanks

9

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
Let me ask you this. And be honest:

This reminds me a lot of my roommate in college. I was running around 80 miles a week or so at the time, and I would always see him at the gym while I was doing some light supplemental lifting. He was always either using the Smith machine or leisurely using the elliptical. I asked him why in the world he would use the elliptical when he could be running. He replied that he “always” gets shin splints, that he would love to actually run, but he just can’t. So he can never run because of his “bad legs.”

Here’s the thing: he could have been right. Maybe his body is just terribly inapt at running. But I call bullsh** on the whole thing. As with the smith machine use, I’m convinced that he was just afraid of the physical exertion required for actual running. The guy was just a big p***** who was afraid of being left alone with the weights or the road with no machine there as his safety blanket.

So when you say your knee is “bad,” what exactly do you mean?

*This isn’t to say that no one should use elliptical ever–it’s a situational thing. But for average Joe in his 20s who works out but isn’t serious about making progress in the weight room, I strongly feel his a should be outside running.[/quote]

Lol
mate
sorry not trying to be rude.
Ive done PLENTY of running for years now.
Hill sprints, HIIT training, done tabata ,
I started the M W F full body 3x/week routine for the first year(best program i rekon still but ive changed alot since then).

So as for the running, no, ive done alot of it and the reason i stopped:
-im flat flooted- which i realised few years too late

  • My dads got arthritis in his left knee and ironically,my left knee is hurting alot since running
  • squatting hurts cos of my imbalance,all the load goes to my rite knee, so that was getting scrwed as well after, left knee also getting hurt.
  • il order orthapedics and get back into running sometime tho def as i love it, def sprinting is a must.

But yea and @Gluteus- ive done good programs already and just am ASKING.

-whats a good upper body specialization? no ones answered.
can someone just help instead of acting all the fukn man etc not being rude

im a REGULAR tnation reader and have read 100s of articles from all the authors.

But yea.
any hints on how I should lay it out??

Thanks

10

None of us are you. None of us can predict how you will respond to program X or what specific variations you need. None of us can tell you to choose 531, DC, I,BODYBUILDER, beyond random guesswork as we do not know how you are progressing on anything.

We cannot hold your hand for you.

Do the work for yourself (research and training) and use this forum as a resource, not the answer.

If you’ve done good programs, then why are you bothering with such a question, you should be able to figure it out yourself. Otherwise, just pay someone to write out specifics you want for you.