Arms And Shoulder Workout : List Of The Best Exercises
Often people put much focus on working out other parts of their body like the hips, abs, and butt but forget that their upper body also needs to be worked out. The few that try to work their upper body also ignore the fact that they need to work all their upper body muscles in equal measure to keep them at peak health.
I guess what I am trying to say here is that when you go to the gym don’t just focus on your lower body just because it is where there is most body fat, instead give your upper body the same attention by incorporating some arms and shoulder workout exercises in your routine.
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Some Arms And Shoulder Workout Exercises
Before we discuss some of these exercises, you need to know that the arms and shoulders have the lowest fat content compared to other parts of the body. Therefore, it is imperative that you choose exercises that will increase resistance, flexibility, and toughness in your arms and shoulders.
1. Push up
The push-up is the most common exercise among people looking to build the chest, abs, and arms. However, what you might not have known is that push-ups are a great exercise for your arms and shoulders too.Performing push ups is pretty simple. Just lie down with your face facing the floor and get on your knees or toes. Then push your arms up against your shoulders while feeling the contraction in your abdomen and elbows. Also, when doing push-ups ensure that your torso is taken upwardly.
2. Front raise
The Front raise exercise is great for your shoulders. It works your middle deltoids and the front deltoids equally. To perform this exercise, you will need weights especially a pair of dumbbells. Hold the dumbbells in your hands with your arms by the hip sides and palms facing downwards. Secondly, slowly raise your arms (extended) straight up in front of your body up to the chest level. Do this with your elbows slightly bent and in a slow controlled motion. Once your arms are raised up to your chest, pause in this position for and bring both hands down to starting position.
For front raises, choose weights that you can comfortably raise. Otherwise, you will experience difficulties completing sets.
3. Overhead Push Exercise
This is a very simple exercise that doesn't require any special skills. Despite the fact that it is simple and that you can easily get through 3 sets of 16 counts each, the overhead push is an exercise that effectively helps you to flex your upper body muscles enhancing the resistance and firmness of these muscles.
To perform the overhead push, you also need to have weights; barbells will do in this case. Once you have the weights, you can opt to sit or stand with the barbell held in both hands. Still holding the barbells bring your palms directly to your shoulders and elbows and then back down to starting positions with your palms facing downwards.
4. Lateral raise
The lateral raise is a great exercise for the upper body muscles. This exercise works the posterior deltoids giving you width in your shoulders while enhancing your physique. To perform the lateral raise, you need dumbbells. Begin by holding a dumbbell in each hand and stand straight with your feet wide apart. With the dumbbells in your hands, fold your arms and slowly lift the dumbbells to the sides of your shoulder. Pause and lower the dumbbells slowly and in a controlled movement.
5. Chair dips
Chair dips are in all honesty the easiest exercise to perform. In fact, you don’t even any special equipment or ridiculous space; just a chair, a little open space and yourself. How do you perform a chair dip?
To begin with, get a well-built chair and put it in an open space. Next, sit down and wrap your hands around the front edge of the chair and then slide your body forward and off the chair. Do this with your arms fully extended. Once you have done this, bend your knees slightly so that your heels are a few inches from your knees. After that, lower your body downward by slowly bending your elbows to an angle not lower than 90 degrees. Extend your arms and raise your body upward with your body weight supported by your arms
6. Biceps curl
Curls are associated with the development of bigger arms, so if you want to increase your biceps and upper body strength, then the biceps curl is the ultimate exercise for you.
To perform this exercise, have dumbbells or a barbell with you. Get into starting position by holding the weight in your hands and at arm’s length. Stand up straight keeping your elbows close to your torso. Rotate the palms of your hands so that they face forward.
Hold the starting position, exhale and curl the weights while contracting the muscles behind your arms. Keep raising the dumbbells until you feel your biceps are contracted to the maximum and that the dumbbells are now at shoulder level. Hold this position for a while, inhale and then lower the dumbbells slowly back to the starting position.
Repeat this until you accomplish the recommended amount of reps.
7. Walking Planks
Many you may think that planks are the most challenging exercises ever; however, once you realize how beneficial planks are to the human body you will want to put it as a top exercise in your workout routine. Planks work all the body muscles, both upper body muscles, and the lower body muscles. They help to strengthen the core as well as increase your physical strength. Although there are many variations of plank exercises, the walking plank is the most efficient arms and shoulder workout variation.
Here is how to perform a walking plank; get into a press-up position by lying down flat on your stomach. Push up into your forearms and let your forearms support your weight. From here just move a few step to the right and back to starting position and then a few steps to the left. Do this repeatedly for a complete set. When doing the walking plank, ensure that your stomach stays tucked in throughout the exercise and also try to ease the pressure on the floor by using a mat for the exercise.
Wrap up
The best arms and shoulder workout should totally work your arms and shoulders in equal measure. The sole objective is to strengthen these muscles, to make them more flexible and build resistance. The exercises that we have discussed above are the most common ones for the arms and shoulders.
So if you feel challenged to want to get your upper body in top shape, try some of the exercises we’ve mentioned above and see what works for you. Remember that not all of them will be a walk in the park. So the more you practice, the better you become at it and the fitter you also become. Perhaps all you needed was a little push in the right direction. So pick your poison now.If you have enjoyed reading this article and have found it useful, don’t forget to share with friends and family; this could be a great stepping stone towards their desired level of fitness.
