Upper Body Workout

Posted byashleepedlowPosted inUncategorized

I honestly am not sure where the heck the month of April went, but here we are with another new month, which means another new monthly workout!

May’s workout is going to focus on training upper body. Generally, I find women tend to neglect their upper body more often and although I love training lower body, I have over the years fallen in love with training upper body as well. Training upper body helps improve your posture, strength, body composition and bone density. It’s also incredibly rewarding and motivating, especially when you start to see the weight increase.

So grab your favourite bands and dumbbells and complete 8-12 repetitions of each exercise and complete each exercise once in a circuit style.  Rest 1-2 minutes and then repeat the circuit 2-4 times.

Hammer Curl: begin standing tall with your palms facing in towards your thighs. Inhale and as you exhale bend at the elbow bringing the weights towards your chest. Inhale as you return the weights to the start position. Keep your core tight throughout the movement and do not use momentum from the hips as you move the weights.
Tricep Kickback: begin with a bent over position hinging forward from the hips. Row your elbows up placing them against your sides. This is your start position. Take an inhale and then as you exhale extend through the elbow kicking the weights out behind you. Inhale as you return the weights to the start position in a controlled manner
Chest Press: begin laying on your back on the bench and bring the weights straight up over your chest. Ensure that your arms are fully extended but your elbows aren’t locked out. Bend at the elbow lowering the weight towards your chest as you inhale. Exhale and press the weights to their start position. Maintain a tight core throughout the movement. Your feet can be placed on the floor if that is comfortable for you (I have mine placed on the bench in the photo because that is more comfortable for me).
Banded Row: anchor your band securely around a strong anchor point or through a door. Sitting up nice and tall begin with your arms outstretched. Keeping your shoulders down away from your ears pull your elbows back behind you squeezing your shoulder blades together as you do so. Exhale as you pull the band back and inhale as you return towards your start position.
Banded Bicep Curl: standing on the band hold the band in each hand. Begin with your palms facing forward. Take an inhale and exhale as you curl your palms up towards your shoulders. Inhale as you return to the start position keeping your elbows close to your body and your core tight.
Banded Overhead Tricep Extension: anchor the band at a point above your head. You can kneel or stand for this exercise depending on what you have for a secure anchor point. Take the band in both hands over your head and inhale. Exhale as you extend through the elbow and out in front of your face. Inhale as you return to your start position.
Incline Push-up: begin in a tall plank position from an elevated surface with your hands stacked under your shoulders. Inhale as you bend at the elbows and lower your body towards the bench. Exhale as you return to the start position.
Reverse Fly: begin in a forward hip hinge position with the weights hanging down in front of you. Inhale then as you exhale lift your hand out to the side keeping your core tight and squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top. Inhale as you return to your start position.
Lateral Raise: begin standing tall with the weights hanging at your side. Inhale and as you exhale lift the weights up and out to the side raising your arms up to shoulder height. Inhale as you lower back to your start position.
Front Raise: begin standing tall with the weights at the front of your thighs. Keeping your core engaged, inhale and then exhale as you lift the weights straight out in front of you to shoulder height. Inhale as you return to your start position.

So there you have it…a full upper body workout targeting all the major muscle groups. Remember when you are strength training you want to leave 24-48 hours of rest between training session. I would recommend this session no more than two times per week and leave 1-2 days in between. On these days in between you can look at training lower body or just focus on being active in whatever way you prefer. Do you have an upper body exercise you love that wasn’t included here? Drop it in the comments below!

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