For DBL and any other upper body workout gurus! Advice

[RayKay]

Hope someone can help me, or point me to some sites with some good advice/routines.

 

I am planning on applying for the next round of police force training in for my city's police force. My application deadline is January 6 (which is hassling enough to get everything ready for!), however I have until mid February to do the physical test (POPAT). I have linked the physical test description here if you want to get a better idea of what it involves:

 

umanitoba.ca/faculties/physed/recreation/popat/description.shtml

 

I will be seeing a personal trainer a couple times as well to help a bit with tips and ideas, but want to get started as I won't be able to start that for a couple weeks. I am getting a new gym membership this coming weekend.

 

My current fitness level is actually very good (I have been tested too)...I have very good endurance, flexibility and aerobic capacity..and motivation which is always important too! I am in good shape and don't carry any extra unneeded weight. I am a road/mtn bike cyclist and compete in those, and I also do power yoga, some climbing, some running (I have been looking at getting into adventure racing so have started more cross training). I still swim occasionally. I don't currently do any specific strength training/weights.

 

Where I need to truly improve is in my upper body strength, and also probably in explosive leg power for the mat jump portion of the test. But the upper body part is where I need most help. I am not a big girl by any means (5'4", about 120-125 lbs) and my muscles are mostly all in my legs from cycling!

 

I am hoping you all can give me some good exercises I can do using free weights or other gym equipment to help me with the push/pull portion of the test as well as the torso-bag carry. How much weight should I be using? How often should I go to gym and work upper body? How much time do I need for each session? Keep in mind I have two months only to get an adequate level of upper body strength. I am fortunate in that I am not starting from nothing though!

 

Or if you have any sites that might have good descriptions that would be great! I will still be doing all the cross training I mentioned above as it is important to me, but do really need help with this part!

[CarterJonas]

lol. This has just reminded me of a comedy film called the Animal where the person is trying to get into the police. As he is doing the obstacle course he has to be pushed over a high wall. Quite hilarious when you see it

 

If you do a lot of biking..etc, then aerobically you won't have any difficulties completing this course.

 

What I would do is to make up your own (similar) course and work on this.

 

It says you have to push/pull 35kg, do you have any free weights you could put in a bag or something to practice. I'm not quite shure how you would push it though?

 

The squat and thrust thing and torso sack carrying is also something you could practice on in your back garden or local park.

 

I have every confidence that you will get in and do a lot better than Rob Schneider did. Best of luck

[RayKay]

LOL

 

Thanks Carter,

 

I don't have any real free weights at home but was thinking of getting some soon..if I get a new credit card first! I am unfortunately in some financial strain at the moment, and with christmas coming up, and having to also buy a new climbing harness and shoes..ouch!

 

Thanks for the ideas..not sure I will be going to park though...it is at least -20 Celsius out there right now with lots of snow! I'll find a way I am sure

[JonnyG]

Get the gym 5 times a week. Train body parts like this:

 

Monday: Chest/back/shoulders

Tuesday: Arms- Biceps/triceps

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Chest/back/shoulders

Friday: Arms- Biceps/triceps.

 

Exercises for chest

 

Bench press/ dumbfell flies

 

Exercises for back

 

Reverse fly (traps)/ wide grip pull ups touching bar with back of neck (lats)/ deadlift

 

Exercises for shoulders:

 

See website below

 

 

Exercises for biceps

 

Barbell curls / dumbell curls / hammer curls

 

Exercises for triceps

 

Tricep kickbacks / Cable pull downs

 

 

Great exercise for the whole upper body is press ups. Close grip press ups (hands touching each other elbows facing back) really works triceps and back. Wide grip (shoulder width apart or more) works the chest harder instead of the triceps.

 

 

Exercises for legs

 

U sound like u have some tone already and u just need some more explosion power in them.

 

Leg presses which are great for the Quads. U can also use just your toes to firm up your calf muscles. (good to start with as seat helps keep back straight) / Squats

 

 

U could try a different muscle each day instead of a couple, but u really havent much time. Having said that, try to do 2-3 exercises for each muscle and try not to spend more than an hour there.

 

 

Heres a useful website:

link removed

 

 

Up your protein intake (preferably get a powder supplement), try to get more good calories in you from carbs to boost your energy levels. Get more sleep. Drink more water.

 

 

Word of warning , putting on muscle also tends to put on some fat as u need the extra calories to build muscle and of course the extra calories also tend to add some fat.

[CarterJonas]

-20C and lots of snow, mmm so outdoor activities out of the question then

[RayKay]

Thanks Jonny....5 days might be tough only as I have so much else to do, but I certainly can get to 4 with some trade offs..thanks!

 

Not too worried about the fat part though, I tend to be pretty small, even in past when I did wrestling (and had more muscle mass) I was still quie small. And I don't really need to bulk up - which my body does not do anyway - but just get the strength.

 

Thanks again for tips and the link!

[RayKay]

-20C and lots of snow, mmm so outdoor activities out of the question then

 

Still ski and run. The bike gets put on the trainer, and yes more stuff is done inside definitely!

