When I first started exercising I had no idea about a powerful upper body workout for beginners.
In fact, I didn’t know much about working out at all.
Really, I was just following what friends told me and what I saw in weightlifting magazines.
Most of the time, what that meant was doing one exercise for one body part at a time.
There isn’t anything really wrong with that if you know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
My issue was I didn’t really have a clue.
I just thought if I wanted a big powerful chest I should do lots of bench press repetitions with as much weight as possible.
If I wanted a ripped midsection, I should just do hundreds of sit ups.
Turns out, that game plan was not really a great idea. Not to mention at the time I had terrible technique.
So as you can imagine, my results were not the greatest. Not good for developing an upper body workout.
Some time later I learned about compound exercises. For me, these really made a difference.
Basically, compound exercises are where you are using multiple muscle groups and joints during a particular movement.
For example, a squat can incorporate the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.
Sometimes you can get creative with compound movements and incorporate multiple exercises together.
Like doing a step up with a shoulder press. That’s pretty close to a full body workout movement.
So what I started to discover was that by incorporating these compound movements into my workout, I could get better results in a shorter period of time.
To top it off, I was even getting some fat burning results along the way.
So here are a few combination moves that I started using early on to help create an effective upper body workout and tighten my core as well.
If you stick with them, I’m sure you’ll have similar results.
Related Article: 5 Great Exercises For A Beginner’s At Home Workout
Spiderman Push Ups
This is a great exercise to help build upper body strength in both the chest and core with a simple movement.
Start by lying down flat on the floor, face down with your hands about shoulder width apart and legs together as if you’re about to do a regular push up.
Now as you push up, bring your right knee forward towards your right elbow. Hold that position for a moment while you engage your core.
Then as you lower yourself down, return your leg to the original starting position.
Repeat the same movement with the left leg. Continue to alternate back and forth with your legs until you’ve done 5 on each side.
If you find that too easy, do 10. That will work out to 20 push ups in total.
You should really feel that across your chest and in your core as you work to stabilize your body at the top of each push up.
Here’s a demonstration of the spiderman push up from the folks over at Livestrong.com.
I chose to show you this version of the spiderman push up for a couple reasons.
First, the demonstration shows the leg coming forward when the body is in the lowered position.
I prefer the leg coming forward when the body is in the raised position because I think it is a somewhat better core stabilizing movement.
Bringing the leg forward when your body is lowered probably works your chest and shoulders a little more.
Try both variations and see which one you want to start with. Now you got a choice for your upper body workout.
I also wanted you to see how the athlete in the demonstration is working to coordinate the movement.
Make sure you move your leg as you’re raising and lowering your body. Try to make it all one movement instead of two separate ones. This will give your chest and core the best workout.
Maintain good form and keep your core engaged. This will really help you build upper body strength, balance and coordination.
Related Article: A Beginner’s Plank Workout Challenge
Push Up With A Walk Out
This is a great compound movement that really works the chest, core and even gets your hamstrings going.
Start by standing straight up.
From there simply bend at the waist and allow your hands to gradually come down in front of you until they touch the floor.
If you don’t have the flexibility in your hamstrings to bend all the way over to touch the floor, just bend at your knees until your hands can touch the floor in front of you.
At that point, walk your hands out in front of you without letting your knees touch the ground.
Walk your hands forward until you are in the upright push up position fully extended.
Keeping your core engaged during the walkout and once in position, complete a full push up.
When your body returns to the upright position, walk your hands backwards until they are just in front of your feet again and stand straight up.
That is one complete repetition. Try and do 10. This could be an upper body workout all by itself.
Here’s a demonstration of the walkout push up from the nice people at the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability.
There are a few variations of this exercise but I prefer this one for beginners.
Note the modified version of the push up if a full push up is still difficult for you.
Keep doing these consistently and your strength will improve considerably. You’ll be doing full push ups before you know it.
Also, remember if you don’t have the flexibility in your legs to keep them straight, a bend at the knee is also fine.
Just remember to keep your core engaged throughout the duration of the movement and maintain good form on the push up.
Again, great for upper body strength, balance and agility.
Related Article: A Beginner’s At Home Workout To Start Today
The Push Up Crawl
This is a variation that sort of combines that two movements above for an incredible core and upper body workout.
