Strength Primer Workout: Upper Body

Take advantage of the exhilarating energy of fall to master a few moves and get stronger. This is the second in a series of workouts focused on the major muscle groups to give you a template to pump some iron.

This week’s workout: arms, shoulders and upper-back muscles. Get ready to flex to your max with this upper-body workout.

Workout 2: Upper Body

WARM-UP

Perform 10 to 12 reps of each move with little to no rest between each move.

Jumping Jack to Scissor Jack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAKY3L8piwg

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, arms by your sides.
• Bring your arms out and up above your head as you jump your feet out wide.
• Drop your arms back down and bring your feet together.
• Repeat this movement, then transition your arms to crossing horizontally over and under one another in front of your chest as your feet continue jumping in and out.

Walkout Plank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQb4d3HCaqE

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Hinge at your hips and reach down for the ground with both hands.
• Walk your hands out to a plank position, hold, then walk your hands back to your feet.
• Return to standing. Repeat.

Push-Ups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlwZNB98DDk

• Start in a prone position with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart and your feet hip-width apart.
• Lower your chest to the floor and then push the floor away from you to return to the starting position.

TIP: Push the ground away from you. Create tension in your body by spreading the ground apart with your feet and your hands, as if you are tearing apart some paper towel.

WORKOUT

SET 1: Perform eight to 10 reps of each move with little to no rest between each move. Repeat entire set twice, resting one to two minutes between sets.

Biceps Curl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WZi_DMlkcA

• Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms at your sides, feet under your hips.
• Rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing up. Bend your elbows and flex your biceps to curl the dumbbells to shoulder height.
• Lower the dumbbells back down to your sides. Repeat.

Overhead Triceps Extension

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjU-V5VDpAc

• Stand with your spine long and your shoulders wide. Grip one end of a dumbbell with one hand placed over the other.
• Engage your abs as you bend your elbows and press the dumbbell up to the ceiling.
• Bend your elbows, keeping them close to your ears and pointed to the ceiling, to lower the dumbbell behind your head.
• Keeping your upper arms as stationary as possible, press the dumbbell away to the ceiling. Lower it behind your head and repeat.

TIP: Breath out as you raise the dumbbell, and breathe in as you lower it.

Hammer Curls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWkRhh9Zw54

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells at your sides.
• Brace your core, bend your elbows and curl the dumbbells up to shoulder height. Do not internally rotate them—they should remain parallel to one another.
• Lower them to your sides and repeat.

TIP: Brace your core to keep your body from swaying with the weights. This will keep the focus in your biceps.

Triceps Kickbacks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIl-2H7gK0

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells at your sides.
• Tip from your hips, keeping your knees soft, to bring the dumbbells down with straight arms. Your eyes should focus on the ground in front of you to maintain a neutral spine.
• Keep your arms straight and bring the dumbbells out in front of you, biceps framing your ears.
• Bring the dumbbells down and straight back, externally rotating them away from you as they come out behind you.
• Twist them inward as you bring them forward and out in front of you. Repeat.

SET 2: Perform eight to 10 reps of each move with little to no rest between each move. Repeat entire set twice, resting one to two minutes between sets.

Singe-Arm Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAPhqldp7zE

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells at your sides.
• Tip from your hips, keeping your knees soft, to bring the dumbbells down with straight arms. Your eyes should focus on the ground in front of you to maintain a neutral spine.
• Pull your right elbow toward the ceiling to row the right dumbbell up to rib height, squeezing your right shoulder blade in toward your spine.
• Return the right dumbbell back to start as your row the left dumbbell up to rib height, squeezing your left shoulder blade in toward your spine.
• Return the left dumbbell back to start as you continue rowing, alternating arms.

Kneeling Raises With Palms Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zI8LgQaolU

• Begin in a kneeling position, with your knees under your hips and holding dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing up.
• Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lift the dumbbells up with straight arms to shoulder height.
• Lower them back to your thighs slowly. Repeat.

TIP: Brace your core to keep from swaying.

Straight-Arm Triceps Kickback

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhQCXVsFxS0

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells by your sides.
• Tip from your hips, keeping your knees soft, to bring the dumbbells down with straight arms. Your eyes should focus on the ground in front of you to maintain a neutral spine.
• Keeping your arms straight and elbows soft, bring the dumbbells straight up so your biceps frame your ears.
• Bring the dumbbells straight back, and as you pass your hips, rotate your wrists outward so your palms face the ceiling.
• Rotate the dumbbells inward as you bring them back up. Repeat.

Push-Up Position Hammer Curl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EgMIgPCzA4

• Begin in the top of a push-up position, with your hands holding dumbbells and your feet wide for stability. Keep your spine long and brace your core.
• Hold the extended plank position, and bring your right dumbbell off the ground, curling it toward your chest by bending your right elbow.
• Extend it back to the ground, and repeat on the other arm.

Triceps Dips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5TLnrtbwB0

• Sit on the long side of a bench and grip the edge with both hands.
• Walk your feet away from the bench and press up until your arms are fully extended under you and your legs are straight. Your body should form a triangle with the bench and floor.
• Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper and lower arms form a 90-degree angle.
• Hold the position for a moment, and then press up with your arms until they are fully extended again. Repeat. Modify this movement by bringing your feet closer to your body and bending your knees.

COOL-DOWN

Hold each stretch for about 20 to 30 seconds (on each side).

Standing Triceps Stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXoAyTI-Vc

• Begin standing with your feet under your hips, arms at your sides.
• Bring your right arm up, bending at your elbow and placing your right hand behind your neck, elbow pointed to the ceiling.
• Grab your right elbow with your left hand and gently pull it until you feel a stretch in your right triceps.
• Release and repeat on the opposite arm.

Standing Shoulder Stretch 1 With Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoyI4LhmAco

• Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart to provide yourself with a stable base, holding a taut resistance band at your thighs in both hands.
• Keeping the band taut, bring your arms up to shoulder height in front of you. Knees soft, tip from your hips and lean forward.
• Rotate from your trunk to the left, bringing the band with you as you keep it taut. Rotate to the right. Repeat, rotating side to side.
• Return to standing to complete the stretch.

Standing Shoulder Stretch 2 With Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WEjmKY_bTg

• Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart to provide yourself with a stable base, holding a taut resistance band at your thighs in both hands.
• Bring the band up above your head as you pull it apart to keep it taut. Lower it and repeat the movement, extending your range of motion as your shoulders loosen and allow.
• Raise the band and hold it taut above your head, then move it side to side, using just your arms and shoulders.
• Continue the movement, and begin to bend from your waist, moving the band side to side and deepening the bend each time.
• Bring the band out in front of you, keeping it taut, and rotate through your trunk. Keep your hips still as you rotate, bringing your entire upper body with you, including your head.

Photo and video credit: Tom Casey, box24studio.com
Model: Dan Elwood