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Upper body muscles have many benefits. A strong upper body is a must in most sports, as it can help you lift, carry, and throw more effectively.
Good upper-body musculature also makes your daily activities easier and life simpler. There are many upper body workouts you can do to train different ares of the body, like the arms, core, back, and chest. In this article, we will look at six upper body workouts to work the maximum of your muscles.
The lower body, too, is important. To maintain the perfect balance and strength, check out these full proof lower body workouts to strengthen the lower body.
Best Exercises to Work on Upper Body Muscles
Check out the following six exercises you can easily do to build your upper body muscles.
1) Push-up
If there's one exercise everybody must do to build their upper body muscles, it's the push-up.
This compound exercise activates multiple muscles in the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, triceps, and abdominals, when performed correctly and with a full range of motion. Push-ups are a simple and effective way to build strength that only requires your bodyweight.
Instructions:
- Begin in a plank position, with your hands stacked beneath your shoulders, back flat, and core tight.
- Maintaining a straight line from head to heels, bend your elbows, and slowly lower your body to the floor.
- Make sure the chest touches the floor to achieve a full range of motion and to engage as many muscle fibers as possible.
- To avoid hip dipping, press the floor away from your hands while maintaining a tight core.
- Finish in the same position you began.
2) Lat Pulldown
This is an excellent, somewhat fun exercise to work out the upper body muscles. It targets the largest muscles in the back, the latissimus dorsi. As it does not tire out the smaller muscles like the biceps and triceps, this exercise allows for heavier weights and/or more reps.
Instructions:
- Straddle the bench, and face the lat pulldown machine.
- The wide-grip pulldown is the most popular variation of the exercise, so grip the bar wider than shoulder width and knuckles up.
- Pull your shoulders away from your ears, and pull the bar down to your upper chest with your back.
- If necessary, a slight lean back is acceptable.
- Slowly return to your starting position with your arms extended.
3) Bear Crawl
The bear crawl, which involves crawling with your feet and hands under your hips and shoulders, puts a lot of strain on the shoulders, triceps, and chest. This exercise will not build upper body muscles i.e., it won't help in muscle growth, but it's an essential workout for the upper body, as it boosts stability.
Instructions:
- Begin in a tabletop position, with your hands directly beneath the shoulders and knees directly beneath the hips.
- Your bodyweight should be balanced on your hands and toes as you hover your knees off the ground.
- Maintain a flat back and tight core as you step your right hand and left foot forward, and then your left hand and right foot forward.
- Maintain this pattern for as long as you are able to.
4) Dumbbell Pullover
This exercise targets the upper body muscles like the chest, triceps, and lats. Although it's not as popular as the chest press, there are numerous benefits that may have you reconsidering your workout routine.
Instructions:
- Begin by lying face-up on a bench, with your arms extended above your chest, and a dumbbell in a diamond grip (make a diamond with your hands and place the bottom of the weight plate in between).
- Slowly lower your arms with a slight bend in your elbows till you feel a stretch in your chest and lats.
- Reach back as far as your shoulder mobility would allow.
- Pull the weight back to the starting position by engaging your lats.
5) Push Press
The push press targets upper body muscles like the shoulders, chest, and triceps muscles while driving the weight with power and momentum.
The push press employs a lower body dip (similar to a quarter squat with knees over toes) to propel the barbell overhead. That allows you to drive more weight over your head, and more load means more muscular stress for more muscle.
Instructions:
- Begin with the same front rack positioning as for a jerk or front squat, with your wrist and shoulders aligned with a shoulder-width grip.
- Dip a few inches downwards with an upright torso, driving your knees over your toes.
- Using the barbell, push your torso and chest upwards.
- Drive yourself upwards with your legs till the barbell is locked out overhead. Lower yourself slowly, and repeat.
6) Bent-Over Barbell Row
As it strengthens and increases mass in upper body muscles like the upper back and lats, the bent-over row is a popular weightlifting and bodybuilding exercise.The bent-over row trains the lower back isometrically, as you're in a hip hinge position.
Instructions:
- Place a loaded barbell on the floor stand, slightly wider than hip-width apart.
- Hinge down to the barbell, and take a shoulder-width grip on it.
- With the back straight and the torso bent at 45 degrees, raise the barbell to knee level.
- Pull the barbell between your sternum and navel.
- Repeat after pausing, and slowly lower the barbell.
Takeaway
Training upper body muscles can help you build functional strength for daily life activities.
You can use the aforementioned exercises in the combination given above, or pick and choose your favorites to train your upper body muscles. For more exercises, check out these killer upper body workouts for a strong upper body.
