2 Effective Exercises To Boost Your Upper Body Strength

If your arms are looking a little flabby then maybe it is time to give them a good firming up. The benefits of keeping fit are well known. Regular exercise will help you lose weight, give you more energy, tone and strengthen your body. It will also reduce your risk of infections and disease.

An effective exercise program should include a good balance of strength training and cardiovascular exercises. If you just focus on one type of exercise you will create an imbalance. For example, if you do a set of push ups you should also do a set of pulling exercises to balance the muscles.

Strength training is very important as it builds and strengthens the major muscles groups of the lower and upper body. An effective strength training regime will focus equally on both the lower and upper body with a combination of pulling and pushing exercises.

In this article I will be focusing on two simple but effective upper body exercises. The great advantage with these exercises is that they can be done at home and use little equipment. All you need is a pair of basic dumbbells. If you already have a gym membership then you can try these out as well.


The Bench Press Dumbbell

If you do a lot of press-ups then these are great to balance out your chest muscles. This exercise is also good at targeting the shoulders and triceps.
You will need a bench or a piece of furniture that can enable you to lie flat on your back without any obstruction on either side. Lie down on the bench while holding two dumbbells in each hand. Hold each dumbbell just above your chest. Push both youre arms upwards keeping them steady and level with your chest. Pause when your arms are fully stretched. Then lower the arms slowly keeping them straight and steady.


The Bicep Curls

This is a great exercise for building strength in the front arm biceps. To begin this exercise get into a standing position. Your feet should be shoulder distance apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight and close to the side of your body. The dumbbells should be held with your palms facing your thighs. Begin raising your arms by bending your elbows. As you raise your arms upwards turn the dumbbells so that the palm of your hands are facing you by the time they reach your shoulders. When you reach this point pause, and lower your arms and repeat the movement.

If you have any medical condition or injury then always consult a doctor or physician for advice before doing any new type of exercises.