Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
You can't skip leg days, right? True...but, you can't skip upper body workouts either! Whether you can't make it to the gym or you simply prefer bodyweight-only workouts, we have the ultimate upper body bodyweight workout (try to say that 5 times fast) for you to follow.
No equipment is required for this workout. However, ideally you would have access to a pull up bar as we do have pull ups in the workout (no upper body workout would be truly complete without them)...That said, we have some good alternatives for you if you don't have a pull up bar, so don't worry about it. We also provide alternatives for all the other exercises too, that way you can pick and choose what is best for your fitness level, as well as switch things up workout-to-workout.
And, don't let "bodyweight-only" fool you. This bodyweight workout is enough to build upper body strength, muscle, and endurance, all while burning a lot of calories.
Now, let's look at the contents of this post:
- Benefits of having a strong upper body
- The anatomy of the upper body, and how that translates to functional activity
- Best upper body bodyweight exercises (and alternatives for each)
- Training variables to employ (that way you can continue progressing with this workout!)
- The Ultimate Upper Body Bodyweight Workout
Benefits of a Solid Upper Body Workout
While you might think training the upper body is strictly for aesthetic purposes, there are a bunch of other reasons why you should train your upper body for strength and endurance:
Improved posture: The chest and back play major roles in proper posture; and seeing how many people have desk jobs, hunching forward is a big problem. This is because muscles in the back get weak and are subsequently underused, while the chest muscles get tight and are overactive. Training the upper body appropriately can help balance out the asymmetries that can be present from a sedentary lifestyle (as well as corresponding poor posture that can occur from sitting in a chair all day), and can help stretch out the chest muscles while building the strength needed in the back and core to help improve posture – which in turn, can help you breathe easier, give you more energy, and increase your overall confidence!
Decrease in injuries: While posture plays a huge role in decreasing injuries, adding in upper body training into your workout routine can also help strengthen areas that might otherwise be prone to injury. A strong back, as well as strong shoulders and core musculature, can aid in getting you stronger for activities of daily living; from lifting up a child and placing something heavy in a cabinet to picking up heavy groceries, having a strong upper body can help prevent injuries that might otherwise occur if incorrect muscles compensate for the work that your upper body should be doing!
Increased strength and endurance: It should go without saying that including upper body training in your workout programming can get you stronger – and toned muscles go right along with that! Endurance and stabilization can improve with strengthening the upper body, which is crucial for joints like the shoulder, which are highly unstable to begin with. Strengthening and stabilizing the muscles of the upper body not only help your overall range of motion, but also helps you push and pull, which are necessary movements in everyday activities as well. Strength and endurance within the upper body also helps with grip strength, and actually helps with your overall coordination and balance as well.
Improved performance: Training the upper body correlates to so many other activities, and in a positive way! If you play sports, this is especially true. Think about basketball, tennis, football, swimming, these sports require strength, mobility, and endurance within the upper body. Performance within the sporting arena (and really, just life in general) is improved greatly with strengthening the upper body. If you aren’t into sports, think about gardening, lifting hay bales, throwing your kids in the air, and forgive us for saying, sex – they all require strength, endurance, and stabilization within the upper body!
Increased metabolism: Strength training is perfect for torching calories and increasing metabolic rate – both of which are necessary if you want to tone up and show off those muscles you’re working so hard for! Strength training actually boosts metabolism for over 24 hours as your body repairs and rebuilds from your training session, so rest assured your quick lifting bout in the gym isn’t going unnoticed within the body.
While these are only just some of the benefits of working the upper body, you get the picture…upper body strength, endurance and mobility is just as important as it is for the lower body.
Anatomy of the Upper Body
To be clear, when we are discussing the upper body, we are including your core. Your core will be used in both upper body and lower body training, which means it's kind of a middle ground. We recommend doing core on both lower and upper body days, as long as your muscles have recovered enough to be trained again.
Ok, so besides your core, your upper body includes your back, chest, shoulders and arms. Of course, each of these areas are comprised of different muscles, so let's have a closer look...
These are the muscles of focus in the upper body bodyweight workout:
- Pectoralis major: Beginning on the collarbone and ribs and inserting on the humerus, the pec major aids in shoulder flexion and aids in you being able to push horizontally (like a cable chest press motion).
- Pectoralis minor: Beginning on the ribs and ending on the shoulder blades, the pec minor is a muscle deep located within the chest. Although smaller than the pec major, the pec minor helps to depress the shoulder blades.
