How can you...?

[The_Devil_In_Disguise]

I was wondering, I am pretty fit e.g toned, sixpack, but I am kinda scrawny. Are ther any exercises you can recommend to widen my chest and enlarge my arms? without weights? much appreciated

[Neil]

Hindu squats. Deep breathing will enlarge your chest. Arms you could do handstand push ups.

[Freestyler]

Deep breathing! rofl..

[KickChick]

you may have to do ALOT of deep breathing *cough* *gag*

 

... and Hindu squats are really for developing leg strength and balance.

 

Actually, check out "Left pectorial bigger than the right?" thread here in the Helath & Fitness forum. I mentioned a few sites there you may find helpful in building more mass.

 

Without weights you say?

 

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/mf/weider/061802/bodyweightex1_2.html

[Jack]

Actually Freestyle, deep breathing increases lung power/size and intercostal muscle size, enlarging the ribcage. This gives the effect of a larger chest.

[Jack]

... and Hindu squats are really for developing leg strength and balance.

 

They also develop lung power, the ribcabe will be pushed up, the chest will become more pronounced.

 

Bodyweight exercises, I would recommend the Royal Court. Hindu Pushups, Hindu Squats, and the Back Bridge. Also try handstand pushups, pullups, p-bar dips, and crunches.

[donn0425]

I "grew" a chest and shoulders in 8 weeks at age 18 (gained 40 lbs in the same time) by doing something on the order of 200+ push-ups a day spread out over the entire day. It was called Basic Training.

[will56]

donn0425 What sort of routines did you do to gain that much weight.

 

I'm 18 and need to gain more wieght as I'm too light.

 

Could you post what you did or e-mail me please at william.leech2@mail.dcu.ie

[johnraj]

u don't need to be big to be strong

[donn0425]

Will,

 

There were a number of things involved in that 8 weeks. To start with I had joined the US Army. Prior to going to Basic Training my most strenuous physical activity had been long distance swiming. I also had a few habits that were not really in my best interest (drugs, and only eating one small meal a day) so basically I was scrawny and underfed. Quiting drugs and eating regular probably put at least 20 of those lbs on, but the rest were from fitness training army style.

 

This consited of two 2hr PT (physical training) sessions a day. Both sessions started and ended with about 20-30 mins of streching and warm-up/cool-down (jumping jacks, a few push-ups. LOTS of streching). In the morning it alternated between running (my group ran average of 5-7 miles every other day) and "strength training" wich constied of many reps of multiple exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, running in place, grass drills (nasty form of exercise that the Army believed needed to be done in mud or sand), squat thrusts, and various other exercises that do not involve addition equipment, also assited resistance in the above (doing pushups while your buddy pushes down on your shoulders). On top of the two scheduled PT sessions daily, any time we made a mistake, or the Drill Sargents felt like punishing us, we did addition push-ups throughout the day, on average I was "punished" 5 times a day. The first week it was 10 push-ups and that was difficult for me at the time, by week 4 we were doing 20 push-ups every time we were punished, by the end of the 8 weeks we were doing 25 and it was very easy for me.

 

I don't know if this will help you much, as it took a sadistic Drill Sargent to make me do all of this.