I was first introduced to this move years ago when I was playing rugby at school.
It was part of our drills and also the one move that usually knocked us out. Mostly because we did it after a bunch of other exercises.
This move taken on its own with only a couple others like you have here, will make for a great upper body and core workout.
Yes, I know the core is part of the upper body. Just stay with me.
Here’s how you do the push up crawl:
Start out as if you’re going to do a regular push up in the fully extended position.
Then as you lower your body down, reach forward with your right hand while you simultaneously step forward with your left foot.
Push up in that position and then as you come down switch to reaching forward with your left hand and right foot.
You can continue going forward or alternate going backwards and forwards if you don’t have the space. Take a couple steps forward and a couple back.
Here’s a good demonstration of the push up crawl by John Garey. He calls it the Gecko Push up. There’s lots of hilarious names people come up with for the move but it really is a great one to include in your upper body workout.
You can change up the variation of going forward and back to challenge yourself.
Try and do 10 repetitions in total.
This is another great strength training bodyweight movement for your upper body, core and even gets your legs in there a bit as well.
Related Article: Build a Strong Body With A Great Exercise To Lose Weight
Put It All Together
So let’s take a look at this workout and see what it looks like.
- Spiderman Push Ups 5 Reps each side
- Push Up With a Walkout 10 Reps
- Crawling Push Up 10 Reps
That is a really good workout that takes a simple move like the push up and turns it into a powerhouse for upper body and core conditioning.
As a beginner this should be a heavy duty workout for you. Try and do it all the way through 2 – 3 times with a minute rest in between each exercise.
Now there is a chance you could go flying all the way through this concentrated workout and feel like you’re just getting started.
In which case you might want to…
Make It Metabolic!
Wait. What are you talking about?
Glad you asked.
This routine can be turned into a great metabolic workout for beginners.
If you haven’t heard of a metabolic workout before and want to know what it is, here’s a general breakdown for you.
A metabolic workout tends to involve compound exercises. Compound exercises utilize multiple joints and multiple muscle groups at the same time.
Sound familiar?
So for example the push up walk out in this routine is a great compound exercise incorporating the hamstrings, pectoral muscles, triceps and core. As you can imagine, it works multiple joints for these muscle groups to work together.
A good metabolic workout will have you boost your metabolism with a good calorie burn. Your metabolism is generally measured by how many calories you burn while at rest.
The faster your metabolism the more calories you burn. The more calories you burn the better your chances of burning fat and losing some weight.
Metabolic training tends to incorporate large muscle groups in the body. Though it can be done with smaller muscle groups as well. It utilizes high intensity and you’ll definitely feel the burn in the muscles you are working.
The high intensity also means you’re able to workout for a shorter period of time to achieve the same results.
The benefits of a solid metabolic workout routine for beginners include improved cardiovascular performance and strength training. There also tends to be a boost in fat loss as a result of increased calorie burns.
Some studies indicated that following a good metabolic workout routine, a percentage of the increased levels of calorie burns continue while at rest. This has been referred to as the “afterburn effect”.
Also known as the excess post exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. It’s really just a fancy way of describing the increased number of calories burned after exercise.
Related Article: Best Bodyweight Exercises To Build a Lean Strong Physique
So How Do We Make This Workout Routine Metabolic?
Another great question.
If you’re looking to turn this into a metabolic workout routine for beginners the best place to start is with your rest period in between exercises.
This is one way to boost the intensity. So instead of resting for a minute in between each exercise, take the rest out completely and go straight through from one exercise to the next.
Save the rest for after completing all three exercises.
And whatever you do, don’t slow down. Keep a steady pace going as best you can.
By boosting the intensity in this fashion you’ll reap the benefits of this strength training routine in less time and effectively turned it into a great metabolic workout.
Related Article: High Intensity Interval Training At Home Made Easy
The Wrap Up
So there you have it. A great bodyweight workout for beginners to build a strong chest and core.
If you’re able to jump right to the metabolic workout, I’d imagine you’re not quite a beginner and may be ready soon to take this workout to the next level by adding additional sets and exercises.
If you are a beginner, this routine should get you on track to building your strength and toning your upper body. Try and do it at least a couple times a week until it gets considerably easier.
At that point you won’t be such a beginner anymore. You’ll be on your way to the next level. Way to go!
