Best Upper Body Workout Routine
Accessories Needed: Bands, Barbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells, Devices, and Additional
These days, everyone uses upper body exercises to gain muscle mass. Anecdotally I’d even venture to guess that upper/lower splits are currently the most common among recreational lifters.
However, how can you determine whether the upper body exercise you’re doing is appropriate for you?
How can you be sure it works as intended?
Workouts for the Upper Body You Should Focus ON
All of these exercises are similar in terms of providing effective upper body training.
Really, the majority of workouts you discover online will primarily consist of the same exercises with comparable rep schemes. This is because these exercises impart important movement patterns.
Moreover, these exercises are compound movements that target many muscle groups within their typical ranges of motion. Naturally, this makes them safer to carry out. When working out the upper body, it’s crucial to train these movement patterns:
Vertical Pulls
Horizontal Pulls
Vertical Push
Horizontal Push
Loaded Carry
Listed below are examples of exercise variations that accomplish these movement patterns.. The following are the six upper body muscle-building exercises:
1 Pull Up
The pull-up is a classic exercise that targets the muscles in the upper back.The movement produces the vertical pull movement pattern.
The pull up is one of the best back workouts for lats. Still very few people are able to execute them. This article training progressions will walk you through the process of going from a novice level to an intermediate one where you can complete an unassisted bodyweight pull up.
2. The Barbell Row
The barbell row is another back workout used to enhance the growth of back muscles. The horizontal pull movement pattern is achieved.
To execute the exercise, a lot of shoulder and core stability is required. When you get proficient enough to do the workout, though, you’ll be able to increase your size significantly by pulling heavier loads. For this reason it’s considered a bodybuilding mainstay.
3. The Press Across
The overhead press aids in strengthening the triceps and shoulders’ push muscles. This exercise completes the vertical push pattern, which is why most upper body workouts employ it..
Similar to the barbell row, a strong core and stable shoulders are necessary for an effective overhead press.
The exercises outlined below will employ a lot of progressions in order to do this safely.
4. The Bench Press
The barbell bench press and its variations are the go to exercises for everyone, or at least it used to be), and they are utilized to complete the horizontal push movement patterns in many upper body routines.
Like all barbell variations, the bench press lets you get the most out of the weight you can utilize, which makes it terrific.
It does, however, demand a lot of stabilization, mostly from the shoulder ligaments, like most of the exercises in this list that have been covered thus far.
To assist you develop the necessary strength, we will incorporate a number of exercises into the programs that are described below.
5. The Dip
Depending on how you execute it, the dip is a cross between the vertical and horizontal push movement patterns. Whatever the case, the exercise does really develop a significant amount of shoulder, chest, and tricep muscle.
You may find many online upper body exercises that include a variation of the dip. It can be employed as an additional movement or as the main movement.
It’s a bodyweight exercise that not many people can accomplish, just like the pull-up. We will thus make sure to incorporate plenty of progressions in the exercise regimens you will follow to help you get there.
6. The Farmer’s Carry
Arguably one of the best and least used workouts available is the farmer’s stroll. It’s a loaded carry that, in its application, works the core, achieves a certain level of cardiovascular training, and packs on size to the traps.
As a seasoned content writer specialized in the fitness and health niche, Arun Bhagat has always wanted to promote wellness. After gaining proper certification as a gym trainer with in-depth knowledge of virtually all the information related to it, he exercised his flair for writing interesting, informative content to advise readers on their healthier lifestyle. His topics range from workout routines, nutrition, and mental health to strategies on how to be more fit in general. His writing is informative but inspiring for people to achieve their wellness goals as well. Arun is committed to equipping those he reaches with the insights and knowledge gained through fitness.