There are many muscles that make up our upper body and, oftentimes, people do not know which muscles they are working when they exercise. The upper body includes shoulders, upper back, chest, and arm muscles. In this article, I will explain why a few of these muscles are important and provide a few exercises to work these muscles.
The shoulder muscles include the deltoids and rotator cuffs. First, the deltoid is the muscle that wraps around the top part of your shoulder. There are three parts to the deltoid: the front, side, and rear. These are the muscles that give your shoulder a sharp look and give you a greater range of movement. One shoulder exercise that will build your deltoids is the dumbbell shoulder press. This is done by raising the dumbbells over your head and back down to shoulder height. The second muscle is the rotator cuff. These muscles are located under your shoulder. When you strengthen this muscle your underarm firms and extra fat disappears. An exercise for this muscle is bent over flies. This can be done by keeping your back straight while giving a slight bend at the hips and holding your dumbbells by your side. You then lift each arm out, keeping your palm parallel to the floor.
The arm muscles are another important part of the upper body. These muscles include the biceps, triceps, and forearms. Biceps are located at the front upper arm, and these are the muscles you flex when picking something up or bending your arm. An exercise you can do to work your biceps is bicep curls; these are a very popular exercise and are good for building this specific muscle. The triceps are located on the back of your upper arm; these are used when you are pushing something or straightening your arm. An exercise that will work your triceps is a diamond pushup. This can be done by putting your hands in the shape of a diamond while performing a pushup. The forearms are the muscle that runs from your wrist to your elbow. This muscle will tone your arm and help prevent conditions like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other wrist complaints.
The upper back muscles include the Trapezius and Rhomboids. The Trapezius is a triangular-shaped muscle that goes from your back all the way up to your neck and runs across your shoulder blade. When you strengthen this muscle, it helps relieve back and shoulder pain. An exercise for your Trapezius is shrugs. You can complete this exercise by taking a dumbbell in each hand and shrugging your shoulders up and down. The Rhomboids are the muscles in the center of your back that extend up to the base of your neck. When you work this muscle, you are building support for your shoulders and it will help you maintain good back posture. An exercise for this is pull-ups. You can do assisted pull-ups with a band or machine if you tend to struggle with regular pull-ups.
Building a good upper body can help you in many ways regarding your posture and back pain. Keeping consistent with these exercises and knowing the parts of the upper body will help you when starting or continuing to work out.
