7 Best Upper Body Exercises to Gain Muscle, Lose Fat and Improve Performance
Introduction
The objective of this article is to provide the best of the best upper body exercises for gaining Strength and Muscle Mass, to lose fat and to improve performance. My name is Justin Malaise, I am a Certified Physical Preparedness Specialist (CPPS) and I am also a paraplegic. I was 18 years old in 1997 when a car accident that I was the driver of, lost control and flung me from the vehicle before flipping over several times. I was an active athlete in high school achieving great success in Football, Basketball and Baseball where I loved competition. Since my accident, through working out and lifting weights I have found a great avenue to continue the competitive battle.
My mission is to spread the knowledge I have gained through over 20 years of working out from a wheelchair. As stated above, I am a Certified Physical Preparedness Specialist (CPPS), the training certification created by Joe Defranco, who gained great notoriety in the Physical Fitness arena for being a pioneer in improving athletic performance.. I will take real world, high level athletic training concepts acquired through the CPPS certification and make them applicable to a wheelchair trainee. There is an abundance of information on the internet regarding working out, specific programs and nutrition. Nothing I have found addresses the unique needs of a wheelchair lifter. I have learned a ton from a lot of trial and error and will be sharing this knowledge starting with this beginner EBook and continuing on in a series of follow-up eBooks that will continue to advance in complexity.
This article is a combination of my 20 years of experience of living and lifting in a wheelchair along with the actual knowledge of advanced athletic training protocols gained through the CPPS.
Basic Strength Movement Patterns
For all the fancy videos, websites and magazines related to fitness when it comes to strength movements there are only two main movements. Pushing and Pulling. All movements are a flavor of one of these two main movements or purely an accessory movement that an entire program should not be built around. There are specific muscle groups that apply to each of the main Pulling and Pushing movements that relate to each movement as below:
Pulling
Back
Biceps
Forearms
Traps
Pushing
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Movement Patterns
Building upon the basic Push or Pull there are different flavors of each.
Pulling
Vertical from below
Vertical from above
Horizontal
Pushing
Vertical to above
Vertical to below
Horizontal
This is it. This is not rocket science. When building a program you want to ensure you are hitting each of the 5 movement patterns AT LEAST once per week. If you are focusing more on a specific movement to enhance that skill or improve that area, you may hit that movement up to four times a week.
Exercise Criteria
Before I identify the actual exercises that I believe work great for the wheelchair lifter I want to preface why they are selected. I mostly focus on variations of bodyweight, free weight and compound exercises that hit multiple muscle groups. All of these exercises will also be ones that a wheelchair person can do completely independently while they perform the actual lift, as well as the setup. Very often I lift alone so I have spent A LOT of years seeking variations and methods that allow me to lift A LOT of weight, safely. These movements will also clearly fall into one of the Movement Patterns. These are the best bang for your buck exercises to build Mass, Strength and Power.
Some very high level basics on my lifting philosophy and exercise selection.
Both Arms. Exercises that involve BOTH arms at once are preferred. This is for the fuller body involvement benefits as well as time efficiency. There is a time and a place for single arm exercises as well as isolation exercises, but the foundation of any program should be big, two arm lifts.
Compound Lifts. We want to hit 3+ muscle groups when possible. The amount of time wasted on Isolation exercises is nearly an epidemic for gym goers.
Efficiency. For both time purposes and for convenience. There are a lot of programs online that have the lifter changing the weights after every set. This is F-in stupid for a wheelchair lifter on most lifts as the practice of getting on/off the bench, securing themselves after every set would allow for very little time to actually get work done.
Efficiency cont. I prefer shorter rest periods and rarely rest more than a minute unless I am performing max effort lifts. I want to get in and out of the gym well under an hour as I experience a great loss of performance as the workout stretches past 50 minutes.