- Trapezius: This muscle is in the upper back, reaching from the back of your neck to your shoulders. The traps have 3 parts (upper, middle, and lower), all of which help to rotate, depress, elevate, and adduct the shoulder blades. The traps also help to stabilize the shoulder joints, and aid in pulling motions.
- Lats: The lats are a large muscle group within the upper body, located in the middle of the back. The lats essentially begin on the thoracic spine, the lower ribs, and the iliac crest of the pelvis, and insert on the humerus (upper arm). The lats are able to extend and rotate the arms, as well as adduct them.
- Rhomboids: There are upper and lower areas of the rhomboids, although they both work together to stabilize the traps. Running from the spinal vertebrae to the shoulder blades, the rhomboids are able to elevate and rotate the shoulder blades, as well as adduct them.
- Teres major: A thick muscle that composes part of the shoulder joint, the teres major runs from the shoulder blade to the humerus. This muscle works with the lats and allows you to rotate your arm, as well as adduct the arms. The extension of the shoulder is also another function of the teres major.
- Serratus anterior: This stabilizing fan shaped muscle is easily located under the arms, starting on the ribs and inserting on the shoulder blades. With 3 different parts (superior, middle, and inferior) that combined look like a “saw” of sorts, the serratus anterior aids in rotation of the shoulder blades, as well as protraction of the shoulder blades.
- Deltoids: Shaped like a triangle, this shoulder muscle has 3 parts – anterior, middle, and posterior – all of which begin on the collarbone, and shoulder blade, while inserting on the humerus. The delts have several functions, including extension, rotation, flexion, and abduction of the arms.
- Rotator cuff: There are 4 different muscles that make up the rotator cuff (infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor), and they all work together to provide stability to the shoulder. The rotator cuff also aids in shoulder flexion, extension, and rotation within the shoulder joint.
- Triceps brachii: Located at the back of the upper arm, this muscle has 3 heads – thus the name “tri”. The long, medial, and lateral heads of the tricep connect to the shoulder blade and humerus respectively, and insert on the ulna, or the elbow. Forearm extension is the main function of the triceps brachii, although shoulder extension and arm adduction are also included in the functions list.
- Biceps brachii: A major player in arm muscles (especially when it comes to esthetics), the biceps are located at the front of the upper arm and have 2 heads – hence the word “bi” – and begin at the shoulder blades while inserting into the radius, or forearm. The biceps are able to flex the arm at the elbow, as well as supinate the forearm.
There are several muscles within the forearm and hand (over 40) and these muscle groups work together to perform movements like flexion, extension, supination and pronation, and even abduction and adduction. The forearm and hand muscles aid in grip strength, and provide stability and strength throughout multiple upper body exercises.
As for your core, you have:
- Rectus Abdominis
- Transverse Abdominis
- External Obliques
- Internal Obliques
- Quadratus Lumborum
- Multifidus
- Erector Spinae
The workout will include exercises that strength both the front and back side of your core (yes, your low back should be considered as your core too). However, you won't be doing any core isolation exercises, rather you'll be doing compound movements that target the core and other upper body muscles.
Best Exercises for Upper Body Strength
Now that you know the muscles that make up the upper body, we can jump on into some of the best bodyweight exercises that will target these areas – not only to strengthen and build muscle, but to improve stability and endurance as well.
Note that the exercises listed below generally go in order from larger muscle groups down to smaller muscle groups – so if you are working these individually into your own workout programming, remember to engage those larger muscles (and thus bigger compound movements) first before focusing on easier exercises. You'll have more energy at the beginning of your workout, so the hierarchy of exercises should go from hardest to easiest.
Here are the exercises that are best for developing strength and endurance in the upper body:
1. Pushups
A movement requiring no equipment, a pushup is a powerhouse upper body exercise. Terrific for increasing strength in the upper body (particularly the pecs, shoulders and triceps) and core (it's basically a dynamic plank!), pushups are also a very versatile movement – from decline and incline options to hands in close and out wide, there are a plethora of ways you can tweak this movement to fit your workout routine and fitness goals.
Main muscles targeted: Pecs, Delts, Triceps, Core
How to do pushups:
- Begin by kneeling on the floor, getting yourself into a high plank position with shoulders directly over wrists and legs extended straight with weight on toes.
- From the side, you should be in a straight line from your head to your toes, with core engaged and glutes squeezed.
- With shoulder blades down and back, bend at the elbows to slowly bring your entire body down toward the floor as one unit (note – your back shouldn’t arch and/or hips drop down to the ground as you lower yourself).
