There are an endless exercises you can do with the large variety of workout equipment available. With so much to chose from, you may feel overwhelmed trying to decide which type of equipment is the best. The American Council on Exercise recommends using a variety of equipment to avoid strength and fitness plateaus. For the upper body, dumbbells, resistance bands, weight machines, medicine balls and even some cardio equipment can all beneficial.
Dumbbells and Barbells
Dumbbells and barbells are both a form of free weights. Dumbbells come in a set of two and are intended to be held one in each hand. A barbell has a long bar with weight plates on either hand designed to be held by both hands simultaneously. Bodybuilding.com notes that dumbbells require more muscles because there is more effort put into stabilizing the weights. You also have greater range of motion with dumbbells with your shoulders and back. Dumbbells are available in a variety of colors, coatings and weights. You can find single weight sets or adjustable dumbbells ranging from 1 to 150 lbs. each. Barbells help you building power and overall strength, but do limit your range of motion of the shoulders, back and wrists. Many body builders use barbells when doing lower-body workouts and use a combination of barbells and dumbbells for upper-body fitness.
Resistance Bands
The American Council of Exercise lists resistance bands or resistance tubing as an inexpensive, safe, effective and portable way to strength train at home or on the go. Resistance bands come in a variety of forms. Some come as sheets of a pliable material that you cut off of a roll. You will find these frequently in a rehabilitation or athletic training setting. Resistance tubing comes already cut with nylon and plastic handles attached in a fixed length. Both come in a variety of colors and strengths. Each manufacturer color codes the bands or tubes differently to indicate their strengths; check the packaging for a color-coded chart to decide which strength you will use. If you are a beginner, start with a lighter resistance until you perfect the form or technique. Some of the exercises you can do with a resistance band or tube are chest presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, rows, front and side arm raises.
Medicine Balls
Medicine balls are weighted balls with a texture similar to a basketball. They range in size from 1 to 50 lbs. By design, they are either a solid ball or have a handle attached or molded into it. They are extremely versatile because they can be used during plyometrics, core workouts, upper-body exercises and the lower body as well. Specifically for the upper body, you can use a medicine ball to do push-ups, triceps press and triceps push-ups, lateral pull-overs and throwing drills. The balls are hard, but do offer some bounce so you can throw them against a brick wall to work on explosive throwing drills. Benefits of medicine-ball training include improved sport performance, core strength, socialization and variety to your workouts. Movements you can perform with a medicine ball can be more dynamic because you can work in a variety of movement planes and include things like throwing and catching, which is unsafe to do with dumbbells.
Machines
There are dozens of weight machines available on the market. In fitness centers each machine typically targets once specific muscle group. For example, a chest press machine works the chest and a biceps curl machine works the biceps. This makes it difficult for you to cheat during a movement. It ensures that the target muscle stays engaged, which isolates it from others that tend to assist during free-weight movements. Universal weight machines are usually one large unit with several stations. They usually incorporate upper- and lower-body stations to provide resistance for all the major muscles of the body. According to ACE, machines are safe and easy to use, especially for beginners. Therapeutically they are very beneficial when you are trying to focus on rehabilitating one specific muscle or joint. For general fitness, however, they do force you to work in one plane of movement and they don't really mirror the regular movements of everyday functions.
Cardiovascular Equipment
While cardio equipment is intended to improve cardiovascular or aerobic fitness, there are several machines that engage the upper body as well. Some models of elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles offer handlebars that move against some form of resistance. An upper body ergometer, or UBE, is similar to a bicycle, only for the upper body. When a piece of cardiovascular equipment utilizes the upper body and places some resistance on it, it will work on extension and flexion of the shoulders and elbows as well as engaging the upper back. It will show improvements in muscular endurance of those muscles when used over time.
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