Stay active and accountable during one of the busiest times of the year with 5-minute daily workouts.
It's not always easy to dedicate hours to the gym bench pressing and curling dumbbells, but even five minutes of dedicated upper-body work can help you progress toward your goals. Plus, shorter workouts are more likely to leave you feeling energized than a longer, more intense session.
You can squeeze this five-move workout into even the busiest of schedules. New York–based trainer Noam Tamir, CSCS, owner and founder of TS Fitness NYC, created this upper-body workout as part of our 5 Minutes of Movement Challenge to keep you active all month long.
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If you're following along with the challenge, you can do this workout as part of the program. If you're not, you can perform this as a separate workout, warmup or finisher — whatever works with your fitness routine!
5-Minute Upper-Body Workout
Do: 30 seconds of each of the following moves, then repeat the sequence for a total of 2 rounds.
- Alternating plank row
- Superhero pulldown
- Push-up
- Lying Y raise
- Chair triceps push-up
1. Alternating Plank Row
- Come into a high plank, shoulders stacked over hands, feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Draw your abs in toward your spine and lock your legs to stabilize your hips.
- Lift your left hand off the floor, pulling it to your shoulder.
- Return to start, placing your left hand down on the floor, then switch arms.
- Continue switching hands for 30 seconds.
Modifications and Variations
To modify, place your hands on a raised surface like a step, chair, table or wall.
To make this move more challenging, hold a dumbbell in each hand and row it up to your armpit, alternating sides.
2. Superhero Pulldown
- Lie on your stomach. Press your belly into the ground as you lift your legs, chest and arms up and off the ground.
- As you lift, press your legs together (this will give you an extra inner thigh workout) and pull your elbows down behind your head.
- Slowly bring your arms back to starting position, hands reaching overhead.
- Continue reaching and pulling down for 30 seconds.
Modifications and Variations
To modify, leave your feet on the ground. You can also support your upper chest and forehead on a pillow or yoga block to take some of the pressure on your neck and focus on your upper back.
To make this move more challenging, place a mini resistance loop around your wrists to add tension to the pulldown.
3. Push-Up
- Start in a high plank on your hands and toes, with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to hips to heels.
- Contract your abs so that your hips don't sag and your back doesn't arch.
- Bend your elbows as you lower your chest to the ground, keeping your hips level. Your elbows should be at about 45-degree angles from your body.
- Once you lower as far as you can, push yourself back up to a plank.
Modifications and Variations
Can't do a push-up? No problem. To modify, perform incline push-ups by placing your hands on a raised surface like a step, chair, table or wall.
To make this exercise more challenging, do the opposite: Place your feet on a step, chair or table for decline push-ups.
4. Lying Y Raise
- Lie face-down on the floor. Tuck your chin and pelvis slightly to create a neutral spine.
- Extend your arms overhead and to the sides at 45 degrees to create a Y shape with your body. Hold your hands so that your your thumbs are pointing up and your palms face each other.
- Keeping your head and torso still, squeeze your shoulder blades together so that both arms raise off of the floor.
- Pause, then lower your arms back to the floor and repeat.
Modifications and Variations
To modify, stand and bend at your hips so that your torso is at a 45-degree angle to the floor and perform the move from here.
To make this exercise more challenging, hold a lighter weight dumbbell in each hand while performing the move.
5. Chair Triceps Push-Up
- Start in a high plank with your hands close together on the seat of a chair (or other raised surface).
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest to the chair, your head coming closer to the back of the chair. Make sure you hug your arms in close to your sides to target your triceps.
- Push back up, then repeat.
Modifications and Variations
To modify, use a taller surface to place your hands on.
To make this more challenging, don't use a chair and, instead, take the move down to the floor.
Follow Along With the Challenge
Use the calendar below to help you stay on track with the 5 Minutes of Movement Challenge. Do the workout listed, then check off each day as you complete it. (Get a printer-friendly version here.)