[DBL]

I only understood part of what they want you to do.

 

You should do some running or fast pace aerobic exercise 3-5 days a week for a minimum of 20 minutes. I wouldn't go past 45 minutes though. Lift weights 3 times a week. You don't want to burn your body out by over working. If your body feels too tired then rest of a day. Nobody recommends working out 5 days week anymore unless they are juiced where recuperation time is faster.

 

I follow two splits usually.

 

Chest/Tricep/Shoulders - Basically doing all upper body pushing muscles on one day.

 

Quads/Hamstrings/Calves - Lower body workout

 

Back/Traps/Bicenp - All your pulling muscles in one day.

 

My other split is to help prevent burnout

 

Chest/Biceps/Shoulders - Upper body parts seen from front/top view.

 

Quads/Hamstrings/Calves - Lower body workout.

 

Back/Traps/Triceps - All muscles seen from the back.

 

Those are done on a one day on one day off basis and two days off after the cycle.

 

 

Exercises:

 

Chest - BarBell Bench Press and Incline DB Bench Press

 

Back - Wide grip Chinups ( eventually weighted) and BentOver Barbell Rows. Most trainers think that wide grip pulldowns are better, but unless they are done properly, you won't get a max benefit. It is hard to cheat with pullups.

 

Bicep - Barbell Curls and Pronated Dumbell Curls.

 

Tricep - Nose Breakers or Close Grip Bench Press and Rope Pulldowns.

 

Shoulders - Dumbell Press, Lateral Dumbell Raises, and BentOver Dumbell raises. The delts are broken into 3 muslces so you need to hit all three.

 

Traps - Dumbell Shrugs

 

Quads - Squats and Leg Press or Leg Extensions. On Leg Ext. you do not want to start with your feet behind your knees like most machines are designed. Studies have shown that is is possible to damage your knee when your feet go behind your knees.

 

Hamstrings - Leg Curls and DumbBell Deadlift.

 

Calves - depends on your equipment...I use the legpress to work my calves, a gym will have several options.

 

Your stomach you can work every day, do crunches and leg raises until you can't do no more. On occasion do some weighted side bends.

 

You can also alternate with other exercises, these are just my staple exercises...I usually throw a little mix in once in a while to shock the muscles.

 

Also when you get a trainer, he may be able to guide you on practicing what you need done for your course. You should definitely fit that in somewhere.

 

As far as sets and reps...Reps for exercises should be between 6-10, sets should be 3-4. Only reason for doing 4 or more sets is because most of us can not destroy our 2b fibers from one set. This is mostly geared to bodybuilding.

 

Some things I disagree with in the other posts. Any exercise that you move behind your neck has potential for injury. Such as behind the neck presses and pullups to behind your neck. This is not a natural thing for the body. I have a year long injury to myleft shoulder from doing behind the neck presses even after doctors and other trainers told me to avoid it. Do these exercises work...heck yeah...that's why I did them...would I do them now that I hurt my shoulder...no I wouldn't.

 

Also another comment was made about not being able to gain muscle without fat, that is only true to some extent. That depends on your diet. You can gain muslce mass without gaining fat. I choose to fatten up myself over winters and then cut back on calories during the summers. Like I said that is only true to some extent. As I have said many times here bigger muscles burn more fat.

 

I would definitely get yourself a quality whey protein powder. I use Optimum. It is cheaper then others and tastes good. I only tried Vanilla though...if somebody used chocolate let me know how it tastes.

 

That should cover your basics. Just ask any questions you may have in specific.

 

Good Luck

DBL

[RayKay]

Wow, thanks for the post DBL! Okay, well I already get a lot of aerobic stuff...I am in winter training mode with the cycling so have cut back a bit, but I actually do do a lot of aerobic, so is that bad? I get about 8-10 hours a week on the bike, about 2-3 hours a week running depending on the week. So the fast pace part is covered at least, as well as the aerobic/cardio parts.

 

3 days/week of weights I can handle.

 

The trainer I am seeing (or will be) actually does specialize in the test I need to take, so next week she is doing a fitness assessment with me, then hopefully the following I can get in for first session, then a couple updates every couple weeks.

 

Also, my diet is quite healthy, I do eat carbs but stick more to whole grain ones, lean proteins, and veggies/fruit as well as lean dairy. As I said I already do do lots of training specific to racing so have learned how to be able to take in 1,000s of calories a day (cycling/endurance racing can be rather exhausting!) without getting fat. I will get some whey protein though.

 

As for the stuff they want to do...the push pull thing is a bit confusing I know. Basically, they have this device that they use to test your ability to control a crowd. You have to lift the weight up with the device and pulling it to hold it up (or something) walk left and right in a controlled arc a few times. Then you do the same thing pushing against the device.

[abcd1234]

Hey RayKay, if you want more info on strengthening different muscle groups then check out some of the articles on link removed , iv found it to be a very useful site!

[SaSaRai]

yes - jonny G knows what he's talking about , thats exactly what I do

[SaSaRai]

ahh yes and dbl's post is vey nice too , they are both good, depends on which one you have more time 4