Choose the best upper body exercise for your body. Each upper body exercise targets your chest, back, arms, neck and shoulders.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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With the dumbbells on the floor, stand close to the dumbbells with your feet a little narrower than shoulder width apart. Bend at the knees and grasp each dumbbell. Get into a squat position. Keep your head up and the dumbbells at your sides. Drive through with your legs as you lift the weights up until you are standing in an upright position with your back locked. Keep the dumbbells close to your body and squat back down, lowering the weights to the starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Grip bar with hands approximately shoulder width, reverse grip (palms facing you). Sit in good body alignment (abs tight, chest up, back straight). Keeping back straight, lean back slightly from hips, allowing bar to clear head. Squeeze down (depress) shoulder blades while, in a controlled motion, pull bar down in front of head, drawing elbows down toward sides and keeping forearms in line with resistance (cable/belt). Contract lat muscles fully without compromising form; avoid downward rotation of forearms. While maintaining the controlled motion, return bar to starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Grip bar with hands or use hanging assist pads at shoulder width. Keep body in good alignment (abs tight, chest up, back straight). Bend knees before beginning exercise. In a controlled motion, curl lowerbody up by drawing legs to the chest. Contract ab muscles fully without compromising form. While maintaining the controlled motion, return body to starting position. Do not allow body to swing. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Lie face up on floor, knees bent with feet on floor and neck straight. Cross arms over chest. Lift legs, keeping knees bent. In a controlled motion, keeping neck straight, curl upper body up and rotate the hips up at the same time. Contract abdominals fully without compromising form. While maintaining the controlled motion, return to starting position. Do not allow muscle to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Adjust seat to put chest in a horizontal line with arms. Grip handles with palms down. Keep shoulder blades squeezed together (retracted) against back pad and maintain position throughout entire exercise. Throughout motion, shoulders form 90 degree angle to body (upper arms are parallel to floor). In a controlled motion, push handles forward to extend arms without locking out elbows. While maintaining the controlled motion, bring elbows back without setting weight down or relaxing the muscle.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Primary Muscle Group: Tricep Brachii
Muscle Groups Worked in This Exercise: Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, Triceps Brachii
Preparation: Lie prone on floor with both hands on top of a medicine ball and balanced on each side of the ball. Raise body up off floor by extending arms with body straight.
Your hands will be in a close grip position to isolate more of your tricep muscles.
Breathing: Breath out on the contraction of the muscle and breath back in on the way back to the start position.
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Read more: Push Ups With Medicine Ball
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Position body so handles are in front and sit in good body alignment (abs tight, chest up, back straight). Grip handles so hands remain over elbow joints during exercise. Press handles over head, with elbows bent and upper arms vertical. In a controlled motion, lower handles toward shoulders, bending elbows as far as possible without compromising form. Hands should be over the elbows joints. While maintaining the controlled motion, lower to starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Sit in good body alignment (abs tight, chest up, back straight). Dumbbells remain over elbow joints during exercise. Hold dumbbells to the front of the chest with palms facing you. In a controlled motion, press dumbbells up while, at the same time, rotating the arms to finish the movement with the palms facing away. Dumbbells should be directly over the elbow joints. While maintaining the controlled motion, return to starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Sit on preacher bench in good body alignment (abs tight, chest up, back straight) with feet in comfortable position. Adjust pad/seat so arms are comfortably over pad. Grip bar (palms up) with hands slightly wider than shoulder width, or on angle if EZ bar. In a controlled motion, keeping upper arms (triceps) against pad, curl bar up. Contract biceps fully, without compromising form. While maintaining the controlled motion, return bar to starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Read more: Seated Preacher Curl
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Adjust seat so that it is not so low that the shoulders are elevated nor so high that you are hunched over the pad. Position elbows on pad, and grasp bar with an underhand grip. Raise the bar until elbows are fully flexed with the back of the upper arms remaining on the pad. Lower the bar until arms are fully extended. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Read more: Seated Bicep Curl - Hammer Strength
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Sit and grasp dumbbells with narrow to shoulder width underhand grip (palms down). Rest forearms on thighs with wrists just beyond knees holding dumbbells. (You can also rest forearms over bench as an alternative) In a controlled motion, curl wrists up toward forearms. Contract forearms fully, without compromising form. While maintaining the controlled motion, return dumbbells to starting position. Do not allow muscles to relax before next repetition.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Primary Muscle Group: Pectoralis Major
Muscle Groups Worked in This Exercise: Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, Triceps Brachii
Preparation: Lie prone on floor with hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Place hands facing outward with palms facing each other. Raise body up off floor by extending arms with body straight.
Breathing: Breath out on the contraction of the muscle and breath back in on the way back to the start position.
Execution: Keeping body straight, lower body to floor by bending arms. Push body up until arms are extended. Repeat.
Comments: Both upper and lower body must be kept straight throughout movement.
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Triceps Pushdown - V-Bar Attachment
Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation
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Read more: Triceps Pushdown - V-Bar Attachment
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Exercise Techniques -
upper body exercise
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Bench Dips
Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: Chest
Equipment: BodyOnly
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Read more: Bench Dips
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