Max Effort. I stated max effort above, but in truth I rarely lift any weight that I cannot get AT LEAST 2 reps, if rested, on a given set. The damage to your central nervous system and impaired recovery just do not make MAX single rep attempts worth it. Plus, as wheelchair lifters we still have to live normal life such as transfers, wheeling, etc. These things are impossible if we are SHOT.
Power. Power is the ability to exert force, so Weight x Velocity. By leveraging the raising of our Max Effort ability on the step before, we can then begin applying more velocity.
The Exercises
Below are the absolute best upper body exercises to get crazy strong, build muscle, lose fat, get toned and improve performance!
1) Pull Ups
Pull ups have been called the upper body squat, and I am fully on board! I love pull ups. I think they are the single greatest upper body exercise in existence and ESPECIALLY for wheelchair lifters. The amount of variation you can apply to pull ups whether it is grip (pronated, neutral, supinated), grip width (very wide, medium, narrow), ability to add resistance with weight vests, chains and plates is limitless. Pull Ups are also a closed chain exercise, meaning your hands are stationary and you move the weight towards or away from them which has tested out as being a more optimal movement than moving the weight away from you, or towards you.
Muscles Targeted
Back – specifically the lats, but muscles all over the back get engaged directly or indirectly.
Biceps – no matter what grip you use, biceps will be heavily involved
Forearms – especially if you do high reps or overload resistance, your grip and forearms will get a fantastic workout.
Chest and Triceps - stabilizers
An added benefit of Pull Ups for Wheelers is they involve virtually NO trauma to our backside. If you have been lucky enough to avoid any pressure ulcers, kudos to you! This exercise places little to no additional trauma to that area.
Pull Ups can be used as a strength movement for low reps. They can be used as a hypertrophy exercise with higher reps and time under tension. And they also can be used for muscle endurance. These are a fantastic all around exercise.
2) Dips
Dips are not far behind pull ups by any means as they are also a closed chain exercise and you have nearly as much variety in grip types as well as ability to add resistance with weight vests, chains and plates. Maybe the only thing that puts dips a step back from pull ups is there are a few other really great options for pushing exercises whereas nothing comes close to a Pull Ups for a pulling movement.
Muscles Targeted
Chest – primary muscle and you can get an amazing stretch.
Triceps – no matter what grip you use, Triceps will be heavily involved
Shoulders – a secondary muscle used, but they will be heavily engaged in stabilization
Dips also have the added benefit for Wheelers of involving virtually NO trauma to our backside. If you have been lucky enough to avoid any pressure ulcers, kudos to you! This exercise places little to no additional trauma to that area.
Dips can be used as a strength movement for low reps. They can be used as a hypertrophy exercise with higher reps and time under tension. And they also can be used for muscle endurance.
Finally dips have the amazing progression ability to be done with Rings. While Pull Ups on Rings is not really that much more difficult than a bar, Ring dips is a completely different animal from Parallel Bar dips. These are a fantastic all around exercise.
3) Incline Bench Press
These next two movements are my preferred pressing movements. If you prefer the flat, normal bench press that is certainly fine, but MANY people have MANY issues with the flat bench. The biggest issue becomes shoulder problems that can develop. The second issue can be difficulty engaging their chest. I have stopped regular flat benching for years now because of these two issues.
Incline benches simply feel better on the body. Go with a low incline, something less than 45 degrees. 20-35 degrees is optimal. This slight incline is more optimal for the shoulders and will better target your chest, especially your upper chest.
Muscles Targeted
Chest – primary muscle used, specifically the upper chest.
Triceps – especially engaged at the top end of the range of motion.
Shoulders – along with the chest, the shoulders will the main muscles used from the bottom to the midpoint of the movement but also assist on lockout.
Lats – an amazing thing with both pressing movements is the Lats will be secondarily engaged to help control the weight on the way down. This is where free weight exercises lap using machines.
Incline benches can be used as a maximal strength exercise, hypertrophy exercise, muscle endurance exercise and also work fantastic in dynamic movements where you add chains or bands to increase velocity. When you improve maximal strength along with velocity your increase your power output.
