[Special K]

I broke my femur on Oct. 9th and began doing some upper body weight training after Thanksgiving to try and stay in shape. Does anybody have a weight program that they follow -- specifically for upper body?
Thanks so much,
Kate

 

[manziman]

yea, of course. depends what kind of work out you want...cardio or muscle building..I can give you a lot of good exercises if you can give me a guideline of what you want to do/improve..yea..PM me..

 

[ito]

After I tore my ACL I realized how poor my upper body was. Ended up in the gym and got a decent routine going.

Pretty much goes like this:
Sunday: chest(bench press, incline dumbell, dumbell flies, pushups)
Monday: bi- and triceps(standing barbell, skull crushers, preacher's curl, dumbell curls, close-grip bench press)
Tuesday:Rest(I'd bike or run on rest days)
Wednesday: Back and shoulders(deadlift....get a spotter for this so you do it right, won't not work well with a busted leg...., bent over rows w/dumbells, shoulder/military press, some others that I don't know names of, pullups, back bends)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Legs(this is a good day to focus completely on PT, try to reach a PT goal this day)
Saturday: Rest
Oh and sit-ups, push-ups, and pull/chin-ups can be done every day

Using this program and changing up my rotations and excercises every few weeks I managed to gain about 16-20lbs over 5 months. It's pretty much all muscle as I kept up the biking when possible to keep off the fat and stay in shape.

When you start lifting back down on the carbo loads and eat more protein. It helps muscle mass growth alot. Powder and bars are a great way to go.

As far as reps and sets go, it depends on your goals. If you want weight gain then low reps, high weight will work best. Higher reps and lower weight will give you a leaner frame and build fast twitch muscle(good for cycling). I started out going for mass as I weighed about 124. Once I got into the program and was increasing my max lifting capability I backed off the low reps/large weight and focused on getting cut and riding more. I still gained muscle mass, but at a slower rate and not as bulky, which was my goal. Ended up at about 142, not sure if I'll try to gain more weight, but I will keep weight training. It is a great way to stay injury free and it allows you a way to get a workout when the weather is bad.

Good luck with recovery. I highly suggest getting a training partner and.or going over the schedule with a professional. Let them know your goals and they should be able to tailor a program to you. This was my program and it worked, but everyone is different.

The Ito

 

[genpowell71]

I used alot of dumbbells after I broke my tibia. I did presses every other day and arnolds. Hold the dumbells up at eye level with palms facing you. when ready, move your arms so that they are even with your shoulders and then press upwards. This is done in one motion. Seeing as how your broke the biggest bone in your body I would think that using dumbells would be thebest for you.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Oh and sit-ups, push-ups, and pull/chin-ups can be done every day

Not true. Those exercises work muscles which need rest in between days.

IE: Sit ups works your abs, pushups works your chest and triceps, pull ups work your back and biceps.

 

[SilentJ]

Not true. Those exercises work muscles which need rest in between days.

IE: Sit ups works your abs, pushups works your chest and triceps, pull ups work your back and biceps.

I agree w/ this. I usually do abs every other day and cardio on the days that I don't do abs. Pushups and pull ups are great for the days where you're unable to get to the gym and do a full on workout.

The Ito is right in that consulting a trainer at your gym is a good idea. They can personalize a program for you and your goals.

 

[Heidi]

Hmmm - since I injured my knee, I've been doing situps everyday. I think I am immune to them now. I can now do about 250 before I start to get sore. Perhaps I should add some weight to just my simple situps???

 

[ito]

Hmmm - since I injured my knee, I've been doing situps everyday. I think I am immune to them now. I can now do about 250 before I start to get sore. Perhaps I should add some weight to just my simple situps???

Try swiss ball situps. It incorporates more balance into it. You can also place a weight on your chest or do decline situps(though that puts some stress on your knee). An excercise I really like is to lie down with a small swiss ball between my feet. Keeping your legs straight lift it up and grab it with your hands. Slowly lower the ball to the ground above your head. Using the same motion in reverse put the ball back at your feet. That is one. I can do 3 sets 20 of these on a good day and afterwards it just burns. It is a funny looking excercise, but a great workout.

MtnbikerChk....thanks, I'll modify my routine so I'm not doing those everyday.

The Ito

 

[Heidi]

Try swiss ball situps. It incorporates more balance into it. You can also place a weight on your chest or do decline situps(though that puts some stress on your knee). An excercise I really like is to lie down with a small swiss ball between my feet. Keeping your legs straight lift it up and grab it with your hands. Slowly lower the ball to the ground above your head. Using the same motion in reverse put the ball back at your feet. That is one. I can do 3 sets 20 of these on a good day and afterwards it just burns. It is a funny looking excercise, but a great workout.

MtnbikerChk....thanks, I'll modify my routine so I'm not doing those everyday.

The Ito

Yep, I do those.

My other favorite with the swiss ball is to get in the pushup position but have your feet up on the ball. Then you pull your knees in towards your chest (rolling the ball), and then push them back down to the fully extended position. These burn!

 

[Arutha]

I have heard or read, can't remember, that ab exercises are the only ones safe to do everyday. Something to do with how large they are and how they work. But I would still have rest days. Riding everyday is one thing but exercising sucks.

 

[Arutha]

Here's a tough ab exercise.(at least for me) Lay on a weight bench and grab the supports that the bar sits across so that your arms make a 90 degree bend. You can just do leg raises like this but try it with your butt off the bench too. If you can keep your legs straight and at a 45 degree angle to the bench with your butt/lower back off bench I'd say you are doing well.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

I have heard or read, can't remember, that ab exercises are the only ones safe to do everyday. Something to do with how large they are and how they work. But I would still have rest days. Riding everyday is one thing but exercising sucks.

common misconception.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Hmmm - since I injured my knee, I've been doing situps everyday. I think I am immune to them now. I can now do about 250 before I start to get sore. Perhaps I should add some weight to just my simple situps???

As with everything, it depends. If you are just trying to keep a flat stomach, you are fine doing 250 situps at a time. If you want to grow your ab muscles and make them more defined though, holding some weight on your chest while doing them will help with that. Also, if you are getting bored with situps, try mixing it up with crunches, hanging legs raises, swiss ball crunches or cable crunches.

 

[Heidi]

As with everything, it depends. If you are just trying to keep a flat stomach, you are fine doing 250 situps at a time. If you want to grow your ab muscles and make them more defined though, holding some weight on your chest while doing them will help with that. Also, if you are getting bored with situps, try mixing it up with crunches, hanging legs raises, swiss ball crunches or cable crunches.

Well, I currently do my own little circuit with about 7 different ab exercises - 3 with the ball, leg raises as described above, planks, and then one machine exercise. I guess I just want to keep them defined. What are cable crunches?

 

[SilentJ]

As with everything, it depends. If you are just trying to keep a flat stomach, you are fine doing 250 situps at a time. If you want to grow your ab muscles and make them more defined though, holding some weight on your chest while doing them will help with that. Also, if you are getting bored with situps, try mixing it up with crunches, hanging legs raises, swiss ball crunches or cable crunches.

So,....boobjob?

It sounds like your abs are pretty bored with the sit-ups. I think you might see better results by mixing it up rather than adding weight to sit-ups. See if you can do 250 leg raises either hanging or laying down with a couple pounds of ankle weights. Also, adding too much weight will end up in getting some big muscles which can lead to a big waist. I always make sure to do my obliques and lower back at the same time.

Edit: you done beat me to it Heidi