Upper body workouts?

curvykatie

I only ever seem to workout my lower half through walking or aerobic stepping, and working out my arms (biceps and triceps)

so can anyone recommend a good upperbody work out?
are there any cardio exercises for upper body?

Katie
xxx

AlmostHot

Maybe try swimming, rowing or some sort of punch/boxing class? I like swimming in a squad. Hope one of these is something might like to try:happy:

choski10

MissMessy's suggestion is a really good idea

SHBoss1673

yep, MissMessy is absolutely right, boxing is great, as is swimming.

Alternatively you can do a circuit routine. Find 6 to 8 upper body workouts with weights or some other type of resistance (choose 2 for every major muscle group, one the antagonist of the other), choose low weight for them (about 65% of max weight) and do them in a 4 circuit routine, do 12 to 15 reps of each, go immediately to the next one, and so on, until the end of each circuit, do them fast with no breaks until the end of each circuit, then take a 1 minute break then start all over again. that should get the heart rate up and keep it there while giving you some good resistance work.

arewethereyet

I have a simple upper body workout I do 3 times a week

I have worked up to heavier weights, and my arms, shoulders and upper back are starting to show the tone.

Bicep curls
Tricep kickbacks-or dips.
Shoulder presses
Chest presses
Standing Row
Pushups

I started with just 10 of each. I had 2-3 pound weights and worked my way up to 3 sets of 5 with 10 pound weights.

You can google each exercise to get correct form. This routine took me 10 minutes in the beginning and really made a difference ( I now do 20-30 minutes)

If you can do any other exercise, learn to do push ups. They kick butt in the arms department!

arewethereyet

yep, MissMessy is absolutely right, boxing is great, as is swimming.

Alternatively you can do a circuit routine. Find 6 to 8 upper body workouts with weights or some other type of resistance (choose 2 for every major muscle group, one the antagonist of the other), choose low weight for them (about 65% of max weight) and do them in a 4 circuit routine, do 12 to 15 reps of each, go immediately to the next one, and so on, until the end of each circuit, do them fast with no breaks until the end of each circuit, then take a 1 minute break then start all over again. that should get the heart rate up and keep it there while giving you some good resistance work.

now Steve, you KNOW you cant use an expression like 'antagonist for the other' without questions from ME!!

So what do you mean. Are you referring to triceps vs biceps, chest vs back?? I am really getting into the weights now and LOVE it!!:drinker:

SHBoss1673

yep, MissMessy is absolutely right, boxing is great, as is swimming.

Alternatively you can do a circuit routine. Find 6 to 8 upper body workouts with weights or some other type of resistance (choose 2 for every major muscle group, one the antagonist of the other), choose low weight for them (about 65% of max weight) and do them in a 4 circuit routine, do 12 to 15 reps of each, go immediately to the next one, and so on, until the end of each circuit, do them fast with no breaks until the end of each circuit, then take a 1 minute break then start all over again. that should get the heart rate up and keep it there while giving you some good resistance work.

now Steve, you KNOW you cant use an expression like 'antagonist for the other' without questions from ME!!

So what do you mean. Are you referring to triceps vs biceps, chest vs back?? I am really getting into the weights now and LOVE it!!:drinker:

LOL, sort of. An antagonist (with regards to the body) is the opposite muscle. See almost all the major muscle groups have 2 sides, one that performs the majority of the work in one direction, and one in the other. So yeah, in your upper arm example the tricep and bicep are a good example, if you work one without the other, you risk muscle tears and joint problems (which SUCK, trust me.) muscles need equal force on both sides to work correctly. Having 1 muscle pull on a joint, without having the equal opposite muscle provide adequate resistance to it can pull joints out of balance and cause bone spurs and the like as well.

here's a quick description website for ya. With a list of the more common agonist/antagonist muscle groups.

http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/stretching/chap1-cooperating.asp

arewethereyet

tag to read later. Thanks Steve, I am so far behind!!

SHBoss1673

tag to read later. Thanks Steve, I am so far behind!!

you're doing juuuuussst fine lady. Remember, free weights work both sides automatically (as you go through full range, the resistance from the return portion of any exercise works the antagonist muscles), so you're fine, this becomes far more important with things like machines and cable pulleys because they offer no return resistance, or far less.

Something like a bowflex would be an example, you gotta make sure you get both sides when you use machines because they are designed in such a way as to "isolate" a muscle, which means you exclusively work that muscle and not it's antagonist or any other muscles "by accident". It's a great technicque for definition of a muscle, but not so good for a full body workout as it's far less efficient.