7 Best Upper Body Calisthenics Workouts for Women

Guide to upper body calisthenics. (Image via Pexels/Photo by Karl Solano)
Guide to upper body calisthenics. (Image via Pexels/Photo by Karl Solano)

It’s important to know the best upper body calisthenics workouts or exercises if you’re looking to be toned and improve muscle endurance and strength. However, before understanding the exercises, it’s key to know what calisthenics is.

What is Calisthenics?

Calisthenics involves a series of movements and exercises that focus on improving strength by targeting large muscle groups.

However, most calisthenic movements require no machine, and the only resistance used is bodyweight. However, something similar to a dip tower or a pull-up bar is usually needed for certain important exercises.

Best Upper Body Calisthenics Exercises for Women

It’s important to understand that when you’re training for strength, you need to focus on every muscle group.

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Here are seven of the best upper body calisthenics exercises you must try:

1) Pull-ups

You will need a pull-up bar to do this exercise. Pull-ups target the lats and biceps, depending on your hand position.

If your palms are at shoulder-width, you’ll be working on your biceps. However, if they’re wide apart, you’ll be working on your lats. Initially, you may need the help of a resistance band, but as you progress and your strength increases, you’ll be able to do it without any additional support.

2) Inverted Row

Another bodyweight movement that focuses on the lats and biceps is the inverted row. You’ll need a bar that's approximately at your chest height and slightly lower.

Grip the bar; go underneath it, and incline your body to face the bar. Begin your inverted rows, and ensure you’re pulling with your biceps with the close grip and with your lats during the wide grip.

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3) Push-ups

One of the best upper body calisthenics exercises for upper body strength are push-ups. It can work on your chest, triceps or even shoulders, depending on your position.

Close-grip push-ups work on your triceps, while wide-grip push-ups work on your chest muscles. Pike push-ups work on your shoulders, and reverse-grip push-ups focus on your biceps.


4) Dips

If you have access to a dip tower, you should use it. You may not be able to lower your body too much on the first attempt, but the more you stay consistent with calisthenics, the more strength you’ll gain. Sooner or later, you'll reach a point where you’re able to dip for your chest and triceps.


5) Planks

When you’re thinking about strengthening your upper body, you also have to focus on your core muscles.

One of the best upper body calisthenics exercises for the core muscles are planks. It’s extremely effective and allows you to maintain tension throughout your body while focusing on leveling up your core strength.


6) X’s and O’s Core Workout

Once you’ve decided to use calisthenics to improve your core strength, you shouldn’t ignore this exercise.

It focuses on keeping the core muscles engaged throughout the exercise while helping with improving stability and balance.


7) Box Jumps

A full-body exercise, which can be considered one of the best upper body calisthenics, is box jumps.

The overall jump in the box, balancing yourself and returning to the neutral position requires lower body and core strength. This is a good exercise to end your calisthenic routine with.