4) Close Grip Bench Press
Everything that applies to Incline Bench Presses as far as benefits also applies to Close Grip Bench Presses except for the order of what muscles get targeted.
Muscles Targeted
Triceps – are the primary mover throughout the movement.
Chest – secondary muscle assisting with the movement.
Shoulders – will engage at lockout and are saved from some undue stress at the bottom of the movement.
Lats – same with Incline presses, help with the lowering of the weight.
Both of these pressing movements work 3 muscles directly during the pressing movement while engaging the lats during the lowering of the weight. That means 4 muscle groups are engaged and working during these exercises, that equates to an AMAZING bang for your buck movement. Close Grip Bench Presses can also be used for all rep ranges as well as dynamic movements.
Note on grip width. Too many people go too narrow on their grip with CGBPs. Your hands do not need to be any narrower that shoulder width. If you go too narrow with the grip you will put too much stress on the wrists. The arc on the CGBP will also begin a bit lower on your body than a regular bench press. A regular bench press typically goes from just below the nipple at the bottom to up above your head. On CGBPs the low point will be a bit lower than your nipple to above your chin in the top position.
5) DB Rows Lying on Incline Bench
This is one exercise that is not set in stone, this is just my preferred version of the movement. The movement itself is a horizontal pull, a row. But there are numerous ways to achieve this. I prefer using a dumbbell while lying face down on a low incline bench. The incline angle can be the same as the low incline. I prefer to do these 1 arm at a time so I can use my other arm to stabilize myself.
Muscles Targeted
Lats – primary mover on the exercise. Works muscles all over the back so just listing lats is a disservice.
Biceps – secondary mover on the exercise. Instead of ever bothering with heavy curls for bigger arms, heavy rows and pull ups will do so much more for the biceps.
Forearms – a real benefit of using dumbbells is the ability to use thick handle dumbbells to engage the forearms even more.
Grip – this relates to forearms but Grip is so important it is worth its own bullet point.
I do not love maximal weight for rows, but they can certainly be used for that range if desired. Rows really excel in the strength, hypertrophy and muscle endurance rep ranges. But are not ideal for dynamic movements with chains and bands. If your gym as a decent plate loaded row machine that could substitute in for this exercise, although those machines will NOT work your forearms and grip as much as a dumbbell or barbell. Those machines can also be difficult to load for wheelers as the plate loading is often too high. Inverted rows are another option but those can be difficult to add weight and also difficult to get setup for us wheelers. In my experience using dumbbells from an incline bench is the best combination of ability to add weight, stability and range of motion.
6) High Pulls
This is likely the first exercise that might be coming out of left field for some of you. This is my preferred trap builder. Shrugs are an option but I have gotten much better results over time with this movement, and this movement also has more athletic application as it is explosive in nature. And for the love of god, if you are using upright rows for your traps please stop, those are terrible for your wrists and shoulders.
High pulls are best done with a barbell lying flat on the ground or in a landmine contraption. You load one side of the barbell with it lying on the ground on your side. You setup to the side of the barbell, grab the end of the barbell with the weight added, and pull up to your armpit in a fast, violent manner.
Muscles Targeted
Traps – The traps get pounded on this movement.
Upper Back – the other muscles in your upper back will be engaged as well.
Forearms – Because you are using the barbell and gripping the wide collar your forearms will get a great pump for this movement.
Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps - Stabilizers
Big, strong traps give you that Yoked look. A person with big traps looks entirely different than a person without them. You can always spot the difference between those that are actually strong and put in real work in the gym vs those that are all Show, no go, by the size of the traps.
This exercise also has great athletic applications as it will improve your ability to do cleans, snatches and other Crossfit or Olympic style movements.
I prefer to do this exercise in lower rep ranges as it can become an exhausting exercise and after 8 reps can get a bit sloppy. For pure hypertrophy on the traps, using this as a strength movement and finishing up with some Lateral Raises with light weights will give you a fantastic all around rep range workout on the traps.
