Strengthening your upper body: The personal trainer reveals the top three exercises that are most effective
Fit&Well Features Zack Dzingle's Top Upper Body Exercises for Strength Building
Zack Dzingle, an ACE-certified personal trainer and the general manager of Bay Club Portland, has shared his top three upper body exercises for strength building. These moves, which include the hand-release push-up, triceps dip, and inverted row, require some equipment like a bench, bars, or boxes, making them more suitable for intermediate to advanced exercisers.
For beginners, Dzingle suggests scaling the intensity by altering sets and repetitions or adjusting the exercise itself. For example, for push-ups, beginners can reduce the range of motion or do the moves with feet on the ground or knees down. As fitness levels improve, Dzingle recommends using full range of motion and bodyweight for intermediate levels, and adding external resistance like weight vests or bands, or increasing volume and tempo for advanced exercisers.
The first exercise is a hand-release push-up. To perform this move, start in a high plank position. Lower your chest to the floor, lift your hands, and push through your palms to return to the start. For this exercise, Dzingle advises keeping elbows tucked in and paying attention to the tension in the shoulders.
The second exercise is a triceps dip. To perform this move, move your butt forward off the surface, supporting your weight through your hands, and slowly bend your elbows to 90° to lower. Extend your elbows to push yourself back up. For this exercise, Dzingle recommends building up the lactic acid in the triceps to feel the burn.
The final exercise is the inverted row. To perform this move, set a barbell at waist height in a squat rack and position yourself under it with the bar above your chest. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Extend your legs in front of you, resting your heels on the floor. In the inverted row exercise, bend your elbows to pull your chest to the bar and pause, then slowly lower to the start.
Dzingle believes pull movements are most important in the functionality of the upper body and uses a barbell for the inverted row exercise to hang off of. He graduated from Central Washington University in 2012, majoring in exercise science. He has been a certified personal trainer for 14 years and has trained a wide variety of clientele from athletes to senior adults.
These exercises are not suitable for beginners, but Dzingle recommends other upper body exercises for completely beginner-friendly equipment-free alternatives. However, his top three focus on scalability to build strength effectively. For hand-release push-ups, Dzingle suggests doing 1-3 sets of 5-10 reps.
- Dzingle, with a background in exercise science, suggests that beginners searching for health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise routines can explore equipment-free alternatives to increase upper body strength.
- As one progresses from a beginner to an advanced stage, science supports the use of exercises like hand-release push-ups, triceps dips, and inverted rows in Fitness-and-exercise regimes for health-and-wellness improvements, with the guidance of certified trainers like Dzingle.
