Training at home...where to start?

If anyone can help with some advice, that would be good.

I'm dropping back on the running a bit and want to build some more upper body muscle. I'm fairly strong at the moment but the more I think about it, I don't know how to train.

An article of faith I have is that I don't need a gym. I love bodyweight training and have a basic set of weights at home - Z bar and one of the bars for hammer curls, plus a few weights. I've been doing curls, higher reps with lower weights (20/24kg on a z bar) and recently started pushing up the weights to 35 kg and doing lower reps (about 12).

Where should I go next? Should I buy more weights and try curling 40kg+? Should I use my chin/pull-up bar more?

If it helps, I'm a 39 yo male weighing 71kg.

Chin up will do more for overall body strength than curls. You can add curls after you chin, but chins should be the 'bread & butter' move.
You need to work legs as well as upper body. If you're running is sprinting that's a good start, but I'd suggest working towards something like doing a pistol (obviously work up to it if this is new to you), a pistol looks like:



For a beginner I'd work on hitting a few angles. So, over a week for upper body I'd do a vertical push & pull, horizontal push & pull.

It could look as simple as (for example):

Pistols 3x10
push-up 3x20
inverted row 3x20
Curls 3x10

jump squats 3x10 (if it get's too easy hold dumbbells in your hands to increase resistance & focus on landing softly)
pull-up 3xmax
dumbbell shoulder press 3x10
triceps extension 3x10

there you go. That would be good for a beginner with not too much equipment at home & could keep you going for 12 weeks easily if you start light & slowly increase the weight &/or reps/sets (depending on how much weight you have at home to add).

There are many variations you can use to swap.

If you have time add in some abs stuff, some forearm stuff & some one leg calf raises at the end.

If you are an athlete I'd focus a bit more on one leg stuff (like pistols, lunges or split squats), maybe some rotation work (don't forget your sport may need to resist rotation, if so work that skill), maybe even some plyometric work in some sports (basketball being a good example).

Don't just keep adding stuff - we've all ended up doing 4 hour workouts at some time in our lives trying to fit everything into a 'perfect' workout program. You can't do it. The ideal is actually to cycle your training, so at some points (once you are past beginner), you will be doing pure low rep strength stuff, then move on to lighter, but faster power stuff, then some more muscular endurance stuff, so that over the course of a mesa-cycle (a collection of cycles each lasting anywhere for 4 weeks to 12 weeks or more) you will cover all your bases of strength, power & muscular endurance & become an all-round stronger person.

For you right now it doesn't really matter too much which exercises you pick as long as you have a leg movement, a vertical push & pull & a horizontal push & pull. You can even pick several of each & vary from session to session which you use if you like, but whatever you pick buy a book right now to log your training, Put in the exercises you are doing, the weights you are doing & how each exercise felt. If an exercise causes pain (that is 'bad' pain, like injury, not the burning pain of muscle fatigue you know the difference, it is obvious), just drop it - it's no loss as we have 1,000s to choose from. Also write down how easy or hard an exercise feels as it will give an idea about adding weight (or backing off) on an exercise.
Assuming you start today, by the 1st of Dec you'll have made noticeable gains in muscular size & strength & be in need of a heavy pile of weights

Form there you can start moving away from a general 'build you up' package to a more focussed 'what I want to do' type program that begins to become tailored towards your own goals a bit more, but first we need just a few months to build you a nice, sound base.

Hi, Konstantin,
Read what Pete has offered, he's telling you true.

That's very comprehensive, thanks Pete!

I will try to get down to that, unfortunately there's a lot of demands on my time right now, but a stronger, fitter me will use that time better, so must start.

Thank you!!