Developing a Balanced Upper Body Training Programme

Ok so I posted a few days ago on developing a balanced lower body training programme (check it out here:http://www.hullstrength.blogspot.com/2011/12/developing-balanced-lower-body-strength.html). So as you might be able to guess i'm about to write a post on developing a balanced upper body training programme. For me it seems more simple to develop a balanced upper body training programme but hands up whose seen this guy in the gym before:

Yup its gorilla posture guy, but why does this occur and how can we avoid it? Well to start off with the more technical term for gorilla/hunchback posture is Kyphosis and it is defined as  "an exaggerated forward curving of the thoracic portion of the vertebral column" Basically it occurs when the anterior (frontal) musculature of the upper body becomes stronger whilst the posterior musculature (the back) of the  upper body does not become stronger. This causes the anterior musculature to become short and tight forcing the shoulders to roll forward creating so called "gorilla posture". Problems from this can include impingement of the shoulder capsule, problems with the scapula and back pain, all things i'm sure most people would like to avoid.

Ok then, so we know some of the problems that commonly occur if an upper body training programme is not well structured, but how do you structure it properly?
Similarly to lower body training I like to break down upper body into four areas: Bilateral Pushing, Bilateral Pulling, Unilateral Pushing and Unilateral Pulling.

Bilateral Pushing: Bilateral Pushing exercises work all the prime movers of the anterior musculature, primarily the pecs and  anterior deltoids. Common exercises would include Barbell Bench Press, Millitary Press, Push Ups or Decline/Incline Bench Press.

Bilateral Pulling: Bilateral Pulling exercise work all the prime movers of the posterior musculature including the lats, rhomboids and traps. Common exercises include, barbell row, chin up variations and cable rows using a supsension training system (e.g. a trx trainer)

Unilateral Pushing: As well as using the same muscles as bilateral pushing exercises, unilateral pushing exercises also activate the muscles of the rotator cuff to act as stabilisers. Common unilateral pushing exercises include dumb bell presses and single arm push ups.

Unilateral Pulling: Unilateral Pulling exercises again use the same major muscle groups as bilateral pulling but again uses some of the smaller stabilising muscles of the shoulder and back. Examples of unilateral pulling exercises include dumb bell rows and single arm cable row variations.

Programming

With regards to programming the key area to focus upon is making sure that there is a correct ratio between pushing and pulling exercises. In order to prevent the gorilla posture described above a ratio of at least 1:1 is required although many people programme as high as 2:1 (pulling:pushing). Whilst some people such as Bret Contreras use a 2:1 ratio (http://bretcontreras.com/2011/03/topic-of-the-week-4-pushing-and-pulling-ratios/ ) a 1:1 ratio is the bare minimum, this would mean if you did 3 sets of 6 on bench press you would also do 3 sets of 6 chins during the same session.

Anyway I hope that gives you a few ideas for programming your upper body training and i'll see you soon for another blog post