You don’t need weights to strengthen your upper body — just use these seven bodyweight moves
If you've been told that the only way to improve upper body strength is to lift weights, you're being misled. You may not see sustained muscle growth without some form of heavier resistance, but you can certainly use just your body weight to strengthen and increase muscle definition in the upper body. This seven-step no-equipment procedure is a great place to start.
Sure, you can target your upper body muscles with small portable equipment (like some of the best resistance bands), but for this routine, you just need to be up and ready for some solid bodyweight workouts for 7 minutes.
Maddie Lymburner, also known as MadFit (opens in new tab), is the workout coach for this video. She walks you through the routine and provides visual and audio tips on how to perform each exercise in good form. Some movements mimic traditional weightlifting exercises, but Lymburner will guide you on how to make sure you're still using your upper body muscles and getting similar results.
For example, the first exercise mimics a dumbbell triceps rebound, but instead uses your body weight for a triceps stretch. Lymburner points out, “Make sure to squeeze the triceps when extending the arms and the elbows shouldn't move, you're only moving the lower half of the arms. Consider squeezing your back here, keeping your chest open, your back should be very Well, it's flat.”
You'll work 30 seconds on each exercise, with no rest in this short 7-minute workout. However, if you do need to rest your arms, you should feel free to consider short breaks of about 15 to 25 seconds.
Watch MadFit's 7-Minute No-Device Upper Body Workout
Research published in the International Journal of Exercise Science (opens in new tab) Show that you can moderately improve strength and muscle gain with bodyweight training, although this is most effective when you continue with more challenging workouts to reap the benefits of progressive overload. Thankfully, this works with bodyweight training, as you can increase the number of times you normally train, or increase the intensity of each workout.
This is a great routine if you want to continue your workouts in strength training to add weight. Training with just your bodyweight allows you to focus on how your body moves and works together to complete the workout, while equipment-based movements allow you to focus more on how you use specific equipment.
So when you do start adding weight to your movement, like one of the best kettlebells out there, when learning weight-based movements like how to do kettlebell swings, you'll get better at things like posture and form awareness.
