When it comes to making progress in the gym and developing your physique, it seems familiar and reliable exercises are the common attractions. Tried and true lifts aside, the content ahead describes 3 unusual barbell exercises for a jacked upper body, so you can work towards your goals of getting ripped.
Barbell exercises allow for a multitude of functionality, but perhaps the most important is the heavy weight that can be added to an Olympic bar. The ability to continually add more weight to any lift can help to establish gains and encourage hypertrophy in the muscles, which is ideal for getting a jacked upper body. While easy to master many barbell exercises, unusual barbell exercises can be challenging to perform, due to a relative unfamiliarity.
[wpcode id=”229888″]However, it is important to change up the routine to adjust the force applied to each part of the body. With differing angles, new challenges, and a different way to expose the muscles to external forces, it seems a non-standard type of exercise can make a fine addition to any program. Let’s take a closer look at some of the perks of standard lifts and how adding unusual methods may help to establish a jacked upper body.
Standard Range of Motion, Standard Results
The standard range of motion that we have all become accustomed to really has become the gold standard. After all, mastering the bench press technique, maximizing an overhead press lift, or figuring out which way is best for a biceps curl really is why we are having this discussion. They are standard lifts that have brought results time and again with results that are typically to be expected.
The thing is, a standard range of motion delivers standard results. Mixing up your technique, lift repertoire, or swapping to some more unconventional lifts can help to place more demand on your body and work it in a way it’s not adapted to. For this reason, consider trying out more unconventional or unusual lifts to send your workout and progress to the next level.
What Makes a Barbell Exercise Unusual?
The question here should mostly be reworded to what makes a barbell exercise standard? Unusual barbell lifts in this context are ones that maybe you have seen before, but haven’t tried. Maybe you’ve never seen them at all.
Regardless if you have or haven’t, an unusual barbell exercise may include lifts that are completely new or maybe it’s just changing how you do them. Unusual doesn’t mean bad nor does it mean inefficient either, but trying a lift alternative that is a bit out of left field might help to engage your key in a positive way. 
Benefits of Unusual Exercises
Quite frankly, you should expect the same benefits with unusual exercises than with standard lifts. The primary reason to perform an unusual lift is to challenge your muscles in a way that is new, creating new angles, or different variations. Also, these unusual lifts may help to boost motivation as the change to something new may create excitement from a stagnant program.
Here are some benefits that can be expected from performing unusual exercises.
- New applied resistance to the body and muscles.
- Change in routine that could lead to improved motivation.
- New exercises to learn, with potential of adding a new favorite.
- Improved gains and strength.
With that in mind, changing from a standard way of lifting may help to bring more strength, train the muscles to adapt, and possibly add more hypertrophy for a jacked upper body. Let’s take a closer look at the following unusual exercises for supporting gains.
3 Unusual Barbell Exercises for a Jacked Upper Body
- The Supine Barbell Pullover – This unusual exercise looks quite like a skull crusher, but involves more use of the Lat muscles. The supine barbell pullover focuses on the lower pectorals, triceps, and lats for an absolute tough upper body workout. Consider starting this exercise with a spotter until you are acclimated to the exercise or before adding additional weight.
- Standing Bradford Barbell Press – Having a jacked upper body must include ripped shoulders. The Bradford barbell press involves small lifts above the head and alternating from under the chin and behind the head. These small movements work fast twitch, power fibers and can be a quick and effective way to work the upper body. Add this exercise in your typical workout instead of a standard shoulder press to work the deltoids differently.
- Sitting Barbell Z Press. This exercise, coined by strongman Zydrunas Savickas or Big Z, brings elements of a barbell shoulder press while sitting. This exercise involves both legs flat on the floor in front of the body, with a tall sitting posture, with a barbell at shoulder height. From here, this is essentially a shoulder press, but since it involves an unusual position, it really targets the core muscles.
Tips for Incorporating these Exercises Into Your Usual Routine
It’s a major challenge to deviate from a workout that has been so faithful over the years. Adding these exercises can truly be an easy task, but it just involves jumping right in and trying them.
The next time you have shoulder day, don’t hesitate to try the Bradford barbell press or sitting barbell Z Press. Noticing gains from these substitutions may not happen overnight, but if you are sore the next day, you know you are on the right path. Here are some easy tips to help incorporate these unusual exercises to your workout program.
- Start with one at a time and mix it in.
- Add a workout day to include unusual workout day, much like your Bis and Tris days.
- Substitute unusual exercises to your workout for two weeks at a time.
- Progress in a timely manner by either adding more reps or weight to establish an optimal training volume.
- Start with a 1 rep max to establish a baseline before getting deeper into programming.
Conclusion
Incorporating 3 unusual barbell exercises for a jacked upper body may feel a bit off when you first get started, but they should bring gains in the long run. The idea of adding these types of lifts to your usual workout program is to challenge the body in ways that you might not usually, which can really help to avoid plateaus or walls in your gains. Consider adding them into your routine, substitute, or mix and match to help add a new dimension to your body.
