Fitness Guide - Upper Body Exercises
The majority of the upper body exercises have been designed to increase upper body strength and tone the muscles. The best way to get the most out of your upper body exercises is to begin with a warm-up routine. This should always include stretching of the upper body as well as some type of cardio exercises. Stretching prior to a workout and then jogging in place or doing some jumping jacks is often enough to get your body going. It is also wise to work the lower body on alternating days as the upper body.
It is very important that prior to beginning your exercises that you start off with stretching. Warming up your muscles will help you loosen up your muscles, which in turn can minimize your chances of injuring yourself. If you do not stretch before you exercise you are at risk of possibly tearing your tendons and or muscles.
Depending on your overall goal for exercising is going to weigh in on your exercise routine. If you are trying to only tone your body you will not need to use a lot of weight. However, if you are trying to increase your muscle mass, you will need to increase the weight amount. A rule of thumb to keep in mind is more weight equals more muscle mass. For a goal with more toning than muscle mass you should use less weight, but more reps should be done.
Here are some exercises that can help you in training your body for whatever outcome you are seeking. Many of these exercises can be done in your home without any special equipment. Others will need to be done with equipment, either in the gym or in your home. Some of the equipment that you can use for these exercises is resistance equipment or free weights.
Before you begin any exercise regimen it is important that you have your doctor’s approval. Take it slow and easy, then gradually work your way up to a more intense workout. Do not attempt to work through the pain. Your body will let you know when it has had enough, pay attention to what your body is telling you.
Push-Ups
One of the most popular exercises for your upper body is push-ups. There are many different ways you can switch up your push-ups as you become more comfortable with doing them. But, as you are first starting out, you should stay with the basic push-ups.
Start on the floor, your legs should be straight with your feet together. Place your hands on the floor face down under your shoulders. Keeping your legs, knees and back straight slowly push against the floor. Continue to push until you lift your body off of the floor. Hold yourself up for about ten seconds and then slowly lower yourself back to the floor. Repeat this ten times. As it becomes easier for you, simply increase the number of reps you do.
More Chest Work
Find a firm surface, such as a floor. You will need a pair of ten pound dumbbells. Laying flat on your back. Each of your hands will be holding a dumbbell with your palms facing the ceiling. Your arms need to be straight out perfectly lined with your shoulders. Slowly raise your arms toward the ceiling until they meet over your body. Keep your elbows straight as you are lifting the dumbbells. If starting off with the ten pound weights is too much for you, start off with a weight that you feel comfortable with. You can always increase the weight as you feel more comfortable.
Biceps and Triceps
With your weights in front of you hang your arms in front of you at your thighs. Lift the weights up, you should do this without pushing off of your thighs or swinging them upward. Take turns using each arm, be sure to repeat this the same number of times for each arm.
Pull-ups/Chin-ups
For this you will need to have a stable and secure bar. If you do not have one, you should do this at the gym. Stand under the bar and raise your hands. Place your hands around the bar with your fingers facing you, to do chin-ups. For pull-ups your fingers should be facing away from you. Now all you need to do is lift yourself up.
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