If pull-ups aren't a favorite of yours or you simply don't have access to a pull-up bar, that's quite alright as there are plenty of other ways to build upper body strength. In fact, there are really simple ways to strengthen your upper body muscles, like this five move dumbbell and bodyweight routine.
The workout comes from James Stirling (also known as the London Fitness Guy on Instagram) and it only takes 30 minutes to complete. Stirling has mashed together a series of bodyweight and dumbbell moves for the arms, shoulders and back muscles to create a workout that's easy to do at home or the gym.
If you're using this routine at home, working with a pair of the best adjustable dumbbells will be especially handy as the routine includes moves that require both heavier and lighter dumbbells sizes.
This kind of short and snappy workout is easy to fit into a busy routine and is the kind that if you keep up with regularly, you should start to see improvements in your strength gains. A stronger upper body is also a great way to improve your posture, helping to hold up your upper half strong and confidently.
Watch James Stirling's 30-minute upper body workout
The format of this workout is fairly easy to remember. You will perform each exercise for ten reps and complete three sets in total. If you're lifting with heavier weights you should implement one minute of rest in between each exercise as well.
Rest periods are important as they allow your muscles to recover and perform well during the whole workout. It's also a good opportunity to take a quick swig from one of the best water bottles and keep your hydration levels up while you get a sweat on.
Once you familiarise yourself with each exercise and master the correct form for each then you can look to implement progressive overload into your training with this workout. This term refers to gradually increasing the intensity of your training, whether that be moving up the weights or increasing the number of reps, which helps avoid plateaus in your strength building.
It's also worth thinking about applying time under tension (TUT) to the exercises in Stirling's upper body routine. TUT requires you to slow down your movement and perform the exercise for longer, lengthening the working time. This contributes to hypertrophy, the process of growing muscle.
While muscle growth and definition don’t have to be your only fitness goals, a routine like this can support those goals if they’re important to you. Strength workouts offer many additional benefits, such as improved posture as your muscles grow stronger, a mental boost, increased energy, and greater confidence from mastering new exercises.
Plus, 30 minutes of movement is far better for your well-being than spending that time doomscrolling!
