This article explains the best upper body exercises that help strengthen your torso. Read on to know more.
6 Upper Body Movements To Concentrate On
While strengthening your upper body, you must use the muscles and joints that actually help you build a leaner and toned upper body . Here are the 6 body movements that you should focus on.
Horizontal Push – This body movement will involve exercises that you will use to push the weight away from your body horizontally.
Horizontal Pull – This body movement will involve exercises that you will use to pull the weight towards your body horizontally.
Vertical Push – This exercise involves body movements where you will push the weight away vertically, over your head.
Vertical Pull – This exercise involves body movements where you will pull the weight towards you vertically.
Elbow Flexion – These are exercises that require you to flex your elbows and bring the weight towards your body.
Elbow Extension – These are exercises that require you to extend your elbows and move the weight away from your body.
So, which muscles do these push/pull exercises work on? Find out next.
Which Muscles Will You Work On?
For every exercise, you will work on certain muscles that will help build your upper body strength. Here’s the list of muscles you will target.
Push Exercises – You will use the pectoral musclesi Commonly known as ‘pecs’, these are muscles connecting the upper arm and shoulder with the front of the chest. , lats, trapezius muscles, triceps, and shoulders. Pull Exercises – You will use the large group of muscles like lats (upper back), trapezius muscles (center of the back), rhomboids (top of back), and erector spinae (bottom of back). Flexion/Extension Exercises – Biceps, triceps, wrist flexors and extensors, shoulder muscles, upper abs, chest, and back muscles.
Before you jump head first into these exercises, it’s important to first establish a warm-up routine that prepares your body for the workout ahead. Scroll down to learn more.
Warm-Up Routine
It is important to warm up your muscles and protect against injury before starting any upper body activity. Here is a simple warm-up routine: Now, let me show you 16 exercises to strengthen and tone your upper body.
16 Best Upper Body Exercises For Women
Here are the 16 best upper body workouts for women which include – kettlebell and dumbbell exercises that target your arms, shoulders, back, and chest. These moves will not only tone, sculpt, and carve your muscles but also make you stronger.
1. Dumbbell Punches
A very good warm-up exercise that works on all the muscles in your arms and prepares them for a good strength training session. It is also a cardio move that heats up the body.
How To Do Dumbbell Punches
2. Bent Over Front Raise
One of the best moves for a sexy back and toned arms that experts swear by. It is among those back exercises that also work on the chest along with the upper and lower backs, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
How To Do Bent Over Front Raise
3. Bent Over Lateral Raise
This exercise opens up the chest and works on those pecs. It also tightens the upper back muscles and tones the triceps.
How To Do Bent Over Lateral Raise
4. Triceps Kickbacks
The fat that gets accumulated around the triceps results in bingo wings and makes wearing those sexy tanks very difficult. Tricep exercises like triceps kickbacks can give you amazing upper arms.
How To Do Tricep Kickbacks
5. Renegade Rows With Dumbbells
This is an intermediate to advanced level of exercise. Renegade rows burn arm fat and tighten your core. If you find it difficult to do this exercise with dumbbells, you can begin by doing it without any weights. Beginners can also do it with dumbbells, but on their knees to make it less challenging.
How To Do Renegade Rows With Dumbbells
6. Overhead Press
Shoulder exercises like the overhead shoulder press target the upper back and the shoulders and can tone and sculpt the area.
How To Do Overhead Press
7. Upright Row
Upright rows target the fat on your back and open up the chest.
How To Do Upright Row
8. Russian Twist With Kettlebell
Here is another exercise for the upper body. This move works on the entire upper body – the core, arms, and back. Use a kettlebell of whatever weight you prefer. Or you can even use a heavy dumbbell.
How To Do Russian Twist With Kettlebell
9. Plank With Arm Curl
This move is a combination of isometrici A form of exercise that includes static contraction of a muscle (for example, planks). and isotonic exercisesi Exercises like squats that involve the application of a constant amount of weight and activation of body muscles while moving the joints. . The plank tightens the muscles in the entire body, especially the core. And at the same time, the curl strengthens the arms, specifically targeting the biceps.
