Best Upper Body Strength Workouts for 2021!
Erin Cooper
Certified Wellness Coach| ?? Specialized in Implementing Chronic Gut Health Concerns with a Natural, Wholistic Approach??
My go-to upper body strength workout is a superset of push-ups and should press. I like to do basic military-style push-ups where your hands at positioned just at your shoulder, while in a plank position. Everyone should strive to do push-ups on your toes, but you can start out on your stomach, and lift your entire body off the mat. Then return to rest, and do it again, until you are able to graduate to starting position in full plank on your toes. The secret to doing push-ups is to use your whole body when pressing up. That means your hips?glutes, thighs, ads, everything!
For the 2nd exercise in this superset, basic should press. Grab hand weights that are heavy but not too heavy so that you can do at least 7 reps before your muscles start to get fatigued. Start with the weights in your hands with your palms facing the wall or mirror in front of you, with your hands positioned just at your shoulders. Press the weights directly up, no need to touch the weight here, just press them straight up, and return to starting position.?
For both exercises, I like to do 3 sets of 15 reps for women and 3 reps of 20-25 for men. This should be done at least 2xs per week, but 3xs would be ideal.?
The benefits of doing these exercises are a slim tapered back (lats), lifted chest, beautiful round shoulders, with no turkey arms, which is why I love this combo so much!
The benefits of targeting the upper body, outside of the overall, look and shape of your muscles, is the added bonus of having a stronger upper body which can help you build a stronger lower body. Everything works together for the greater good!