7) Dumbbell Pullovers
This may be another exercise that comes a bit out of left field but the athletic applications of this movement, especially for wheelers, is too fantastic to leave off. If you are a wheeler that competes, or has aspirations to compete, in crossfit competitions or swimming you need to add this exercise in. This movement will greatly improve your swimming, med ball sit-ups and ski erg performance.
Muscles Targeted
Triceps – From the fully stretched position the triceps get an amazing stretch and begin the movement.
Lats – Your lats will help control the weight when raising and lowering.
Chest – Your chest will help from about midway up to lockout.
Abs and Biceps - stabilizers
These are best done as a hypertrophy rep range and muscle endurance rep range. I prefer going with a dumbbell held by both hands around the top of the dumbbell.
BONUS: Rep Ranges Explained
Here I will explain the typical rep ranges for each set and what goal they are geared towards.
Strength
1-5 reps. This really becomes the base you must build if you ever want to get serious about performance and appearance. Everything starts with strength, and increasing your Maximal strength must be a priority. Now this doesn’t mean trying to set a personal best of the 1 rep max every workout. That is what the 1-5 rep range is for. Dedicate 1 exercise per workout to the 3-5 rep range and you are golden. Or at least do this 1 time per week unless you are on a periodized program that has specific strength phases. In that case you will have multiple workouts per week that include a 1-5 rep range exercise, for multiple weeks. Followed by weeks where you may not have any strength rep ranges.
Whatever bucket you may fall into is fine, just do not fall into the bucket where you are never doing 1-5 rep ranges.
Strength and Hypertrophy
6-8 reps. If the 1-5 range is the Meat, 6-8 reps is the Potatoes. This range is really a blend of Strength and Hypertrophy and is something you can literally have included every single time you go to the gym for a lifting session. At this rep range the weight will be challenging enough to build strength, but have enough reps and time under tension to build muscle as well. It will not build strength quite as well on its own as the 1-5 range, and it’s not a pure muscle building range due to the below range having more time under tension, but it really is a 2 birds, 1 stone rep range.
A person could go to the gym and do 3 working set exercises, (exercises that count, and you measure progress against) and only do sets of 6-8 reps forever. They would continue to progress if only doing this rep range more than any other.
Hypertrophy
9-12 Reps. Hypertrophy means muscle gain, so I assume that is among the biggest reasons we see so many programs that have X sets for 10 reps. Which is fine at the beginning of your weight training journey. Or also fine as exercises after strength exercises. The problem becomes this, when you ONLY do workouts in this rep range, you will not get stronger. Meaning you will end up lifting the same exact weight, for the same number of reps. There is no progression. Progress will absolutely stall. Performance will decrease. You will become dissatisfied. You will quit working out.
This rep range is not a fail on its own. It is a fail when it is the only rep range used by the trainee. When blended in with a 1-5 rep range exercise, and a 6-8 rep range exercise, adding in one or two Hypertrophy exercises becomes MUCH more effective.
If you do only this rep range you will get bored, and quit training altogether. If you have been doing only this rep range for a while, I would completely remove it for a period of time. Branch out and use the other three rep ranges and come back to this after a while. And even then add it in sparingly if it was the only range you have ever used.
Hypertrophy/Muscle Endurance
13-20 Reps. I much prefer this rep range to the 9-12 reps. This will also build hypertrophy, but also builds muscle endurance which has a ton of applications. Most of my workouts call for an exercise in the first two rep ranges, meaning I am using fairly heavy weights. So for a hypertrophy exercise I prefer weights where I can get to 20 reps fully rested. I also find this rep range has more athletic applications than 9-12 reps as you are training your muscles to work for longer stretches at a time, especially when you get near 20 reps.
Programs Coming Soon
I will be releasing programs via ebooks geared towards elite athletic performance, specific muscle building techniques among others.
Exercise Examples
To view video examples of these exercises and much more check out my Instagram @wheelchairfit, or the exercises tab from the main navigation.