Tips on building upper body strength

Can someone please tell me some tips on how to build my upper body strength? I can't seem to build it up very much. If any of you guys could tell me, that would be great. Thanks

A lot of complete push ups and pull ups. Really take your time and go for quality over quantity.

emphasis on complete, when i was down in Benning they wouldn't count the push up until you practically had your nose or chin touching the ground. if your looking into getting into the military i highly suggest you find out what you branches/jobs passing PT score is and make sure you can destroy each one, even with the time constraints.... before you go. people say they will build you but man it will be so much easier on you if you can take that out of the equation.

Alright thanks guys. I just got to the point where I can barely do one pull up (which I am happy to accomplish as I wasn't able to do one before.) So since I can finally do a pull up, I assume I will be able to get stronger easier?

thats great man i used to be able to do about 30 now i cant do any. just have to build your way, do 1 and maybe hold for 60 seconds then slowly lower yourself, if you can do 1 you can do 2 just gotta build it up. thats why i have to do again one day. but yeah man im glad your trying to better yourself takes discipline.

If you're too weak to do pull-ups there is another way to kind of build up to it. Doing Australian pull-ups is the way I did it; you place a bar lower than your hip and get under it in an inverted push-up like position where your heels touch the ground, your body is straight and you just pull yourself up from down under. You can check with google to see how it's done. And I agree with Sgt. Payne, when you do a pull up if you can't do anymore try to hold it and slowly lower yourself. Doing handstands are also a good way to get some upper body strength. Find a wall and kind of walk up to it where, in the end, your belly is facing the wall. At first, just try to keep your posture and then you can start moving sideways, doing shoulder touches and handstand push-ups.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'm trying to get to the point where I can pass the PFT for ROTC class so I can be eligible for promotion by the end of this school year. What can I do to help build the muscles that crunches use? (Besides doing more crunches lol.)

I've been trying to set a goal to be able to do a full pull-up, thanks for the tips, all.

Well, here's my old work out routine:

Note: this routine is for building muscle and mass if you wanted to play linebacker. This workout isn't for beginners, mind you. If you're a beginner (i.e., one who has perfected his or her form over a period of about 4-6 months), then you should be using a beginner's routine that teaches you proper form for each lift. Those usually looks something like this:

Phase 1
Bench: 3x10 at a weight that gives little resistance (you might even be benching the bar depending on your ability and strength)

Squat: 3x10

Deadlift: 3x10

Military Press: 3x10

Clean 3x10 (clean is a little dangerous, so you could easily injure yourself. If you decide to do clean, then you should have a trainer observe your form unless you want to seriously injure yourself)

Advanced: these lifts are low rep but high intensity. You should be using weights that require a spotter. Finally, each progressive rep within a set should increase in weight by about 2.5 to 10 pounds.

Week 1: You can work upper and lower body during the same work out or you could do one day of upper body and one day of lower body. If you work your upper and lower body on the same day, you must take a day off for rest.

Phase 1
Bench Sets:
First Set: 3 reps
Second: 3 reps
Third: 3-10 reps (until exhaustion)

The same counts go for every free weight you do (e.g., bench, military press, squat, deadlift, and clean).

Phase 2:
You can use machines or free weights, but you'll do 3 sets of 10-12 reps each for each body group at a weight that's comfortable but provides resistance. There are exceptions for some of these lifts thought (e.g., dips).

Week 2:
Phase 1
Bench, deadlift, clean, squat, and military press will be done in sets and reps as follows:
Set 1: 5 reps
Set 2: 5 reps
Set 3: 5 reps
Set 4: 5 reps
Set 5: 5-10 reps (until exhaustion)

Phase 2
Same as Week 1/Phase 1

Week 3:
Phase 1

Set 1: 1-5 reps
Set 2: 2-5 reps
Set 3: 3-5 reps
Set 4: 4-5 reps
Set 5: 5-10 (or until exhaustion)

Phase 2
Same as above.

Note: some of your lifts during Phase 1 can be varied from week to week. For example, you might do flat bench on week one and two, but elect to do incline bench on week three. Furthermore, you shouldn't need to use dumbbells if you've done those free weights because you've worked most of your muscle groups - one exception are biceps, which can be included in phase one with dumbbells.

As for diet: eat meat (especially beef). Don't be a pussy and drink that stuff from GNC.

FYI: there are numerous weight lifting routines on the internet. The one I posted above is more or less the 5x5 routine with some differences.

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