Building up the muscles in the chest, back, arms and shoulders does more than just improve your physical appearance. A strong upper body also helps improve your balance, posture, agility and speed. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym in order to achieve large upper body muscles; fast workouts can deliver if you commit to a consistent routine. MayoClinic.com states that 20 minutes, two or three days per week, is sufficient. Always give yourself a 48-hour break in between workouts so that your upper body muscles have a chance to recover and grow.

Step 1

Use your body weight to tone and build up your upper body. Do exercises like situps, pushups, dips and pullups. Or do the plank knee twist by getting on the ground in a pushup position on your hands and toes. Bend your left knee and twist your body, lifting your knee across your body in the direction of your right elbow. Return to the staring position and repeat with your right leg. Do each exercise for one minute each, performing as many repetitions as possible.

Step 2

Exercise on a stability ball. Do stability ball pushups, plank pike ups or weight presses. Or try the ball shoulder rotation by lying chest down on a stability ball with a free weight in each hand. Bend your elbows 90 degrees and lift your arms until they are at shoulder height. Rotate your forearms until they are perpendicular to the floor. Rotate your forearms back and then reach your hands forward. Go back to the starting position and repeat. Aim for 12 repetitions of each exercise.

Step 3

Use dumbbells or a barbell to fatigue the muscles in your upper body, forcing them to grow. Do the weighted side raise plank, curl to uppercut, flat bench press or lateral dumbbell raise. Or do the whole enchilada exercise by standing up straight with a free weight in each hand, your palms pointed behind you. Bend your elbows and lift the weights to your shoulders and then up over your head. Rotate your palms inward and bring the weights down behind your head, bending your elbows 90 degrees. Reverse the entire sequence to complete one repetition. Do up to 15 repetitions of each exercise.

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