How To Do Plank With Upper Arm Curl
10. Triceps Extension
Tricep extensions work on the triceps in a concentric manner. It also works on the biceps and upper back muscles.
How To Do Triceps Extension
11. Chin-Up
The chin-up is an excellent pull-up exercise to strengthen your upper body. It works on the biceps, triceps, shoulders, lats, chest, abs, and obliques.
How To Do Chin-Up
12. Incline Push-Up
Incline push-ups, one of the best chest exercises for women, are as effective as chin-ups/pull-ups and can strengthen the upper body. The best part is, you can do an incline push-up using a bench, a squat rack, a Smith machine, or a high box. The lower the platform, the more difficult it will be to do an incline push-up. So, you can try doing it on a higher platform if you are just starting out, and then move on to a lower platform and more number of sets and reps.
How To Do Incline Push-Up
13. Dumbbell Bench Press
The dumbbell bench press works on your chest muscles, biceps, shoulders, lats, and abs. When you use less weight and more reps to do this exercise, it helps to tone your upper body. If you use more weight and fewer reps, it will help build upper body strength. So, keep alternating the exercises to tone and strengthen your upper body.
How To Do Dumbbell Bench Press
14. Dumbbell Bicep Curls
If you are looking for arm exercises that work the front of the arms, try out the dumbbell bicep/arm curls. Bicep exercises like these also target your wrist extensors and flexors, shoulder muscles, and upper back.
How To Do Dumbbell Bicep Curl
15. Seated Cable Row
The seated cable row is great for your posture and helps increase your upper body strength if you do it regularly. For cable exercises like this one, you require a low-pulley row machine with a V-bar, which will provide you a neutral grip, where the palms of your hands will face each other. This exercise works on the lats, biceps, triceps, wrist flexors and extensors, shoulder muscles, chest, and abs.
How To Do Cable Row
16. Face Pull Exercise
The face pull exercise primarily helps strengthen the upper back and shoulder muscles, improve posture, reduce the risk of shoulder injuries, and enhance upper body strength. You will need a rope attachment on a cable machine to perform this exercise.
How To Do Face Pull Exercise
Doing upper body strength training can help you in the long run. Johann, a fitness blogger, shared how upper body training helped him improve his stamina and strength. He believes they work wonders. He added, “Believe me it makes a world of difference for the longer runs. I’ve been doing this for years and years (i).” While incorporating these upper body exercises to your routine is important, it is also necessary to prioritize your safety to ensure an effective and productive workout. Scroll down to know more.
Safety Tips
Exercising without following a few safety tips can increase the risk of injury and aggravate existing health issues. Here are some safety tips you should keep in mind as you exercise:
Learn the proper form of any exercise to avoid injury. Begin with lighter weights and gradually increase them as your strength improves. If you experience any pain or discomfort, stop right away and evaluate your form. Seek guidance from a fitness professional if you’re uncertain about how to perform any exercise. If you have any existing health issues or pain, consult a trainer or doctor to know if you can perform these exercises.
These were 15 upper-body strengthening and toning exercises. Have a protein-rich post-workout meal after doing these exercises. The right way would be to alternate upper body routines with lower-body routines to build integrated strength and make the whole body stronger. Make sure you execute all of these exercises to perfection instead of concentrating on the number of sets or reps. Building muscles for women may be an uphill battle, but it can be achieved with proper training and following a healthy lifestyle. So, keep going! Are sit-ups for the upper body? Yes. Sit-ups help strengthen and tone the abdominal muscles. What are upper-body stretches? The five types of upper-body stretches include torso stretch, chest, shoulders, and biceps stretch, back stretch, upper back and shoulder stretch, and triceps stretch. Are jumping jacks an upper-body workout? No. Jumping jacks are a type of full-body workout.
Illustration: Best Upper Body Strength Training Exercises For Women
Get ready to tone and strengthen your arms, shoulders, breasts, and back with this 4-in-1 upper body workout. Get those muscles working and see the results for yourself!
