Truth Behind Upper Body Workouts

Guest post from my buddy Tyler “the Garage Warrior” Bramlett

You crazy kids always love his stuff… Enjoy!…

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Why YOU need to train your upper body with R.E.A.L. Functional Training Movements?

It was just yesterday… I walked through the gym that I work out of and saw the usual scene of insanity…

Goofy side raises done with Barbie dumbbells, people curling empty barbells in the squat rack and a line of people waiting to use the assisted pullup machine.

Now… If this is you, I didn’t write this to offend you…

I wrote this to educate you!!

What if I told you that you were missing the ball in your upper body workouts?

What if I could indeed show you a better way to train that would give you an upper body that looks great and performs even better?

Would you take the 173 seconds it’s gonna take you to read this article to find out how you can rebuild your workouts to give you better results in a shorter period of time?

The rest of this article is gonna be spent teaching you how to build an awesome looking upper body that looks as good as it performs through using R.E.A.L. Functional Training and the Progressive Movement 3 (PM-3) System.

So first of all, what the heck do I mean by R.E.A.L. Functional Training?

Here’s what I mean…

Realistic Exercises

Executed With Perfect Form

At A High Intensity

Leaving You With A Body That Looks Good And Performs Even Better!

 

By switching your workouts from a focus on isolated, single joint movements. To complex, multi joint movements that require strength, flexibility and coordination. You will see a HUGE boost in the way you look, feel and of course perform.

Take your shoulders for example… Imagine if all you did for your shoulders was exercises like side raises and front raises. Do you think you would build a strong, lean upper body?

My bet is on NO!!

Instead, imagine learning how to perform complex upper body movements like the handstand to shape your shoulders. Do you think you would build a strong lean upper body then?

My bet is on YES!!!!

Ok… I know what your thinking…

You just herd me say get into a handstand for your workout and probably thought, “ohhh no way are you getting me upside down!!”

Let’s take it back a notch and I’ll explain to you how I am consistently able to teach people how to go from barely being able to perform a kneeling pushup. To being able to do handstands, one arm pushups and sets of 20 pullups!

Sit back, relax and soak this in because this could change the way you workout for good…

The system I use to get these results id called the PM-3 Method. It stands for progressive movement 3. The reason why there’s the number 3 in there is because I aim to help people progress in 3 different areas. Let me explain these 3 areas and then give you an exact example of how you can apply this.

The first area that the PM-3 Method focuses on is building strength and stability. I’m sure you can agree that getting stronger is a good thing, and when we get stronger not only do we look better naked, but we build our metabolism at the same time.

The next area my PM-3 Method focuses on is increasing your flexibility and “safe” range of motion. Think of it as building control through flexible positions kinda like a yoga/strength combination. This way you can mend injured joints, increase your resilience and improve your posture.

Finally, the PM-3 Method focuses on building balance and coordination. By always focusing on making your workouts a little harder (in terms of movement complexity) you build dense, lean muscles that look great and perform even better!

So what does this all mean and how do you apply this in your workouts?

Here’s a simple set of exercises that you can test out right now to understand EXACTLY what I’m talking about…

Start by trying out the first exercise listed and only move onto the next exercise in the list if you can do a set of 10 good reps.

EXERCISE #1 – The Kneeling Pushup

Come on down to all fours in a kneeling position and give me a perfect set of 10 kneeling pushups, touching your chest to the ground on every rep. If you can easily do 10 good reps, then move on to the next exercise. If not, practice the kneeling pushup 3 days a week until you can do 10 good reps.

EXERCISE #2– The Pushup

Get back down and assume the full pushup position and give me a perfect set of 10 full pushups, touching your chest to the ground on every rep. If you can easily do 10 good reps, then move on to the next exercise. If not, practice the pushup 3 days a week until you can do 10 good reps.

EXERCISE #3– The Extended ROM (Range Of Motion) Pushup

Get back down and assume the full pushup position only this time with your hands on a pair of yoga blocks (about 3-4”) and give me a perfect set of 10 extended ROM pushups, touching your chest to the ground on every rep (enjoy the stretch and added difficulty). If you can easily do 10 good reps, then move on to the next exercise. If not, practice the extended ROM pushup 3 days a week until you can do 10 good reps.

EXERCISE #4– The One Arm Assisted Pushup

Get back down and assume the full pushup position, only this time with your legs slightly wider and one arm out to the side. Give me a perfect set of 10 assisted one arm pushups (5 Right and 5 Left), where you touch your chest to the ground next to one arm while you try to keep the other arm straight out to the side on every rep. If you can easily do 10 good reps, then move on to the next exercise. If not, practice the one arm assisted pushup 3 days a week until you can do 10 good reps.

EXERCISE #5– The One Arm Pushup

Get back down and assume the full pushup position, only this time with your legs slightly wider and all of your weight on just one arm. Give me a perfect set of 10 one arm pushups (5 Right and 5 Left), where you touch your chest to the ground next to your working arm while you keep the other arm behind your back on every rep. If you can easily do 10 good reps, then you probably don’t need me. If not, practice the one arm pushup 3 days a week until you can do 10 good reps.

STOP!!

Do you see where I am going with this? I could go all day showing you harder and harder variations of a basic exercise like the pushup. Each variation gradually building your strength, flexibility and coordination at the same time!

You may think a one arm pushup or a handstand for that matter is out of the question but you can do something. And if you understand how to use these principals, you will build a body that looks good and performs even better!!

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Thanks Tyler – as always, great content sir.

Use the PM3 Method and Build a rock solid upper body here

Tags: the best upper body workouts, upper body workouts