How to Do an Upper Body Workout At Home: 6 Easy Moves

Now that working from home has no longer become an option—but a lifestyle for most—people are turning to the internet for their work out solutions. Traditionally a gamer at heart, I also value the underlying principles of health and fitness and wanted to share my knowledge with the gaming community. 

So, while you continue to commute from your bed to your dining room table, maybe you can add a little more movement into your day with this killer Upper Body Bodyweight workout.

Before you begin on your new work-from-home exercise regimen, take these four pieces of advice to heart, in order to make sure you're getting the most out of your workout.

1. Form matters more than anything else. If you’re not performing the exercise well, there’s an increased risk of injury. For example, while doing bodyweight exercises like dips, push-ups, and pike push-ups, controlling the movement is very important. It’s not a priority to go as fast as possible. Remember, quality over quantity.

2. It’s ok to be a beginner. We all have to start somewhere. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t make it to 30 seconds on certain exercises, 20 is just fine. Now you have something to work towards.

3. Exercising is a never-ending process. There is no end, which means you will have a lifetime of accomplishments ahead of you.

4. Consistency is key. As long as you keep consistent, you will see progress. Not feeling sore does NOT mean you didn’t have a good workout. Don’t let it fool you.

• Hold a plank position with your arms straight.
• Don’t flare out your elbows. Your hands should be shoulder-width or slightly wider.
• Your elbows should flare 30-40 degrees from your body. Any wider might put unnecessary strain on your shoulders.
• If you can’t perform a push-up, try starting with your knees on the ground and work your way up from there!
• For more advanced people, try push-ups while your feet are elevated. This will increase difficulty.

• Begin in the same starting position as the push-up, hands shoulder-width apart.
• Bring your knee towards your chest, bring it back to the starting position, and switch between knees. Try to perform this exercise with a good tempo but start slow and work your way up to a faster pace.
• Always complete clean reps. If the form starts lacking, slow it down.

• Find an elevated, flat surface that doesn’t slide away from you (like a chair or bed frame)
• Keep your elbows locked to the side and slowly make your way down.
• When your elbows hit a 90-degree angle, you can start making your way back up. Any further might put unnecessary strain on your shoulders.
• For beginners, have your feet on the floor, for more advanced, put your feet on an elevated surface to maximize the bodyweight used.

• Lay on your back (you can put your hands under your glutes for support).
• Keep your legs as straight as you possibly can and lift your legs up until your body hits a 90-degree angle.
• For beginners, start with bent knees and slowly work towards straightening your legs more overtime.

• A shoulder variant of the regular push-up
• It’s a bit of a weird position, but you want to try to get your body weight to sit on top of your shoulders as much as possible for the most resistance on the shoulders.
• For beginners, you can make it easier by adding elevation to your arms.

• You can add resistance to this exercise by holding something in your hands, but you can easily do it without. I find holding on to something, even if it’s close to weightless, help me balance better (but that might just be me)
• For beginners, being more upright will make it easier. Leaning back further will be more difficult.
• You can perform this exercise with your feet planted on the ground, against a wall, or freely in the air, the last option is the hardest so use this as a progression.

For these exercises, focus on 30 seconds - 45 seconds, 3-6 rounds depending on the level of fitness, 60-90 seconds rest between rounds (max. 35 minutes)