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My favourite upper body exercises

My Five (5) Favourite Upper Body Exercises and Why?

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Exercising is an all-body workout to get that overall toned and sculpted physique.  However, most times, people tend to focus purely on cardio or lower body routines, especially those geared at the thighs and buttocks to get that desired derriere, particularly, ladies.  But what about the upper body?  One reason that some persons, especially women, may not focus a lot on the upper body is that we are afraid to look too muscular or ‘manly.’ On the other hand, men are not plagued with this sort of thinking as muscles are often equated to masculinity.

The upper body, like the lower, is equally important especially when it comes to practising an overall routine. As such, my weekly routine constitutes standard cardio, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio, upper body and lower body routines as well as sometimes targeted workouts for my glutes, yes, I like to have that desired derriere as well, plyometrics exercise, etc. It all depends on what is happening and what my goals are for that particular week or month.  

If the aim is to lose weight, I still try to keep it balanced but my routine may include adding a little challenge to target particular body parts, say, for example, abs, butt etc.  Nonetheless, knowing some specific moves, particularly those geared at different parts of the body is very useful, especially when you are not able to go to the gym. 

As such, this article will outline some of my favourite upper body workouts and the reasons for my choices.  Just in case you do not have a workout plan, you can learn more about how to create one here. Let’s discuss!

The Discussion

Let’s do a little overview of the body’s anatomy here. The upper body constitutes the arm, which is located between the shoulder and elbow joints, the forearm, the hand, the chest, shoulders, the neck and of course, our head.  As such, it constitutes muscles such as the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, brachioradialis, pectoral muscles (pectoralis major), etc. The pectoralis major is a major muscle of the upper body which lies below the breast and on top of the chest wall.  Its major function is to adduct, flex as well as rotate the humerus (the long bone in the upper arm) inwardly (National Cancer Institute; Forro, 2019). 

Other muscles of the upper body include the trapezius and serratus anterior which are the muscles that are responsible for the movement of the arms, the core (the stability muscle) and the back.

We must work to strengthen the upper body and keep it toned.  Further, muscles like the abdominal and back muscles play a crucial role in stabilizing the upper body, thus ensuring you are not only able to effectively complete other exercises but successfully execute everyday chores.

A strong back helps to improve your posture and thus having strong and toned arms is like the bonus, ‘hello confidence.’ Therefore, having a strong upper body ensures that your overall body can efficiently transfer energy from one part to the next.  Have you ever heard the saying ‘your legs will carry you?’ Well, if the upper body is weak, that will affect the dispensation of energy and of course, body struggles.  As such, it is important to have a strong upper body as much as it is to have a strong lower body. 

In this article, I will share with you some of my favourite upper body exercises.  These include pushups, Biceps curls, triceps dips, bench presses and bent-over lateral raises.  To get that sculpted arm, you can take a look at this article which provides a list of 5 exercises that can help to give you that desired look.

My Five (5) Favourite Upper Body Exercises
  • Pushups.
  • Biceps Curls.
  • Triceps Dips.
  • Bench Press/Chest Press.
  • Bent-over Lateral Raises.
Pushups and the Upper Body

This is one of those exercises I have grown to love, even though I often have a love/hate relationship with it like what I have with burpees.  Burpees will be another story (oh, boy!).  However, I always try to incorporate pushups in most of my upper body routine due to their benefits not only to the upper body but to the overall body as well.

Pushups are considered a bodyweight or callisthenics workout. This is because you do not have to add any weights or special movements to it to get the benefits. On the other hand, Calisthenics is an exercise movement that comprises a variety of movements which engage large muscle groups even without any form of equipment (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Pushups work the muscles of the shoulders, chest, triceps, and biceps.  Further, it engages the lower body muscles as in those of the legs and lower back.  Crucially, it also works the core, which also helps to stabilize the body.   

I do pushups in two (2) ways most of the time, on my knees (which is considered a low-impact version) and full-length or standard where you are on the balls of the foot. I sometimes switch between the two (2) depending on the type of routine I am doing on a particular day or how my body feels on that day.  As you know sometimes you feel strong and energised one day and could lift an elephant, and another, you just do not know what happens.  However, I really enjoy doing my pushups. 

I also incorporate them into my personalized workout challenges.  Doing pushups has certainly helped to sculpt my upper body and I will continue to make them a part of my routine.  You can read more on pushups here.

Biceps Curls and the Upper Body

I love doing my biceps curls with or without weights.  However, I prefer to do it with weights as this engages the muscles more and is what helps to sculpt and shape it. 

Biceps curls target the main muscles of the forearm – biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles.  Further, the bicep curls, while helping to work the upper arms also work to a great extent, those muscles of the lower arm as well. Some of the benefits of performing bicep curls include strengthening and toning the biceps as well as increasing the size of the muscles of the biceps (teachmeautonomy.info).