- Once your chest touches the floor, press firmly through the heels of both hands to bring yourself back up into the initial high plank position.
Alternative options (easiest to hardest):
- Kneeling Push Ups (lowers resistance level and less core activation)
- Incline Push Ups (little more lower chest activation, and decreases resistance level)
- Decline Push Ups (little more upper chest activation, increases resistance level)
- Pike Push Ups (more deltoid activation)
Hand positions:
- Wide Grip (more chest emphasis)
- Close Grip (more tricep emphasis)
You can also add resistance to push ups by using resistance bands or putting a weight plate on your back.
Related: Best Bodyweight Chest Exercises
2. Pull Ups
Although pull ups can seem pretty advanced, there are some ways that you can modify them to make it a bit easier for your current fitness level. Regardless of any modification, the strengthening benefits of the back and biceps are still achieved. If you don’t have a pull up bar or rig available to do a pull up, don’t worry as we will provide alternative options.
Main muscles targeted: Lats, Traps, Biceps, Rhomboids, Core, Deltoids
How to do a pullup:
- Stand near your pullup bar and extend your arms overhead, with palms facing away from you. Step up or jump up to the bar with a firm grip, hanging so that your legs are off of the floor and arms are extended.
- Engage your core (which should also help decrease any swinging that may be occurring) and draw your shoulder blades down and back.
- From here, pull yourself up by bending your elbows toward your sides, aiming to keep yourself straight up and down as you pull your chin toward the top of the bar. Think about squeezing your shoulder blades together as you pull up toward the bar.
- Pause at the top of the movement, then slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position with arms extended.
Alternative options:
- Towel Pulldowns
- Towel Rows
- Inverted Row
- Negative Pull Ups
- Banded Pull Ups
- Chin Ups
- Weighted Chin Ups
- Weighted Pull Ups
If you have a set of bands, there's so much you can do for back exercises with bands.
This video shows you how to use the towels for back exercises.
3. Supermans
The superman exercise not only strengthens your lower back, but it also packs a punch to the upper back, shoulders, and anterior core muscles.
Main muscles targeted: Erector Spinae, Traps, Deltoids, Abs
How to do supermans:
- To begin, lay prone on the floor with legs extended straight and toes pointed, with arms extended overhead and head in line with your spine.
- With palms facing each other, engage your core and squeeze your glutes. From here, you’ll want to simultaneously raise your arms off the floor, as well as your legs.
- Without arching your lower back or rotating your limbs, pause at the top of the movement for a moment and then lower your arms and legs back to the floor.
This exercise should be good for all fitness levels, but we have an alternative option to make it even easier, and some to make it harder.
Alternative options:
- Bodyweight Good Mornings
- Banded Good Mornings
- Bench Back Extensions
- Bench Reverse Hyperextensions
- Stability Ball Back Extensions & Reverse Hyperextensions
- Resistance Band Deadlifts
Related: Best Back Extension Exercises
4. Wall Slides
Don’t let this exercise deceive you – even though it may look easy, doing it slowly and controlled with correct form and technique can be a challenge, especially if you really want to target the serratus anterior and shoulders properly! The arms being overhead in a wall slide can immensely benefit shoulder and scapular mobility and stability as well.
Main muscles targeted: Serratus Anterior, Traps, Deltoids
How to do a wall slide:
- Although the motion of this movement can be made more smooth with a foam roller, it’s not necessary.
- Stand facing a wall, about a foot or two away. With thumbs pointing toward yourself, place your forearms against the wall so that your arms are bent at 90-degree angles and your triceps are parallel to the floor.
- From here, slowly move (or roll) your forearms up the wall in front of you, until arms are extended straight.
- Pause at the top with chest close to the wall, and then slowly bring your arms back down into the starting position.
Alternative options:
- Wall Walks
- Handstands
- Pike Push Ups
- Elevated Pike Push Ups
- Resistance Band Shoulder Presses
Related: Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercises
5. Plank Shoulder Taps
While this exercise is generally considered a core movement, it also effectively targets the deltoids - as well as your triceps, pecs and upper back - in an isometric manner, which is great for strength. The biggest thing to remember during plank shoulder taps is to keep your torso as still as possible; don't let your hips shift or lean to the side.
Main muscles targeted: Core, Deltoids, Triceps, Pecs, Traps, Rhomboids
How to do plank shoulder taps:
- Begin in a high plank position, with legs extended and shoulders directly over wrists.
- With weight on your toes and on your hands, your core should be engaged and head in line with your spine.
