Best way to sculpt upper body fast

workout junkie

workout junkie

Cathlete
I need your opinions. Our office Christmas party is coming up and I'll be wearing a sleeveless dress. What is the fastest way to get some definition in my arms? Would you concentrate more on strength or endurance workouts or both?

In case it matters, I didn't get many workouts in the month of October - between traveling and getting sick. Before that I did a Slow and Heavy rotation. In October, I did a few Supersets and Push/Pull workouts. Now that I'm feeling better and have the time, I've eased my way back into working out regularly and have done MuscleMax twice and Muscle Endurance once. Am considering GymStyles, but since I've lost some strength, I'm not sure I should attempt them before doing some "lighter" workouts.

Thanks to anyone who can advise me. I know we all have different body types, but I'd like to know what works for you.

Melissa
 
If you didn't see great results with Slow and Heavy, you weren't lifting heavy enough...I felt and saw results in 3 total rotations...I've heard that Pyramids are great, too...Though I've only done them on FitTV (condensed version)...

MJ
 
I get the best definition doing the Gym Styles. You can start out light if you haven't done a lot of upper body work lately. Otherwise, another good way to get sculpted fast is to work your upper body three times a week, with an emphasis on your shoulders, triceps and biceps. There's a tank top rotation floating around somewhere on this site that emphasizes working your upper body three times a week and many have sworn to it's effectivenss.

Hope this helps!
 
Does this series work the same as most workouts, it's something you do with your own freeweights in front of the tv, following along?
 
>I need your opinions. Our office Christmas party is coming
>up and I'll be wearing a sleeveless dress. What is the
>fastest way to get some definition in my arms? Would you
>concentrate more on strength or endurance workouts or both?

hi melissa, i would focus on strength. in particular, pyramid upper body. you can't beat 5 sets of each excersise! the pyramid workouts helped me break through a strength training plateau. i gained strength and definition from pyramid upper in a few weeks. i really noticed more definition in my shoulders, back and arms. i love the soreness the next day. give it a try and good luck!

(wow, christmas parties are already being organized.. YIKES)
 
You all have such good ideas, I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to do S&H again, because I recently did that. And although I made strength gains with it and got bigger muscles, I'd like to get more definition.

I guess I'll focus on strength as suggested, and maybe do PUB or GymStyles. I'd love to do P90X, but I think my husband would have a cow if I bought that right now. I pre-ordered Cathe's new series and he said "you need more workouts - how many do you need?" He'll never understand...

Anyhow, thanks for the suggestions and I'm open for more too!
 
I mainly stick to pyramid upper body, and only the pyramid up premix which is 3 sets, and my upper body looks great. And only 1x a week. So I'm not sure you have to spend tons of time on this.
Just go heavy as you comfortably can.

:) bella

ps--be sure to find lots of reasons to elevate your arms and flex slightly during the Christmas party! Find things to point at. This will show off your nice guns! Hehe.
 
> Sorry to butt in on your thread, but what is P90X?


It's a workout system from www.beachbody.com . If you do a search in the "Open Discussion" here, you'll find a lot of threads about it.
 
I'll have to agree with Honeybunch. I added the pushup set from Cathe's GS Chest every other day and got some great shoulder definition in a short amount of time!
 
Hi Melissa,

Well, I hate to offer a differing opinion, but if you want to sculpt without the bulk then box, box, box! Keep excellent form with your punches high, always returning your non-punching arm to guard.

Add some weighted gloves to the warm-ups (KPC, KM)then watch and feel those delts form.

Then through in a S&H, PUB or heavy HSC shoulders only right before a rest day.

You'll see.

X
 
<<And although I made strength gains with it and got bigger muscles, I'd like to get more definition.>>

My $.02: If S&H gave you strength and bigger muscles, but you want more definition, it seems to me you might want to refine your diet and/or add more cardio to reduce fat.
 
Maybe I'll combine everybody's opinions: do some heavy strength training, do some more kickboxing, add more push-ups, become more strict with what I eat...All of that should give me some results quickly, right?

Thanks everyone!
 
>ps--be sure to find lots of reasons to elevate your arms and
>flex slightly during the Christmas party! Find things to
>point at. This will show off your nice guns! Hehe.


Yeah, it's too bad I have to flex to show off some muscle. I'm envious of those who have definition with their arms relaxed. Someday...
 
>Add some weighted gloves to the warm-ups (KPC, KM)then watch
>and feel those delts form.
>

I agree, but NOT with the "weighted gloves during the warm-up" part. Do the warm-ups and cool-downs without gloves, and add them for the main part of the workout, starting with 1#, for about 10 minutes at a time, then adding on as you body gets used to them. Also, don't do this two days in a row.
 
Thanks kathryn - because of you I have the weighted gloves you recommended many posts ago. I haven't done much kickboxing lately, so I will be sure to gradually add the gloves into my workout.

Melissa
 
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