The best upper body exercises without weights
If you do not have access to weight equipment or a gym, do not worry! You can build an impressive upper body with simple exercises that use your body weight as resistance. These excellent exercises also strengthen your core.
Pull-ups, chin-ups, and push-ups are the best upper-body exercises without weights. Properly performed, these exercises will result in a very impressive upper body and can also be a valuable addition to any bodybuilding program.
Pull Ups
In my opinion, the number one exercise is pull-ups. This is the best exercise without weights and the best upper-body exercise, period!
This is a tough exercise, which is exactly why it is one of the best muscle builders. Many bodybuilders and strength athletes do not perform this excellent exercise because it is too hard and requires too few reps. Who wants to be seen in the gym doing an exercise that is a struggle?
This is a shame because, for the time spent, this exercise will strengthen more muscles than almost any other exercise in the gym. With just this one movement, you can build an impressive back, biceps, and forearms. You will notice that bodybuilders who do pull-ups with or without weights as a regular part of their routine always have the most impressive upper backs and biceps.
The pull-up will develop your biceps, lats, grip, forearms, and abs. One of the reasons I like this more than lat pull-downs on a lat machine is that it engages the core. This exercise is also what I call a “real-world” exercise. This means it is a movement that develops strength that can be used in the real world. If you are strong at pulling your body weight upwards, you can climb over obstacles, use rope swings, etc.
How to Perform the Pull-Up
To perform this exercise, you need a bar that is at least 6 feet off the ground. If you do not have such a bar, there are very inexpensive chin-up bars that fit without tools on any doorway to enable you to do pull-ups pretty much anywhere a doorway is available.
After warming up, grasp the bar with an overhanded grip (chin-ups are done with an underhanded grip) and hang from the bar with arms perfectly straight. Now, slowly pull yourself up by contracting your back (lats) and bending your arms until your chin is at or above the bar.
Perform at least three sets of as many reps as you can. If you can’t do more than a couple of reps or none at all, here are some ways to increase your strength so that you can do them.
- Use an elastic exercise band to assist you. Loop the band under your feet and over the bar to assist you until you develop the strength to do pull-ups without the band.
- Place a stool next to you and use your leg to assist you up. Then, hang from the bar with bent arms and fight gravity on the way down. This is called a “negative” rep. Do this five or six times a few times weekly, and you will soon develop enough strength to pull yourself up.
Push Ups
These are an excellent exercise as well. Push-ups are better than bench presses regarding the number of muscles recruited and worked during the exercise. Push-ups will work the chest, shoulders, triceps, upper back, and abdominals (core). This is the entire front of your upper body. Your upper back (lats) are worked because they help to stabilize the entire shoulder girdle and are flexed throughout the whole movement, and your abs are worked as they fight to keep the body straight.
There are several ways to modify the basic push-up. Modifying it not only makes your workouts more fun, but it also hits different muscles and can help build a more complete physique.
You can elevate your feet on a stool or chair to increase resistance or drop to your knees to decrease resistance.
Another variation I love is the suspended push-up, which uses homemade TRX straps.
How to Perform the Push Up
Most people know how to do this basic exercise, but here are a few pointers to get the most from them:
- Use perfect form. Keep your body as straight as possible and allow your chest to touch the ground at the bottom of each rep if possible. Half reps do not nearly work the entire pectoral muscle, nor do a complete, perfect rep.
- Use push-up handles or dumbbells to elevate your hands a couple of inches from the floor. This will give you a greater range of motion, which will blast your chest much more than if your hands were flat on the floor.
- Perform the reps slowly. The more time the muscles are under tension, the more work they do, which translates to more muscle.
Dips
Dips are a real power-building exercise. This movement will put thick slabs of muscle on your triceps, which comprise two-thirds of your upper arm! These are also easy, but you will need two solid chairs or bars about 24″ apart or roughly shoulder width.
You support your body weight with your arms on the two bars or chairs and slowly “dip” or lower yourself by bending your arms until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor. Then, straighten your arms to push yourself back up.
The muscles worked by dipping exercises are chest, shoulders, triceps and to a lesser degree, your core and other stabilizing muscles.
This exercise is also versatile. You can use your legs to assist if you can’t yet do these or to help you get another rep when you are at muscular failure. When performing dips, if you lean forward, the pectorals (chest) will work harder, and if you stay more upright, your triceps will be targeted.
These three power movements are the best upper body exercises you can do without weights or gym equipment. They will provide you with a tremendous muscle-building workout. I have maintained my upper body muscle for long periods, doing little more than these three exercises when work kept me too busy for a full-length workout in my home gym!