Upper Body Exercises

Upper Body Exercises are easy to do and they will really help you change the shape of your body. Not only will building your shoulders and back make your waist look smaller by comparison but the extra muscle will burn more calories all day long.

If you're not trying to build size then just use lighter weights and more reps. This will build your slow twitch muscles which tend to be leaner less bulky muscles.

If; however, you are trying to bulk up try using heavy weights with fewer reps. This will build your fast twitch muscles which tend to be capable of producing more size.

If you are looking for the quickest, most efficient way to get your upper body in shape then I would recommend push ups, pull ups and dips. These 3 exercises will not only work every muscle in your upper body but it works multiple muscle groups which results in better coordination and real world strength.

Push Up Workout

I've really grown to appreciate a good push up workout. Push ups are great for so many different areas. Your shoulders, back, chest, arms and core all get a great workout.

Variations are almost endless depending on where you place your hands and then there's always divebombers, spiderman push ups, superman push ups, one leg, one hand, fingertips, slow reps, explosive reps (clapping) and it just keeps going.

One of my favorite workouts is simplyalternating sprints and push ups with as little rest in between as possible. It builds strength, works out the entire body and burns calories as well as any cardio. Simple but very effective.

People have been doing push ups for thousands of years and it is one of the most traditional yet effective workouts you will find.

Dips Workout

There's nothing like a dips workout to totally exhaust your upper body and leave you feeling like you really did something. People have been using dips to build powerful upper bodies for thousands of years and they definitely deliver results.

If you don't have a good place to do them in your house you can always do modified dips with a couple of chairs. Use one behind you with your hands on the chair behind your back and the other to prop your feet on. You can also use 3 chairs and put one hand on each chair to the side of your body. I like to plan my Jogging route by the local school so I can do a couple of sets during my run.

Try alternating sets of dips doing one slow and controlled on a 5 count down and up and then do the next set as fast as you can while maintaining good form.

Pull Up Workout

A consistent pull up workout will build your upper body like no other single exercise. Pull ups build strong, solid muscle in virtually every muscle in your upper body. I cannot stress this enough! If you only have time to do one exercise for your upper body for the rest of your life make it PULL UPS!

If you're like most people and you can only do a couple of pull ups or none at all then here is an easy way to work your way up. Get a STABLE chair (not a folding chair or bar stool) and place it under your pull up bar. Place your feet in the chair and use your legs to help push yourself up. Depending on your strength you may need to use your legs to help control going down also but your goal is always to lower yourself only with your arms. (CAUTION: Your legs are WAY stronger than your arms so make sure you are using your legs as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE! The goal is to do lots of pull ups without your legs at all so your ARMS need to do as much of the work as they can EVERY repetition you do.)

You can buy a pull up bar that fits in your door frame in your house that can easily be taken down (No screws or fasteners) They also have some that double as push up bars.