Here’s Some Great Ways to Work Out Your Upper Body
While it’s never good to skip leg day every now and then, there’s a reason why so many people focus on the upper body. It’s the most obvious in a lot of situations, as it’s closer to your face and eyes, and you can show off more muscle there depending on what you wear. You also use a lot of your upper body muscles for day-to-day tasks, whether it be to lift heavy objects, push furniture, and so on. There’s a lot to love about upper body workouts, but they can get boring quickly.
One of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear from athletes is to switch up your workout routines so that you won’t get burnt out. But what exactly should you do for upper body training? Fear not — here are some neat ways you can train your upper body easily and effectively.
BEST WAYS TO EXERCISE YOUR UPPER BODY
Push-ups
Push-ups are a staple when it comes to upper body workouts, and for good reason. The actual exercise is quite simple, you don’t need any sort of tools or machines to do it and it’s very easy to track progress. You can keep count of the number of push-ups you do every day to see how well you’re doing and how much you’re improving.
Chances are that if you’re focusing on an upper body-heavy workout routine, you’re already doing this. But there’s more than one way to do a push-up. Aside from the standard push-up form, you can also do one-handed push-ups, diamond push-ups, and so on. Even if it’s still the same exercise in principle, the way you execute it is different enough that you won’t feel as bored of it.
Planks
While push-ups are great for exercising your arm and chest muscles, they don’t offer nearly as much for your core and abdomen. For that, you’ll need a real ab-burner, and planks are arguably one of the most effective ways to do just that. Nothing feels more painful yet more satisfying than finishing a plank at the last second, with you catching your breath as you recover on the floor. It’s a test of endurance and perseverance, and you can do it anywhere, too, just like push-ups.
One important thing to note about planks is that they’re not repetition-based like other exercises. Rather, you base your progress on time, and this can range from a few seconds to multiple minutes depending on how far you can go.
Resistance bands
Finally, here’s a neat little form of exercise that, while requiring tools, is a great break from the usual upper body workouts. Resistance bands are the new form of upper body training, and it’s not hard to see why. You can do many different exercise routines with a good resistance band, and the bands aren’t heavy on their own, but instead provide resistance that feels similar to weight training, just less dangerous. While resistance bands may feel wonky or awkward to use at first, once you get the hang of things, they’re very intuitive to use. A sturdy resistance band for arms will ensure you can get a good amount of exercise for months or even years to come.