Upper-body strength is important for both sports and daily activities. Even something as basic as changing a storm window takes a slight bit of strength. When it comes to exercise, free weights might be more advantageous for recruiting muscle fibers, but machines are just as effective at building strength. The key is to use machines that target all the major muscles in your upper body.
Chest Press
The pectoralis major and minor are the major muscles in the chest. These get activated when you move your upper arms inward and shoulders forward. A chest press machine primarily works these muscles, as well as your deltoids and triceps. Your delts are on your outer shoulders and your triceps sit on the back of your upper arms.
This machine is operated from either a seated or a lying position. Both exercises are performed the same way. You push weighted lever arms away from your chest and then slowly returned them toward it. Change the resistance by adding weight plates or sliding a pin into a weight stack.
Shoulder Press
The shoulder press is performed from a seated position. Its primary function is to work the deltoids, and it also targets the triceps, latissimus dorsi, trapezius and rhomboids. The lats are the large V-shaped muscles in your back, the trapezius is the large muscle that runs across your collar bones and the rhomboids sit between your shoulder blades.
This machine is used by pushing two lever arms straight above your head and slowly lowering them. When doing this exercise, adjust the seat to make sure your arms are in the right position. According to the American Council on Exercise, the handles of the lever arms should be at shoulder height.
Lat Pulldown
As the name implies, the lat pulldown machine works the latissimus dorsi muscles in your back. Any time you pull an object toward your body, you activate these muscles, and the lat pulldown machine simulates this. It is operated from a seated position with a padded support anchored down on your thighs.
To do the exercise, reach op and grasp the bar with a wide grip. Steadily pull it down to your chest and raise it back up slowly. Change the resistance by sliding a pin into a weight stack. The machine also has a close-grip bar which shifts more of the emphasis to your middle upper back.
Triceps Extension
The triceps extension machine isolates your triceps. This exercise is performed from a seated position with your feet on a platform, your hands on the handles of a lever arm and your elbows pinned to a padded support. The action of elbow extension is what works your triceps.
To do the exercise, simply push down on the handles to straighten your arms. As with other machines, the weight is changed by sliding a pin into a weight stack.
Preacher Curl
The preacher curl machine works your biceps, which are the muscles opposing your triceps. This machine is set up exactly like the triceps extension, except you grab a lever arm with your arms fully extended. The exercise is performed by lifting the lever arm toward your face while your elbows remain still on a padded support. The bottom of the machine has a pin-adjusted weight stack to change the resistance, and it also has an adjustable seat.
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