From carrying your groceries to controlling an unruly dog, having a strong upper body will help you get through your day. Plus, a toned upper body will give you a fit and trim look. Workouts for your upper body should focus on specific muscle groups, including those in your chest, arms, shoulders and back.
Chest
The main muscles in your chest are the pectoralis majors. You can use push-ups and bench presses to target your chest muscles. The nice thing about push-ups is that you don't need any equipment to do them.
To do a push-up, simply lie on your stomach. Place your hands flat on the floor just beneath your shoulders. Push your upper body off the floor until your arms are fully extended, then slowly lower yourself to complete a repetition. Keep your body straight and rigid during the motion.
To do bench presses, you need dumbbells or a barbell and a weight bench. Lie flat on your back on the bench and lower the weights to your chest. Push the weights off your chest until your arms are fully extended, then slowly lower them to your chest to complete one repetition. Don't bounce the weights off your chest to begin the second repetition.
Arms
The most commonly worked out arm muscles include the biceps and triceps. You use your biceps to bend your arms at the elbows, and you use your triceps to extend your arms. Target your biceps with arm-curling exercises, and use arm extensions to strengthen your triceps.
You can perform curls with dumbbells or barbells. If using dumbbells, sit on the side of a bench with a dumbbell in one hand hanging toward the ground. Bend your arm at the elbow to lift the dumbbell away from the ground until your arm is bent at a right angle. Slowly lower your arm again to complete a repetition. When you complete a set with one arm, perform a set with your other arm. If you use a barbell, stand up and lower the bar to your waist while holding it with both hands. Maintaining a rigid posture, bend your arms at the elbows to bring the barbell up to your chest, then slowly lower it back to your waist to complete a repetition.
Dumbbells are best for working your triceps. From a sitting position, you can hold a dumbbell in both hands just behind your head with your arms bent at the elbows. Lift the dumbbell over your head by extending your arms, then slowly lower it back behind your head to finish one rep. To work your arms individually, get down on one hand and knee on a flat bench. Place your other foot on the floor and hold a dumbbell with your free hand. Start with your upper arm parallel to your torso and your forearm hanging toward the floor. Raise your forearm so it comes in line with your upper arm and torso--your arm should form a straight line. Bend your arm at the elbow again and slowly lower your forearm toward the floor to complete a repetition.
Shoulders
Your shoulder muscles include your deltoids, which are at the tops of your arms, and your trapezius, which is at the base of your neck. Use deltoid raises and shrugs to target your shoulder muscles.
To perform deltoid raises, hold your arms at your sides with a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly raise you arms from your sides until they form a "T" shape with your body, then lower them to complete a repetition.
To perform shrugs, stand and hold dumbbells at your sides or a barbell at waist level. Shrug your shoulders to raise the weights an inch or two higher, hold this position for a second, then slowly lower your shoulders to complete a repetition.
Back
To develop your back muscles, you need to work out your upper and lower back. Reverse flies target your upper back while prone back extensions, or superman extensions, work your lower back.
To perform reverse flies, sit on the edge of your bench and bend over so your chest is flat against your knees. Dangle your arms toward the floor with a dumbbell in each hand. Raise your arms out to your sides so your upper body forms a "T" shape parallel with the floor. Slowly lower the weights back toward the floor to complete one rep.
To perform prone back extensions, lie flat on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you. Use your back muscles to lift your head, arms and legs as far off the floor as you can, holding the position for a second. Slowly lower yourself back to a flat position to complete the repetition.
Workouts Tips
Perform all exercises in sets of 10 to 12 reps, and do three to four sets of each exercise per workout. Start with an amount of weight that's challenging, but not overly taxing. Stay in control during each repetition, performing it slowly. Don't work the same muscle group for two consecutive days; always give your muscles a day to rest and heal. If you use free weights, always have a spotter who stands over you and can help you with the weights if your muscles give out.
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