Do not be afraid to build your biceps by using weights, as muscles are what help you burn fat and improve metabolism.  This is one of the reasons I always encourage people to not shy away from weights or building muscles, you just have to do your research and see what works best for you. 

I for one try to use varying weights as I have a naturally muscular build. As such, I can look like I am lifting many weights when I am actually not, all because of how my body is shaped. So, I stick with a few pounds but experiment with others especially to maintain my physique.  Further, whenever, I do biceps curls, I always take care to do an exercise of the triceps. My favourite is the triceps dips.  You can perform this using a bench or simply do a triceps throwback with some weights or just pure body weight or some other variation. 

Triceps Dips and the Upper Body

This is another of my favourite upper body exercises and one that also helps to shape those arms.  The triceps dip is considered a compound movement because it not only works the triceps but also engages the forearm, chest, shoulders and lower back (teachmeautonomy.info).  As mentioned earlier, I always try to do both a bicep routine and a triceps routine in my same workout session, because one works the front of the arms while the other, the back.  As such, I always try to balance my efforts by doing them in the succession of the other. 

I find these exercises, while not challenging at times, a great addition to my overall fitness programme and thus, triceps dips land a place in the list of my favourite upper body workouts. Remember, standard triceps exercises are equally beneficial if you do not have a bench or something to use at home or the gym.  However, it is always recommended that we do these with weights to better engage the muscles of the triceps. You can also read more about biceps and triceps here in this article.

Bench Press/Chest Press and the Upper Body

The bench press is one of those easy-going-looking exercises and one that I enjoy doing, especially at the gym or with weights at home. Chest Press and/or Bench press target the same set of muscles – pectoral muscles (major muscles at the side of the chest) and as such, work the muscles of the shoulders and upper back as well as the biceps (teachmeautonomy.info).

However, the bench press is said to train a larger range of motions in comparison to the chest press.  The difference between these exercises is that ‘bench press’ usually refers to when the exercise is done on a flat or incline bench while ‘chest press’ refers to when the exercise is completed while seated upright on a chest press machine.

You can do this exercise at home by performing some sort of variation, which I most often do, especially when I am not ‘subscribed’ to a gym.  So, I usually use my heavier weights here, lie on the floor with my exercise mat ensuring correct posture and just slowly push my arms up and down again for a few repetitions. 

I particularly enjoy doing this exercise when I am working on an upper back or shoulder routine and would not consider those routines complete unless I do some sort of chest exercise.  Whichever version you can do as part of your upper body set, please ensure that you use the proper form to prevent injuries.

Bent-over Lateral Raises and the Upper Body

Bent over lateral raises are one of those exercises that target those muscles of the upper back, arms and shoulders.  It is mostly considered a shoulder exercise because it targets the rear deltoid head and develops the density of the muscles in the shoulder region (teachmeautonomy.info).

Bent-over lateral raises are a simple exercise that you just need to do with proper form and weights to engage all the right muscles.  I often do this exercise with barbells and add it to my upper body routine like all the others that were previously mentioned.  It is best to do upper body exercises together in a set and with varied repetitions and weights and not as isolated movements.  This will help you to reap the accumulative benefits of strengthening the entire upper body and not just one particular body part.

You can read more on creating an effective exercise routine here as well as how you can tone and strengthen the thighs at home here.

Illustrative Summary

Here is an illustrative summary of five (5) of my favourite upper body exercises that you can do both at the gym and home.

My favourite upper body workout - almondsandolivez.com

Let’s Sum Up!

There you have it! Five (5) of my favourite upper body exercises, at least, the ones I do more often and have seen results.  

These include pushups which are a great way to strengthen the chest, shoulders, core and the overall body. Biceps curls and triceps dips are effective at working the muscles of the arms, bench presses or chest presses are excellent for building the pectoralis major muscle (PECs) and bent-over lateral raises are great exercises to build the muscles of the upper back, arms and shoulders.

Nonetheless, with all workouts, always ensure that you are using proper form and adequate repetition to challenge your muscles, and yourself and thus build endurance.  Also, listen to your body, if it says it can only do 7 repetitions on a particular day, don’t push it, just listen to it and probably increase your repetitions over time.  Also, sometimes pushing it can only serve to overwork a particular muscle which can lead to injury as well as unnecessary fatigue.

Above all, try to enjoy your workouts and if you are not feeling motivated or feel that a particular routine is not working for you. Mix it up! But always ensure that you are working the entire body and not just isolated body parts.

So, what’s your favourite upper body workout and why?  Let us know in the comments below.  Get your fit on!

As you get your fit on, why not learn more about some other exercises that can aid you in this venture?

                                                                                               Editor’s Note: Article updated: July 6, 2024.

References

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