Aside from reaching our fitness goals, it’s also important to strengthen our bodies when we exercise. It’s not enough that our bodies look good, but they should also allow us to accomplish our daily tasks with ease. While it is important to strengthen our core and lower body, our arms and upper body are just as important and should also be part of our priorities.
According to Dr. Crystal Roxas, a doctor, fitness enthusiast, and fitness advocate, we miss out on crucial benefits when we forget to exercise our upper body. Hence, the upper body should be part of our focus when we work out. Thankfully, in an episode of Body Goals on Plus Network, Roxas and fitness trainer Carla Piscoso teaches us an exciting workout that targets the arms, abs, and obliques and will make our upper bodies stronger.
This upper body workout consists of the seated bicep curl and boat crunch, the bent-over row to tricep kickback, and the chest press and bicycle. To perform this workout, you need an open space, dumbbells, and a bench that allows you to lie on your back.
Seated Bicep Curl and Boat Crunch
– To do this workout, you need to grab your weights and sit on the bench. Then, you need to lean back and extend your arms while holding the weights. Then, you will extend your legs and arms and lift the weights and move your legs back up. Make sure that you fully extend your arms as you stretch out and that you balance your hips. It’s important to keep your elbows close to your body as you do this workout and that you inhale as you go up and exhale as you bend down.
Bent-Over Row To Tricep Kickback
– To do this workout, you need to grab a heavier pair of weights. Then, while bent over the bench and one arm leaning on it, use your other arm to lift and pull back and extend it to one side. Then, do this for the other arm and face the opposite direction. Hook your elbows back, extend, and bend. Once you do this workout, you will feel its effect on your biceps, triceps, chest, abs, and back.
Chest Press + Bicycle
– To perform this workout, you need two weights. You will start by lying on your back and keeping your shoulder blades flat on the bench. Then, you will lift both weights at the same time while lifting one leg at the knee one after the other, as if riding a bicycle. Make sure to engage your pectoral muscles as you lift the weights and bring the dumbbells close to your chest. This workout will be good for the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
It’s important that you do these workouts at a pace that you’re comfortable with, which will result in a total upper body exercise. A good workout, however, should also come with good nutrition, and it’s important that we are mindful of what we put inside our bodies. To complement this upper body workout, you can pair it with a healthy, easy-to-cook meal like the Pomelo Salad.
The ingredients to make this dish include 1 whole pomelo, 1/2 crumbled feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh basil. to make the pomelo salad, you need to mix the pomelo, feta cheese, and olive oil in a large bowl. Then, you need to season it with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Finally, you will then garnish the dish with basil before enjoying the meal.
By doing these simple upper body workouts and eating this healthy meal, you can strengthen your body and accomplish important tasks while working closer to your fitness goals. For more fitness tips, you can watch episodes of Body Goals or visit Plus Network on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
