It is necessary for us to perform some exercises to keep our upper body strong and effective. Moreover, there is a necessity for individuals to include some strength training as a part of their fitness routine, especially when it comes to their upper body. The various muscles that are present in the upper body of individuals, be it your arms, chest, shoulders or back actually need to get a proper workout done on a daily basis, in order for these muscles to remain powerful and strong.
Following are some of the exercises that you can do for training your upper body:
1. Seated Arnold Press:
This exercise is another variation of the seated dumbbell press that can help in increasing the strength of your muscles. It can be done by individuals to improve their shoulder mass. When you perform this exercise, you need a rotational movement all through the press portion of the lift. This can help improve the stability in your shoulders.
Equipment Required:
• A pair of Dumbbells and an Incline Bench
How to do this exercise?
• Grab a pair of dumbbells onto your hands and get seated on to a bench. Now, you should start positioning the edge of the dumbbells onto the knees.
• Start driving your knees upwards one at a time, so that each dumbbell falls into place.
• Now, you start rotating your palms in such a way that they get to face you.
• After inhaling nicely, start pressing the dumbbells overhead, by keeping your elbows extended and your delts contracted.
• As you continue to press the dumbbells, start rotating them till your palms face forward.
• Now, the dumbbells have to be lowered and brought back on to the starting position.
• You have completed one rep.
You can try and do as many reps as you feel comfortable with in the beginning and later increase the count after gaining enough practice.
2. Dumbbell Bench Press:
This is one of the variations of the bench press that can be done to increase body strength, including improving the strength of their chest muscles as well as the triceps and also for maintaining a proper muscular balance in individuals. It can also help strengthen the pectoral muscles of individuals, apart from improving their range of motion.
Equipment Required:
• A pair of Dumbbells and a Flat Bench
How to do this exercise?
• Firstly, you can start by holding a set of dumbbells on to your hands by keeping your palms facing inwards and get seated on a bench.
• Now, begin by lying backwards and bring the dumbbells nearer to the chest. Subsequently, start inhaling and begin pressing the dumbbells to get locked out at the top.
• Begin to lower the dumbbells in a controlled manner by ensuring the handles stay at around the same level as your chest.
• Start contracting your chest and again push the dumbbells on to the starting position.
• You have completed one rep.
You can try and do as much number of reps as you are comfortable with in the beginning and increase the count after obtaining enough comfort doing the exercise.
3. Dumbbell Pull Over:
This is one of the exercises that can be performed by individuals to strengthen their chest as well as their lats muscles. You would have to keep your spine in a stable position, so that you are able to perform this exercise in a full range of motion. As you perform the movements, it helps you keep your chest, including the upper portion of your body even more flexible. There would be a requirement for individuals to raise their hands completely on to the top of their head, while their biceps get closer to their ears as they perform this movement using the weights. When you start doing the pullover for the first time, you must try to use lesser weights and subsequently increase the weights after getting enough practice and comfort.
Equipment Required:
• A pair of Dumbbells and a weight bench.
How to do this exercise?
• Start by sitting on a flat bench and keep your feet touching the ground and at a position wider than the bench.
• Start lying down backwards on to the bench and grab a dumbbell each in both your hands. Start extending your arms over the chest, while keeping your palms facing each other and the elbows must be kept a little bent.
• Your back must be kept strong as you breathe in and start extending the weights back and above your head. After taking a few seconds, you should get on to an extended position completely, when the weights are at the back of your head.
• After extending completely, begin to breathe out slowly and bring back your arms on to the starting position above the chest.
• You have completed one rep.
You can try and do at least 2 sets comprising of 7-8 reps each.
4. Dumbbell Chest Fly:
It is a wonderful exercise for your upper body and also works on improving the chest strength, including the shoulders. This exercise can be performed by using light weights that can help in opening up your chest muscles. Since light weights are used by individuals, they would be able to obtain the full range of motion from doing such movement without the need for extending more, since further extension may cause injury.
Equipment Required:
• A pair of dumbbells and a flat bench.
How to do this exercise?
• You must begin by lying flat on your back on a bench. Keep your feet placed firm on the ground and on both sides of the bench.
• After holding on to a pair of dumbbells in both your hands, you must start lifting your arms upwards on top of your head in such a way that they remain extended. Meanwhile, your elbow must be bent a little and both the dumbbells and your palms must face each other.
• Begin to breathe in and slowly start lowering the dumbbells, until they are in line with your chest. With the arms extended on to both your sides, make sure not to let go of your arms beneath your shoulders.
• Start breathing out and begin pressing the dumbbells up in the same arc motion.
You can try and do at least 3 sets comprising of 10 reps each by taking some rest in between each set.
Individuals who are training with weights for the first time can use light weights and after gaining enough practice start training with heavier weights.
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Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
