(Prudent Press Agency)---As an ectomorph or skinny hardgainer, gaining some serious muscle on your upper body is no mean feat...after all you're fighting your genetics as well as the bad advice which is often liberally handed out by the know-it-alls at every gym.

If you've struggled to build muscle in the past or are a complete beginner to bodybuilding, I'd like to show you in this article how to get a big upper body without the need for excessive supplements or becoming a gym rat.

We're going to take a look at the most effective exercises for building upper torso muscle and a few tricks to making your workouts more efficient, meaning you get more muscle for less time down the gym (which is always a good thing!)

However, as I always stress, exercise and weight training is just one aspect of muscle building...in order to get a big upper body you need to ensure you are following a solid diet plan and understand all the fundamentals behind successful weight gain.

3 Top Upper Body Exercises

Any workout that is focused on how to get a big upper body should definitely take the following 3 exercises into account. These will work the 3 major muscle groups of the upper torso - the chest, shoulders and back.

Bench Press

No workout would be complete without the golden oldie known as the Bench Press. This is a staple for any aspiring weight lifter looking at how to get a big upper body since it not only focuses on building up your chest muscles, but also serves as a great compound exercise working out the shoulders, arms and back at the same time.

Shoulder Press

Primarily used to work the shoulders or "delts" this is also great for the upper chest, trapezius and upper back muscles. Getting wide shoulders are a great way to increase your upper torso size and shape without needing to get really huge, so paying attention to this kind of exercise is essential.

Lat Pulldown

This is great for building up your back muscles, in particular the latissimus dorsi muscles (the wing shape muscles under your arms that give the classic V-shape you see in muscular guys).

How To Make The Most of These Exercises...

The key to getting the maximum muscle building benefit from these exercises is in how you approach your training routine. Although your goal is to get a big upper body, you do not want to neglect your lower body too. For this reason I recommend you perform your upper body workout routines twice per week and your lower body routines twice per week.

Always ensure that you allow at least one full day's rest between workouts - in other words, each muscle group should NOT be trained on two or more consecutive days.

When starting your upper body workout routine, try spending the first 4 weeks on strength gains and the next 4 on maximizing your muscle growth by increasing your rep numbers and incorporating super sets - these are basically two sets of different exercises performed back-to-back.

The reason for focusing on strength first is it will give you a great base on which you can build muscle easier...you'll also be less fatigued and will get more reward from your workouts.