I get a lot of people that ask me what they should do for a workout, or better yet to “get rid of this”. I am going to breakdown one thing for you today (along with sharing a workout) that is going to blow your mind. Not only that, but most people tend to gravitate towards only a few key exercises because they think they’re the only ones they can do without equipment. But, that is not the case. You just have to get creative! So todays workout is a full upper body focus, that can all be done at home with just bodyweight.
When people ask me what they can do to “get rid of this” or will this work for “x y z” I want to laugh. But I have to remember that everyone doesn’t know the information that I do about the body and science, so I wanted to share that with you today.
You cannot spot treat. Simple as that. Doing a bunch of crunches won’t give you a six-pack. Doing a bunch of push-ups won’t get rid of your arm “wings”. Squatting won’t shrink your legs. All of these things will help to increase muscle size and strength, but it will not shrink them. It is the overall loss of body fat and recomposition that will allow you to see those things. So if someone tells you that a certain exercise or movement will “shrink belly fat” or “grow your glutes”, they don’t know what they are talking about. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am just being real with you.
If you want to lose weight, or see some “definition” or what some call “tone up”, then you really want to decrease your body fat in general. Working those muscles, along with everything else in your body is going to allow you to lose weight (along with a caloric deficit). If you want to build muscle, then I can get on board with training a specific muscle group to grow it. But if you are trying to shrink your arms or your waist, then you want to focus on full-body movements, changing your exercise routine and eating in a CLEAN, caloric deficit!
Table of Contents
Todays workout is a beginner workout (which exercises can still be modified to be made easier or harder) that can all be done at home, with zero equipment. You do want to have a rug/mat/towel/carpet with you because some movements are done on your knees. Other than that, just press play and start sweating!
7 exercises, 7 reps, 7 rounds
Pushups
Tricep dips
Upper supermans
Kneeling pressups
Face down TYI
Hand walks
Scapula retractions
Uppercuts
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Full workout video available here on YouTube
One of the staples in any upper body workout because they can be modified so easily!
FORM: Core tight and back flat. You want your arms at shoulder width because your wrists should be under your shoulders.
MODIFICATION: Drop down to your knees to make it easier! You can also put something under you so that your chest has something to touch! To make it more difficult, you can go all the way to the floor, lay down full, and then push yourself up, keeping your core tight so that you come up in 1 motion and not your arms and then your hips!
Everyone is always talking about wanting “toned” arms, well this movement is going to help strengthen your arms and build that muscle!
FORM: This one can be done on a chair or on the floor. You want your arms directly under you and your hips up off the floor. Bend ONLY your elbows and lower yourself down and then back up. The more range of motion you can get, the better.
MODIFICATION: Again, you can use the floor or a chair. For the floor you can just stay seated and then push yourself up and sit back down. To make it harder you can put on leg in the air! Using a bench or chair; keeping your knees bent and but close to the chair is easier and straightening your legs can make it more challenging.
This exercise is meant to target the lats and lower back muscles. Which are an important part of your core/trunk used in posture and most daily activities!
FORM: Keep your legs on the ground for this movement! You want to focus on the lower back as you lift your trunk and arms off the floor, squeeze, and then come back down. Make sure you are moving slowly as to not put too much strain on those muscles.
MODIFICATION: There really aren’t any ways to modify this one. Just do the best you can and continue working up to it!
Yes, these do look like pushups. But, they are using a few different muscles than the average pushup! Again, a major movement that works the entire body.
FORM: Same position as a pushup. Instead of your elbows flaring out, you want to keep them tight to your body. The idea is to get your elbows all the way to the floor and then press back up into your hands!
MODIFICATION: Just go down as low as you can and then back up. You want to continue to build a solid foundation! You can make it more difficult by going up onto your toes instead of your knees, but the first step is getting your elbows all the way to the floor and pressing back up.
These movements are not your average ones, but they are very important for the movement of your shoulder blades and smaller muscles in your back!
FORM: Flat on your tummy, keeping those legs on the ground; first ‘T’ keeping your palms to the ceiling, then “Y” with your thumbs to the ceiling and then “I” with your thumbs to the ceiling. You want to try and keep your head on the floor as well as your chest, only movement is your arms and squeezing your back!
MODIFICATION: No simpler modification for this one, so just take your time and go at your pace. To make it more difficult you could add weights to the movement.
These are harder than they appear, but are a great movement to get the heart rate up and really work the stabilizing muscles.
FORM: Again, pushup position. Core tight and back flat (no butts in the air!) with your wrists under your shoulders. Move your hands out, out, in, in and that is 1 rep. Make sure you keep a strong base and wrists so you do not injure yourself.
MODIFICATION: You can drop down to your knees to make it easier, just make sure your hips are pushed to the floor so your core in engaged and not just on all 4’s. To make it harder you can take wider “walks” with your hands, just make sure you don’t break your core form!
Scapula retracting is a main movement of the shoulder blades and is the key to all back, or rowing motions.
FORM: Same kneeling pushup position (you are going to get VERY strong here), you want to squeeze your shoulder blades together and then push them apart. Keep your core tight and try not to arch your back in the process. I like to act as though there is an egg between my shoulder blades and I am trying to crack it. This is the foundation of all back movements so make sure you get it right!
MODIFICATION: An easier modification; lay on your back with your knees bent and arms towards the ceiling. Push just your hands towards the ceiling (separating shoulder blades) and then pull them back together and push them towards the floor. This is also going to teach you the basis of the movement, just without the addition of your core engagement. To make it harder you can get onto your toes instead of your knees, or you can lay on your back with a weight in your hands and do it that way.
A lot of people tend to think that you need weights in your hands or a bag in front of you for punching movements to be a workout, but that isn’t always true. You just have to put real force behind your movements and don’t just motion through it!
FORM: In an athletic stance (knees bent, core tight, back flat, chest up), keep your elbows bent and punch upward as if you are curling your arm. Engage all your upper body muscles and swing hard, yet controlled.
MODIFICATION: Slow the movement down until you get the form. Again, you want to swing with purpose and not to just get the exercise over with! You can make it harder by adding weights or going double time!
Warmup up is important, for your muscle and joint health! Not to mention you will then be able to perform at your best!
• Walk-outs (5)
• Arm circles (10 forward, 10 backwards)
• Shrugs (10)
• Shoulder Circles (5 forward, 5 backward)
• Doorway chest stretch
• Open and close arm swings
• Forward and backward arm swings
• Childs pose stretching arms out forward
Another one bites the dust! Thank you for joining me on another workout! As always, subscribe to my youtube channel so you can get the FULL workouts. And if you haven’t already, click the link below to get your 3 days of free workouts right to your inbox!
