The Different Types of Workouts You Can Do to Build Upper Body Strength
A strong upper body is beneficial not only in sports, but also in everyday life as well. Whether you’re shoveling snow, picking up your child or just playing with the dog, a strong upper body can make all the difference in terms of safety and comfort. This article will go over 7 different ways to get a stronger upper body, from simple pushups to intense suspension training workouts that will build muscle tone like never before.
The Push Up
The push-up is a great exercise for building upper body strength. It works your chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. Plus, it can be done anywhere without any equipment. To do a push-up, start in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet hip-width apart. Lower your body down to the ground, then push back up to the starting position. You can make this exercise harder by doing it on your toes or by placing your hands closer together.
One way to increase your upper body strength is through push-ups. Push-ups are a basic exercise that help build your upper body strength by working your chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. They can be done anywhere without any equipment, which makes them convenient and easy to do. To perform a push-up correctly, start in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and feet hip-width apart. Bend your elbows until you’re at about 90 degrees with your arms fully extended and move from there into an up position before returning back down again. It’s important to keep a straight line from head to toe when doing push ups so avoid bending at either end of your body as much as possible.
The Pull Up
The pull-up is a great exercise for building upper body strength. It can be done anywhere and all you need is a bar that you can use to hang from. To do this exercise, start by getting into an overhand grip on the bar with your hands about shoulder width apart and your palms facing away from you. Next, hang from the bar so that your chest touches it and begin pulling yourself up towards the bar so that your chin rises above it. Finally, lower yourself back down until your arms are fully extended again.
There are a few different variations on pull-ups you can try, such as placing your legs on a box or bench while doing them. Another variation is called an inverted row and it’s done by hanging from a bar while lifting your feet so that they don’t touch the ground. This type of exercise will not only work your back but also give you some work for your biceps and traps too. Don’t be discouraged if pull-ups seem too difficult at first because it takes time to build up upper body strength and you’ll feel like you’ve finally achieved something great once you get there.
The Wide Grip Row
The Wide Grip Row is an excellent exercise for building up the muscles in your back and upper arms. It’s also great for training and strengthening your grip, as you need to hold onto the bar with a firm grip throughout the exercise. If you’re just starting out, it might be wise to start off with lighter weights before gradually increasing them over time. If you have some experience in weightlifting, then I recommend using heavier weights at first, but don’t go too heavy too soon or else you risk injuring yourself. Remember: form is more important than weight.
The Bent Over Row
This move is great for targeting your back muscles, specifically the lats. To do this exercise, start by holding a dumbbell in each hand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend at the waist and let the dumbbells hang down in front of you, keeping your back straight. Next, row the dumbbells up to your chest, making sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the move. Lower the weights back down and repeat for 8-12 reps.
This move is also great for improving posture, which can help improve your balance and coordination. If you’re not used to doing bent over rows or have back problems, you can do these while standing on a chair instead. Make sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together when you pull up on each rep and don’t allow your lower back to arch as you perform the exercise. This will help prevent injury. This move is also great for improving posture, which can help improve your balance and coordination.
The Seated Row
The Seated Row is a great exercise for building upper body strength. It targets the lats, trapezius, rhomboids, and biceps brachii in particular. To do the seated row:
-Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent
-Keep your chest up and abs tight
-Hold a weight in each hand with palms facing away from you and arms straight down by your sides
-Push your hips back as if you were sitting in an imaginary chair
-Bend forward at the waist while pulling one arm towards the chest with both hands so that it’s fully extended (keep elbows close to sides)
-Pause, then slowly return to starting position without letting lower back arch or shoulders shrug
The Weighted Dip
The Weighted Dip is an exercise that can be done by two people. One person would lay on their back, hands clasped together with palms facing up. Their partner would then lower themselves towards the ground so that they are sitting on the thighs of the person laying down. When both partners are ready, they can use their arms and pull themselves up off the ground.
There are several ways to do a weighted dip. The most common way is described above, however you can also change up your grip, which will put more or less weight on your upper body muscles. For example, you can grasp your hands with palms facing away from each other as opposed to facing each other. Another option is to try a variation where you place a barbell behind your neck and pull yourself upwards using it as assistance.
The Tricep Extension
The Tricep Extension strengthens the three muscle groups in the upper arm that work together. To do this exercise, stand and hold a dumbbell in each hand at your side. Extend one arm up and over your head as you straighten it behind you. Keep your elbow close to your body and lower it back down. That is one rep; do 10-12 reps on each side before switching arms and doing 10-12 reps on the other side.
An effective upper body strength-building workout should include three sets of 8-12 reps each with short rest periods between sets. Include a set of tricep extensions, dips and presses on different days. For example, do 8-12 reps on Monday, 10-12 reps on Wednesday and 8-12 reps on Friday.