- Maintaining control and stability through your hips and shoulders, raise your right hand off the floor and bring it across your body to tap the left shoulder.
- Bring that hand back down to the floor, and repeat on the opposite side.
Alternative options:
- Low Plank
- High Plank
- Plank To Alternative Pike
- Bear Crawls
6. I/Y/T
A wonderful exercise for strengthening the muscles that surround the spine in the upper body, I/Y/T’s can certainly be challenging and engage muscles that you might not have felt before! As you are moving through this movement, your arms will be imitating the shapes of the name of the exercise – I, Y, and T!
Main muscles targeted: Deltoids, Traps, Infraspinatus, and Teres major
How to do I/Y/T’s:
- Begin prone on the floor, arms extended straight overhead with palms facing each other and legs extended straight as well.
- Bring your shoulder blades down and back as you engage your core and squeeze your glutes.
- From here, raise your arms off of the floor – this is your I position. Pause for a moment, then bring your arms out into a Y shape, pausing again for a count.
- Lastly, bring your arms out to a T position, pausing for a moment before lowering back to the floor. All of those positions count as one rep.
Alternative options:
- Scapula PUs
- Reverse Planks
- Standing IYTs
- Suspension Trainer IYTs
- Banded IYTs
- Weighted IYTs (if you have dumbbells, great, if not, even water bottles will work!)
Check out these other great scapula stabilization exercises.
7. Tricep Dips
While this exercise primarily targets the triceps, it also recruits other upper body musculature as well! Tricep dips are an excellent functional movement to incorporate into your workout routine. Do be aware that a tricep dip places pressure on the joints of the shoulder as it puts it in full extension, so if you are currently dealing with decreased mobility or injury in your shoulder, it’s best to defer to another movement to target the triceps.
Main muscles targeted: Triceps, Deltoids, Chest
How to do a tricep dip:
- For this exercise, you’ll need to find a box, bench, step, chair, or anything else that can elevate you off of the floor a bit.
- Once you’ve found a stabilize ledge, you’ll want to sit on it and have your hands resting on either side of your hips, with fingers forward and palms on the bench. Bring your shoulder blades down and back, while engaging the core.
- From here, walk your feet out slowly, extending your legs out straight with toes toward the ceiling and glutes coming off of the bench. Note that you don’t have to move too far forward off of the bench – just enough so your glutes aren’t on the bench anymore.
- Once you’re in place, slowly bend your elbows (pointing them straight back behind you) while your hips lower toward the floor. The range of motion will be different for everyone here, but there’s no need to go any lower than your triceps parallel to the floor.
- Pause for a count at the bottom, then press through the heels of your hands to return to the top of the movement. If this is challenging, you can walk your feet in a bit and do the exercise with bent knees.
Alternative options:
- Tricep Floor Dips
- Knees Bent Triceps Bench Dips
- Plank Up Downs
- Bodyweight Tricep Extensions
- Parallel Dips
Related: Best Bodyweight Triceps Exercises
Training Variables for the Upper Body
Now that you know of some of the best upper body exercises that you can do utilizing just your bodyweight, you can work them into a fitness routine! But how do you know how often to do them and how to progress? Let’s check out a few training variables that can make your programming smarter and more effective.
Progression: Progression (aka increasing difficulty) can be a challenging factor in regards to bodyweight training for beginners. Before you think about progressions, make sure that you are doing the exercise correctly and through a full range of motion. The first part of progression is reaching a full range. From there, time under tension is the next step. This can be done by slowing down the tempo and/or increasing reps. Really focus on getting the most out of each set. Other ways to continue progressing are adding volume (i.e. more sets) and doing a more difficult variation. Some bodyweight exercises can even be loaded with weight (i.e. weighted pull ups or banded push ups). Conversely, if you can't do an exercise, there are regression exercises. One example of this is doing kneeling push ups instead of standard push ups. With that, you'd start progressing from kneeling push ups, then move to standard push ups, then play around with different variations of push ups like close grip, decline, etc.
Reps and sets: Since there are technically no added weights to these upper body exercises (although you can most certainly add some if you so desire), a rep range anywhere from 12-20 and sets ranging from 2-4 can be applicable to an upper body routine. However, this will vary depending upon goals and your fitness level. If you want to work on explosiveness, you'd have a different rep range than if you want to work on strength. This is because the tempo would be different (strength & hypertrophy = slow tempo; explosiveness equals fast tempo and more reps). What's more, you can only do as much as your strength allows for. So, if the workout calls for 12 reps, and you can only do 8, then do 8 and the next workout try to go for 9 or 10 reps. The same goes for sets. If you can only do 2 sets, then do 2, and progress from there. This takes us back to progression (progressive overload), which is a key factor in building strength, muscle and endurance.
