Why Training Upper Body Matters
At our gym in Palm Beach Gardens, our trainers see trends and we like to educate on these trends. With high work loads and more time spent sitting at desks, most people notice poor posture and muscular imbalances becoming a factor in their everyday life. Keeping a strong upper body routine in the gym is a great way to keep those factors at bay. We’re going to go over 8 of our favorite exercises that should be in your weekly routine. We’re going to keep things simple and you will be able to do these exercises at most fitness centers.
Overhead Press
This is a great movement that not only works out your shoulder, but hits your core and back as well. Compound exercises (workouts that hit more than one muscle group.) are great for overall body strength and create functional strength. If you have shoulder issues, use light dumbbells or resistance bands as a variation.
Bent-over Rows
A strong back is essential to maintaining good posture and contributes to overall body mobility. You can do this exercise with a barbell or dumbbells, but we recommend dumbbells to hit each side equally. If you’re going heavier, then barbells are the standard. If you have lower back issues when bent over, a variation is to use a machine or bench with dumbbells.
Dumbbell Bench Press
One of the standard workouts in every routine is the bench press. It is one of the best ways to train your chest. Instead of a barbell, though, use dumbbells. They don’t lock your shoulders into a fixed position, allowing you to hit your pecs equally without the dominant/stronger side helping. It’s also easier on your shoulders and rotators when using dumbbells.
Lat Pulldowns
The lats are a huge muscle group that are often neglected. Weakness in these muscles contributes to shoulders rolled forward and poor posture. They’re also responsible for giving you the wide back look, an attractive look said by many. To hit these, we recommend lat pulldowns. Cable bar pulldowns are the standard, but if you want extra isolation, you can try single lat pulldowns by changing the attachment. Singles really allow you to squeeze at the bottom for prime activation.
Overhead Tricep Extensions
Triceps are the largest muscle group in your arm, yet most people overtrain the biceps instead. These will contribute to arm size and are often overlooked. We recommend overhead extensions because it’s a great isolation movement and easy on the elbows. A single dumbbell is recommended for this exercise, but if you have elbow tightness or discomfort you can do variations with single cable or resistance bands.
Dumbbell Bicep Curls
One of the most known workouts across all gym-goers is the dumbbell bicep curl, and for good reason. This common workout is a great activation exercise for the biceps and with different grip variations, can be all you need to develop strong biceps.
Dumbbell Upright Row
When it comes to the traps and delts, they never seem to get as much attention as they need in a workout routine. Although most trainers advise against this workout (they should recommend this workout instead), with proper form, this workout can be a blessing to your traps/lateral delts. If you have shoulder or rotator discomfort when trying this exercise, you can resort to dumbbell shrugs and lateral raises or use resistance bands.
Cable Face Pulls
This is one of the most important workouts to increase strength in your postural muscles and see an improvement in posture. We recommend high reps and to do it often. If a cable or or pulleys aren’t available, then you can use resistance bands. With proper form, this workout can make sitting at a desk for a long time more comfortable.
Where Can You Do These Exercises?
At our top-notch training facility and gym in palm beach gardens, FL, we have all the equipment you need and more. If you’re not able to go to a fitness center in the West Palm Beach area, then your local gym/community workout center should have all you need.
If you’d like to come visit us, then simply complete the 7-day free pass registration form to the right (below for mobile visitors) and when you visit Fitness 4 Everybody in Palm Beach Gardens, FL to use your 7-Day Free Pass simply mention this blog post and we will schedule an appointment with a certified personal trainer.
For more form videos and workout tweaks, head over to Men’s Health‘s Youtube Page.
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