Being at home should not be an excuse for not working out. You can do so much with your own bodyweight to build strength, muscles or maintain your current fitness levels. All you need is an effective upper body workout plan to do at home.
In this article, I will show you exactly how you can stay fit, build muscles, or lose weight at home with the help of exercises that requires no equipment.
Regardless of your prior experience in bodyweight training, you will find these exercises quite easy to do whether you’re a beginner or an experienced.
Upper body chest workout at home
The first workout focuses on chest muscles. Follow the instructions below and choose the exercise you can do according to your difficulty level.
Perform each exercise for 3 sets 12-15 reps or 4 sets 8-10 reps. You can also perform superset to hit those muscles hard. For instance – 1 set of incline pushups, immediately followed by 1 set standard & decline pushups.
1. Chest Dip (between benches or chairs)
How to perform:
Preparation: Stand between two benches or chairs. Place your hands on the edge of it. The grip should be wide. Position your feet out in front with legs straight, heels on the floor, and chest out.
Execution: Lower your body by bending your arms as shown in the video. When a slight stretch is felt in the shoulder or chest, push your body back up until your arms are straight.
To make this exercise difficult, bent your knees. To add intensity, add some weight on your lap.
2. Push Up (on knees)
How to perform:
Preparation: Lie on the floor with your face back toward the ceiling, your hands slightly wider than your shoulder. Bend your knees and raise your body up by extending your arms.
Execution: By keeping your body straight & knees bent, lower down until your nose almost touches the floor. Then push the body up until arms are extended.
If this is easy for you, challenge yourself with standard pushups.
3. Incline Pushups
How to perform:
Preparation: Place your hands on a table or anything with a height that can bear your weight. With your hands slightly wider than shoulder width, position your forefoot back from bench. Arms should be perpendicular to body.
Execution: Keep your body straight, lower your chest until it touches the surface of the bench. Hold it for a second or two then push back up until your arms are straight. Repeat.
4. Decline Pushups
How to perform:
Preparation: Place a bench or anything available. Kneel down on the floor straight. Place your feet on the bench and raise your body in the plank position with your body straight & arms extended.
Execution: Lower your body to the floor until your chest or your chin touches the floor. Inhale and push yourself back up to the starting position.
This exercise may be tough for beginners. To make it easier, bend your knees or place your feet on a lower surface.
5. Shoulder Tap Push-up
How to perform:
Preparation: Lie prone on the floor as you would do for the pushups. Raise body from the floor to plan position by extending arms.
Execution: Lower your body until your chest almost touches the ground. Push back up and rapidly tap your shoulder with your opposite hand and then place it back to the floor. Repeat.
To make it easier, bend your knees. To challenge yourself more, try depth pushups, claps pushups, or hike pushups.
Upper body back workout
Perform each exercise for 3 sets, 12-15 reps or 4 sets 8-10 reps. You can also perform superset to hit those muscles hard.
1. Superman Swims
How to perform:
Preparation: Lie down on the floor with your face facing towards the floor, legs straight and hands in front.
Execution: Raise your legs and hands towards the ceiling while facing downward. Open your hands to the side then back to floor along with legs. Repeat.
2. Towel Rows
How to perform:
Preparation: Sit on the floor with your legs & back straight. Wrap a resistant band or a stretchable piece of cloth on your feet. Hold each side of the band.
Execution: Keeping your back straight, pull the resistant band towards your belly. Hold it for 3 seconds, feel the contraction on your back then slowly release it until it reaches below your knee cap. repeat.
3. QUADRUPED LIMB RAISES
How to perform:
Preparation: Get on all fours, bending your knees at 90 degrees. Keep the back straight to form a line from your head to the hips.
Execution: While your hand and knees placed on the floor and your back straight, raise your left hand and your opposite legs simultaneously as shown in the gif. Repeat the movement with another side.
At home upper body shoulder workout
Perform each exercise for 3 sets, 12-15 reps or 4 sets 8-10 reps. You can also perform superset to hit those muscles hard.
1. Pike Press
How to perform:
Preparation: Kneel on the floor with your hands on the floor and knees straight as shown in the gif.
Execution: Push your body down keeping your legs straight until your head almost touches the floor. Then raise your body back up until your forefeet touch the ground. Repeat the movement for reps.
To challenge yourself even more try Handstand Push-up.
2. Angled Side Bridge
How to perform:
Preparation: Place your forearm on a table or waist height chair, positioned perpendicular to your body. Position your feet out away, one foot in front of the other with hips and knees straight. Place freehand on upper hips.
Execution: Allow your hips and waist to bend downward. Then raise hips upward by flexion of the spine and repeat the movement.
To make this more harder, perform it on the floor or a lower height table.
Arms workout
Perform each exercise for 3 sets, 12-15 reps or 4 sets 8-10 reps. You can also perform superset to hit those muscles hard.
1. Bench Dip (heels on floor)
How to perform:
Preparation: Sit on a bench or chair. Place your hand on your side. Move forward until there’s a slight difference between your hips and the edge of the chair.
Execution: Lower your body by bending your arms. Keep your legs straight, your chest up. When you feel the stretch on your chest or shoulder. Push back up and repeat.
Feet can be elevated on other bench to increase resistance and make this exercise harder.
2. Close Grip Push-up
How to perform:
Preparation: Place your hands on the floor with a slightly narrow grip than your shoulder width. Keep your legs straight and raise your body to the plank position.
Execution: Lower your body by bending your arms and your hips up and back straight. Repeat the position for a number of reps.
To make it easier, bent your knees. To make it harder place your feets on a higher ground.
3. Biceps leg curls
How to perform:
Preparation: Sit on an edge of the chair or a table. Bent your knees. Grasp your left leg from under the knee with your right hand.
Execution: Keeping your left leg relaxed, lift it off the floor by flexing your elbow. Hold for 3 seconds, squeeze your bicep and come back to the normal position. Then repeat with another leg.
The bottom line:
If the idea of home workout makes you feel pathetic, think again!
If executed correctly, an upper body workout at home can help you build strength, build muscles, and lose fat.
