Torso needs a lil bit of widening

[seize_the_pattern]

Hi,

im pretty tal but also rather thin,which makes makes kindof gawky. Gawky - that what you call it in English? Dutch is my mother tongue and the word is "Slungelig" which exactly describes the thing I have.
Like my limbs are swining loose and when I walk I tend to walk kindof dorky.

Now me and my friend where out in a city recently and he reminded me of all that. I noticed that my shoulders are sort of disproportionate. Not sort of: very.
I have the kind of body that has the potential of being sort of massive in the positive way, especially if my shoulders were more wide.

Which exercises do put most emphasis on shoulders and chest?
I dont mean to get into developing muscles and going to the gym and all that, just something I can work my with of shoulders with.

Thanks

 

[medik167]

I would work on some push-ups, chin-ups, and pull-ups for starters if you don't want to get into a gym. If you really want to change your physique though, I would look into at least investing in some dumbells.

 

[seize_the_pattern]

Dumbells are definately an option.

Are there any alternatives to chin ups and/or pull ups? There is nothing here I can pull myself up to.
Push ups are standard of course.

Thank you

 

[StringShredder]

You need to work the shoulder muscles, the deltoids. The deltoids are an extremely important part of the physique. Well-developed deltoids broaden the shoulders, and create an appearance of power.

The shoulders consists of bands of muscle, divided into three main sections: the front, side and back -- or anterior, lateral and posterior deltoids. The lateral deltoids contribute to a wide silhouette viewed from the front or back, but you have to develop all three bands to look good from every angle.

The front deltoids are synergists during the bench press. You might find that this is adequate. When you do an incline bench press, they are involved more, and to isolate them even better, do military presses with dumbbells or with a bar either behind the neck or in front. I find that the bench and inclined press are adequate for me now.

The rear deltoids are an area that a lot of guys ignore, because they don't see them in the bathroom mirror! The ways to work them are not obvious. They are activated quite well during a narrow-grip pulldown, or seated row with a narrow grip. Then there are bent-over row exercises where you pull a weight up to your chest while bending forward. Lastly, there are ways to isolate the rear deltoids with cable pulls. Get down on your hands and knees, situated such that the cable comes to you from the side opposite to the deltoid that you want to work. Then pull on the cable as if you were throwing a frisbee; you should feel that rear part of the shoulder doing the work of extending the arm against the resistance. When you do the set, switch to the other arm, of course. I personally get a good burn in the rear deltoids just from a narrow-grip lat pulldown. When I press on the rear-deltoids with the fingers the next day, I can feel a bit of soreness, so I know they are being worked.

Lastly, the important lateral deltoids, for width and that ``teardrop'' shape. These muscles are worked well with lateral raises. Stand straight and lift dumbbells sideways, trying not to rock back and forth or cheat with other muscles such as your triceps. Your elbows should not be completely straight, just slightly bent. Use light weights: try starting with 50 to 60 percent of what you use for biceps curls. Lift slowly, and just to shoulder level, no higher. Hold the weight there for a brief moment and slowly lower. Lateral raises are a tricky exercise where you can't cheat much or use ``explosive power'' and all that. Other than that, again, cable pulls are useful. The exercise is similar to the rear-deltoid one, except you are standing up. Grab the cable in front of your stomach somewhere, and extend the arm sideways against the resistance. My gym has a nice dual cable pull machine, but I stick to the lateral raises.

Here is the current state of my right deltoid:

http://xs404.xs.to/pics/05126/pose-5-shrunk.jpg

Note that I'm a long-distance runner, not a body builder. I run 60 miles a week, and do weight lifting only once a week! I'm doing all I can to avoid becoming massive, and just have enough upper body mass to look good. Too much mass slows you down. Too little mass is ugly and also slows you down: you need some upper body in order to run efficiently, and also to fight hills.

 

[seize_the_pattern]

Kick Ass Dude!

Your exactly on the ball with your exellent post! Honestly I mainly want this for appearance and looks. I always hated the idea of working out for looks, but since I got into this stuff I realize how much I would benefit with a few adjustments here and there.

How long did it take you before you started noticing changes in appearance shoulderwise?
Since im not a runner, Ill benefit immensely if I put my main focus there and have it build rather quickly, right?

DO you know any website that shows these movements. I have fair good idea and I know what muscles you mean, but those terminology isnt really familiar with me.

Let me get into some research in the meantime,

Once again,

Thank You very much

 

[StringShredder]

Originally posted by seize_the_pattern
Kick Ass Dude!

Since im not a runner, Ill benefit immensely if I put my main focus there and have it build rather quickly, right?

The running doesn't matter. See my new thread ``Myth: endurance exercise makes you scrawny''. Building up muscle is about working it, giving it rest and taking in lots of protein.

(In fact, guys who are ``slow gainers'' typically need to cut down on the workout frequency and maybe reduce the number of sets too).

When you are lifting, it's important that the muscle be under at least 36 seconds of tension during the set. It's that time under tension that leads to the breakdown and regrowth. Of course, the tension itself has to be great enough too. You want to lift until you get to the point that the weight you are handling temporarily just about becomes your one rep maximum due to the gradual weakening on each lift, but you don't want to get to that point before at least 36 seconds are up. So if six reps takes you there, you have to spend six seconds doing each lift, like two seconds up, four seconds down. Most people will do six reps way too fast, and basically just end up training their neuro-muscular coordination for peak strength. So this is where the 8 to 12 rule comes from for muscle gains; people are more likely to get enough quality tension time if they do more reps. There is nothing all that magic about the rep counts. Your individual muscle sarcomeres are firing independently: they expand and contract many times during just one motion of the muscle. The sarcomeres are not counting reps; they don't ``know'' what the limb as a whole is doing!

I forgot to mention in that other thread I started that one trick I used to avoid too much muscle gain was to do low reps with a high weight, with sets that were usually too short (less than 36 seconds). If I suddenly wanted to beef up, I'd do three things: work out twice a week, use slightly lower weights and ensure I put in some 40 seconds on each set just to be sure, and stuff my face with protein. Haha. And of course, I'd keep up all the running and diet, which would take care of staying ripped.

 

[Lifeforce]

I'd recommend some massbuilders like military presses and upright rows. Be careful with the latter though because you can hurt your shoulders if you lift it too high. Go just above the nipples, not up to your chin if you do it.

These exercises will build the front and lateral deltoid. Posterior deltoids is activated much in back work, but you can build it up with bent over lateral raises.