Building large muscles is a common goal, for may men (and some women) that tends to evoke images of professional body builders squatting stacks of plates, and curling dumbbells that resemble car engines. However for 90% of us who want to build mass and strength you don’t need to look further than your own body to provide the weight needed to build the size that you want.

Building size is all about being able to tear your muscle fiber; teaching your body that it needs to get bigger and stronger to avoid injury. Traditionally people use external weight such as dumbbells, olympic bars and plates, as well as weight machines, to help isolate and tare those muscles. However, all the weight you need is in your body, even if you are a thin person you still have all the weight you need, the trick is just to leverage that bodyweight against the muscle you are trying to build. That is where this routine comes in.

This Bodyweight Upper Body Mass Routine is specifically designed with motions that target every major muscle group in the upper body and then some. The real benefit of this routine is not only that it easily builds size and strength but that it also builds functional strength (the ability to control your own body and direct its strength in an efficient coordinated effort) that is truly the definition of physical ability.

Use this routine as you would any typical mass building workout. Complete this workout two to three times per week but, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to heal between rounds. Make sure you never do mass building routines with really sore muscles as this will just reinjure muscle fibers that have not yet healed and slow over all muscle building progress. This workout is best done in combination with a lower body workout alternating every other day and should be done in conjunction with a 10-15 min cardio warm up before and after. Increase the length of your cardio afterward if you are trying to cut down on body fat. The following is a brief description of each exercise.


Single Leg Push Up: This challenging version of a push up challenges almost every muscle in your body as well as targeting your chest in a way that easily builds strength and size.

Supine Push Up: This upper back exercise builds the rhomboids rear deltoid and trapezius especially when done with a fully extended arm.

Pike Push Up: This half step down from a full military push up helps challenge strength but also flexibility and body control.

Pull Up: This exercise has been done for centuries to build strong back and arm muscles and is a great example of a mass building strength exercise.

Underhand Hanging Row: Though you need some equipment for this it is a great way to train you biceps and rhomboids.

Tricep Dip: This is another example of a body weight exercise that has been used for centuries to build and strengthen the triceps muscles.

Side Push Up: This motion looks easy but is anything but, as it focuses heavily on the chest and does a great job in building size along the center of you chest.

Bar Pull Down Extension: This is another good move to challenge the lats as well as the chest, shoulder and core muscles.