Upper Body Exercises for Advanced and Beginner Bodyweight

Are you itching to tone your upper body without needing any additional gear or weights? Then these upper body bodyweight workouts might be just what you need! You can either read on for more upper body workout suggestions for both beginning and experienced exercisers, or scroll down to the section you require.

EXERCISES THAT ARE BODYWEIGHT?

Exercises using only your bodyweight can help you gain strength and fitness without the need for extra weights. They frequently require no additional equipment at all. These exercises are simple to perform anywhere—at home, at the gym, or over your lunch break—because they emphasize utilizing only your own body weight to push your muscles.

CAN I IMPROVE MY UPPER BODY STRENGTH WITH BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES?

Indeed, without a doubt. The finest bodyweight workouts often incorporate full-body exercises, so you’ll notice improvements in your arms, back, and chest from these routines. Generally speaking, as you advance with dumbbells, kettlebells, or weighted plates, we advise adding slightly more weight if your goal is to bulk up these upper body areas. This isn’t always feasible, so if you must perform your upper body bodyweight exercises without the use of any equipment, it’s still worthwhile to increase the number of repetitions, lengthen the time spent on each movement (especially the moment of maximum tension), or attempt more difficult variations of each exercise.

 PLANKS 

An excellent all-round exercise, planks will boost your arm, back, chest, shoulder and upper body strength whilst also targeting your core and glutes. Check out more variations of planks here. 

To perform: 

• Lie on a mat with your forearms on the floor just under each shoulder and feet hip-width apart
• With your toes on the floor, lift up so your bodyweight is balanced on your forearms and toes
• Focus on keeping your core engaged and your shoulder blades relaxed
• Hold for as long as you can, working on increasing the time as you get stronger

UP DOWN PLANKS

Once you’re comfortable with a regular plank, you can start to introduce Up Down Planks. They’ll add an extra boost to your plank by including some dynamic movement, while also helping to strengthen your back, improve your posture and work your core. 

To perform: 

• Start in a regular plank position with forearms on the floor
• Place your left hand on the mat below your shoulder and straighten, before following with your right arm
• You’ll now be in a raised plank position – keep your core engaged and your back straight
• Hold for a few moments before bending your left elbow onto the mat and repeating with the right arm
• Switch sides as you repeat on alternate sides

INCLINE PUSH UPS

If a classic push up is a little too much of a challenge then incline push ups are an easier starting point, still providing an effective upper body and core workout. By raising the upper body off the ground, some of the pressure is taken off your arms and shoulders, with plenty of emphasis on the chest area. You can perform these on an exercise bench or box, but the arm of a sofa will also work perfectly. One of our favourite options is using stairs, as you can drop a step over time as you become stronger, slowly working your way to a regular floor-based push up. This guide will teach you more about how to master your first push up. 

To perform: 

• Start in a classic plank position, but with your feet on the floor and your hands on the edge of your chosen platform. Keep feet shoulder-width apart and arms straight, below your shoulders
• Your body should still be in a straight line, but raised at the front
• Once ready, bend your elbows, keeping them tucked as close into your body as you can
• Lower your chest as far towards your hands as you can, before pushing back up through your arms to starting position

 BIRD DOG HOLDS

Excellent for relieving lower back pain and strengthening your back muscles, bird dog holds are great for improving posture and flexibility. These will also help to boost your core and glutes. 

To perform:

• Start on all fours, with your knees below your hips and your hands below your shoulders
• Engage your core and keep your back straight
• At the same time, lift up your left arm until it’s in front of you, level with your shoulders, and push out your right leg until it’s raised straight out behind you
• Hold for 5 seconds before lowering and then swap to the the right arm and left leg

PRONE I, Y, T

Another fantastic exercise for improving posture – by targeting the lower and mid back and the muscles around your spine – Prone I, Y and T can help tackle back pain by engaging and strengthening a range of critical muscles. 

To perform:

• Lie face down on your mat, with arms straight out ahead of you and feet around hip-width apart
• Engaging your core, lift your arms up off the ground in front of you, hold for a moment, then lower back to the ground (this is your ‘I’)
• Move your arms into a ‘Y’ position, engage your core and lift your arms off the ground. Hold for a moment before lowering 
• Move your arms out to a ‘T’ position, engage your core and lift your arms off the ground. Hold for a moment before lowering 
• This is one complete rep. Return to ‘I’ position to repeat.