Upper body muscle draws a lot of attention when you wear revealing clothes such as a bathing suit. To build this area of the body up, you need to target the chest, shoulders, back, triceps and biceps. To get the best bang for your buck, you should include compound exercises in this game plan. These involve the movement of more than one joint and also use more than one muscle group at a time.
Step 1
Target your chest with bench presses. Lie on the bench and grab the bar with a wide, overhand grip. Lift it off the supports and hold it above your chest with your arms fully extended. Slowly lower it down until it lightly touches your chest and push it back up. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
Step 2
Press dumbbells over your head. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing forward. Push the dumbbells straight above your head and bring them in toward each other until they are an inch apart. Slowly lower them back to the starting point and repeat 10 to 12 times.
Step 3
Bend over at the waist to do back rows. Load a barbell and place it on the ground. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip. Lift it off the ground and bend forward so your arms hang straight down. Keep a slight bend in your knees, and keep your back straight and slightly higher than parallel to the ground. Pull the bar up toward your stomach and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Lower it back down and repeat 10 to 12 times.
Step 4
Arrange two benches parallel to each other, slightly farther apart than the length of your legs, to do triceps dips. Place your hands on the edge of one bench and your heels on the other. Lower your body down until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, then push yourself back up. Feel the contraction in your triceps. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
Step 5
Execute a set of Zottman curls. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing out. Curl the dumbbells up, turn your palms so they are facing down and lower the dumbbells back to the starting point. Turn your palms back out and repeat 10 to 12 times.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform four to five sets of all the exercises and work out three days a week, with one day of rest in between each workout. Use the heaviest weights you can lift with each exercise. Place a weight plate on your lap to increase the resistance when you do triceps dips. If you cannot do this alone, have an assistant do it for you.
Things You'll Need
- Barbell
- Dumbbells
- Two benches
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