Upper Body Exercises
Before any upper body exercises are carried out suitable warm up exercises should be carried out to help reduce the risk of injury. There are a whole host of different upper body exercises which can be carried out at home.
Beginners should also consult a professional to ensure that these exercises are safe to carry out without supervision.
For most people an excellent starting exercise is the doorway push. This is carried out by standing in an open doorway and placing the palms of the hands onto the inside frame at chest height.
Focus on trying to keep the hands flat against the frame and with either straight or bent arms breathe in and push against the frame for between five and ten seconds, breathe out and relax the arms. Repetitions of these exercises can be built up over time.
By changing the hands over and placing the backs against the frame to carry out the same exercise a variety of different muscles can be worked.
Front cross overs can be carried out sitting or standing by extending the arms out straight at shoulder height and crossing one over the other alternatively keeping the movements controlled, smooth and small to begin with at a distance of about six inches. Once this has been mastered gradually increase out to twenty four inches before finishing with a slow return to six inches. Try not to let the arms drop below shoulder height throughout the exercise. Any sign of sudden intense pain should be acknowledged as a time to stop and let the arms and upper body relax.
Upper body exercises which can be carried out at home without equipment includes the wall press-up, this is ideal for beginners and those who have a weak upper body.
Begin by standing near to a wall and place the palms of the hands flat against the wall keeping the arms straight. Slowly bend the arms to take the upper body nearer to the wall, hold this position for a few seconds and then push against the wall to slowly return to the starting position. It increase the intensity of this exercise stand with the feet further away from the wall, remembering to keep the back and legs straight at all times.
Any pain experienced should be taken seriously and the upper body exercises stopped. Remembering that if these exercises are new them some aching will be experienced afterwards until the muscles become accustomed to being used. Aching muscles can be relieved with gentle swimming.