There are loads of reasons that people exercise their upper body. There are the functional benefits: You need a strong back, chest and arms to lift and move all sorts of items on a daily basis, from groceries or children at home to boxes or stock at work. There are the longevity benefits: A powerful upper body ensures a supported spine and healthy shoulders, both of which are critical to maintaining optimal mobility as you age. Then of course, there are the aesthetic benefits: There’s nothing better than showing off toned arms and pecs and a strong, trim back in a swimsuit.
Here, we’re sharing three of our favorite ways to work the upper body, plus 16 of the best upper body exercises that will help you hit every single muscle.
3 Different Ways to Work The Upper Body
While there are countless fitness modalities that will help you strengthen your upper body, we’re focusing here on strength training. When you’re using weights to work the muscles of your arms, shoulders, chest and back, there are three different methods that we like to use. Here’s what they are and why you might choose each.
Heavy Weights, Fewer Reps
This strategy features lifting the heaviest weights you can, so heavy that you can only do a few repetitions at a time. This is the preferred method for building muscle mass—AKA making your muscles bigger—as you’re constantly working your muscles to their max so they are forced to grow and repair. It is effective for building strength and growing your muscles, but it also puts you at a higher risk of injury the heavier you go.
Lighter Weights, More Reps
Not only does lifting lighter weights reduce your injury risk, but it also allows you to do more reps. Provided you are increasing your rep count proportionally with the decrease in weight, this strategy is also very effective for making you stronger. Plus, it’s a powerful method for building endurance, maintaining muscle mass and preventing muscle loss as you age.
Drop Sets
Using drop sets offers the best of both worlds: You’ll start with your heavy weight, performing as many reps as you physically can before dropping those weights, picking up lighter ones, and continuing with the same exercise until you can’t do anymore. This technique offers the muscle-building benefits of lifting heavy and the endurance and strength gains of lifting lighter, but it’s also super challenging.
4 Best Arm Exercises
These exercises target the biceps and triceps, the muscles on the front and back of the upper arm that will give you that enviable definition—plus, you know, help you lift and carry things on a daily basis.
Bicep Curls
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Hold the weight or weights in front of your thighs with your palms facing out. Bend at the elbows to curl the weight to your shoulders, then lower back down.
Supine Front Raise
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Weight to use: light to medium
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How to do it: Hold the weight or weights in front of your thighs with your palms facing out. Keeping just a slight bend in your elbows, lift the weights straight up in front of you to shoulder height, then lower back down.
Tricep Kick Backs
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Weight to use: light to medium
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How to do it: Hinge slightly at the hips and pull the weights up to your armpits. Keeping your upper arm still, extend the weights toward the back wall, then bend them back in.
Tricep Dips
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Weight to use: bodyweight
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How to do it: Grip the edge of a bench or chair with your hands and walk your feet away (the further you go, the harder it will be). Bend your elbows until your upper arm is parallel to the floor then press back up to straight.
4 Best Shoulder Exercises
Strong shoulders are not only super important from a functional perspective, but they’re also super sexy. Here are the best moves to work your deltoids (your shoulder muscles) from every angle—front, side and back.
Overhead Press
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Hold the weight or weights at your shoulders with your palms pointing forward. Keep your back steady and straight and push them up overhead, then lower back down.
Lateral Raise
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Weight to use: light to medium
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How to do it: Hold the weights at your sides. Keeping your palms pointed down and a slight bend in your elbows, lift the weights straight out to the sides to shoulder height, then lower back down.
Upright Row
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Hold the weight or weights in front of your thighs with your palms facing in. Keeping your shoulders pressed down, lift the weight up to your chest, letting your elbows float up, then lower back down.
Reverse Fly
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Weight to use: light to medium
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How to do it: Hinge at the hips and hold the weights down in front of you with your palms facing each other. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, your back flat and shoulder blades pushing down your back, open your arms out to the sides until in line with your back, then lower back down.
4 Best Chest Exercises
Sure, working your pectoral muscles will give you a tight, toned, lifted chest. But keeping your chest strong also supports good posture and mobility. Here are the best moves to do it.
Chest Press
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Weight to use: heavy
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How to do it: Lie on a bench or on the floor with your knees bent and feet planted firmly. Hold the weight or weights up over your chest, palms facing your feet, then lower towards your chest, letting your elbows open to the sides. Press back up.
Push Ups
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Weight to use: bodyweight
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How to do it: Come into a straight-arm plank with your feet slightly apart and hands under your shoulders. Keeping your body flat, bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor, then push back up.
Dumbbell Fly
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Weight to use: light to medium
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How to do it: Lie on a bench or on the floor with your knees bent and feet planted firmly. Hold the weight or weights up over your chest, palms together and elbows slightly bent, then open them out to the sides until in line with your back. Bring them back together.
Dumbbell Pullover
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Weight to use: heavy
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How to do it: Lie on a bench or on the floor with your knees bent and feet planted firmly. Hold one weight by the end over your chest, elbows slightly bent. Without bending your elbows more, lower the weight to the floor over your head, then pull it back up.
4 Best Back Exercises
Maintaining strong back muscles in the upper, middle and lower back are crucial to optimal spinal health and to allowing you to lift and move things (including yourself) every day.
Bent-Over Row
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Hinge slightly at the hips and hold the weights down in front of you with your palms facing each other. Pull them up to your armpits, then lower back down.
Superman
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Weight to use: bodyweight
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How to do it: Lie on the floor on your stomach with your arms stretched over your head. Pull in your abs and lift your hands, chest and feet off the floor at the same time, then lower back down.
Renegade Row
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Come into a push up position with your feet wide and hands holding weights. Keeping your body flat and parallel to the floor, pull one weight up into your armpit, then lower back down. Switch sides.
Lat Pulldown
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Weight to use: medium to heavy
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How to do it: Sitting or standing, hold your weights or weighted bar over your head. Keeping your shoulders pressed down, pull the weight down to your chest, then release or press it back up.
Ready to Lift?
Building a strong, toned and powerful upper body will ensure optimal daily function and mobility, plus have you looking better than ever. With its unique combination of positions and accessories, the amp fitness device will help you work every single muscle in your upper body from every angle you can imagine. Reserve yours today!