Frequency: As with any other muscle group, the upper body doesn’t need to be worked every day. Muscles need rest in order to recovery and rebuild/repair appropriately, so if you’re doing a bunch of upper body movements, working these exercises into a program 2-3 days a week is perfect – and gives you some rest time in there as well. Again, think about your overall programming and goals and see how it applies to you and what you’d like to accomplish! Since you are planning to do this upper body workout, we assume you are doing an upper/lower split. In that case, you'd aim for at least 2 upper body sessions per week (and thus target each upper body muscle twice a week). Ideally, you want to hit each muscle group with a total of 10 sets per week (remember, compound movements work several muscle groups, so those counts as sets for any of the primary movers).
The Ultimate Upper Body Bodyweight Workout
There are several options for how to create a workout using the exercises above. You could do a standard sets x reps workout, finishing each exercise for the total sets then moving onto the next, OR, you could do a circuit. You can also incorporate supersets and tri-sets. It really depends on your goal and how much time you have to workout.
Generally speaking, these are the best options based on different goals:
- Calorie Burn, Endurance & Hypertrophy: Circuits, Supersets
- Strength & Hypertrophy: Sets x Reps
- Well-rounded: Sets x Reps with some Supersets
We are going with the well-rounded option, which is best for most people. This means you will be doing sets x reps with some of the exercises done as supersets.
Remember before you get started with any workout that a warmup is key; not only will this help prevent injury, but it will help prep the muscles for the upcoming movements!
A warmup can include exercises such as:
- Inchworms: 2 sets, 4-6 reps
- Arm circles: 2 sets, 15 seconds each direction (front and back)
- Mountain climbers: 2 sets, 30 seconds each
WORKOUT
| Exercise(s) | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Pull Ups | 2-4 sets | 6-12 reps | ~60 seconds |
| Push Ups | 2-4 sets | 12-20 reps | 45-60 seconds |
| Supermans x Plank Shoulder Taps | 2-3 sets | 8-12 reps x 20-30 seconds | 45-60 seconds |
| IYT x Triceps Dips | 2-3 sets | 6-10 reps (one rep is all three positions) x 10-20 reps | 45-60 seconds |
| Wall Slides | 2-3 sets | 10-15 reps (slow reps) | 30-60 seconds |
Notes:
- Remember that you can use an alternate exercise if you can't do one of these exercise (refer back to the exercise section).
- Rest time can be adjusted (if you need more rest, take it!)
- Reps & sets can be adjusted based on your fitness level.
- Use progression, so if this week you did 2 sets for 10 reps, next week try 2 sets for 12-15 reps, then the following week 3 sets for 10-15 reps, etc.
If you wanted to do a circuit style, you could make one large circuit or two mini circuits, as follows:
Large Upper Body Circuit Workout:
- Push Ups x 10 reps
- Pull Ups x 5-8 reps
- Plank Shoulder Taps x 12 reps
- Supermans x 10 reps
- IYTs x 8 reps
- Tricep Dips x 10 reps
Rest as needed between exercises (try to keep it minimal). Rest 1-3 minutes between rounds. Complete 2-4 rounds.
Two Mini Upper Body Circuit Workout:
Circuit 1:
- Pull Ups x 6-10 reps
- Tricep Dips x 12-15 reps
- IYTs x 10-12 reps
Circuit 2:
- Push ups x 12-20 reps
- Supermans x 10-12 reps
- Plank Shoulder Taps x 30 seconds
Complete 3 rounds for each circuit. Complete Circuit 1 for the 3 rounds before moving onto circuit 2. Rest as needed between rounds (try to not rest between exercises - the rest you will get is transitioning between exercises).
FINAL NOTE:
Now that you know the benefits of training the upper body, the anatomy involved, and some of the best upper body bodyweight exercises to get your started, let's go get it! Have a great workout and be sure to pay attention to your range of motion, form, and technique as you work through these movements. We are confident if you follow this routine for a while a month or two, doing it twice a week, you will see some great improvements in your upper body musculature, strength, endurance and mobility.
Be sure to do leg workouts too! Here are the best bodyweight leg exercises you can do.
And if you want a complete bodyweight workout plan to follow, try our 8-Week Bodyweight Workout Program (it's an upper lower split).
Garett Reid
Author