Although building an ideal upper body might seem challenging at first, with some safe and effective sets of upper body workouts for beginners, you will reach your goal within no time. Here are the most important movement patterns to train for upper body workouts building a broader shoulder, stronger back, and a great set of biceps are mostly the top priorities of all beginners.

All these can be achieved with some specific sets of workouts upper body workouts for beginners. Upper body exercises are great for building muscle mass and strength, in the top half of your body. It not only tones up your physique but also improves your posture and enhances the overall outlook.

• Vertical Pulls
• Horizontal Pulls
• Vertical Push
• Horizontal Push
• Loaded Carry

Each of these moves is foundational and plays a significant role in building upper-body strength. If you design your workout session around these movements patterns, it will ensure overall upper body muscle growth.

Top 5 best upper body workouts for beginners:

1 – The Pull-Up:

The pull-up is a common exercise used to target the muscles of your upper back. It accomplishes the vertical pull movement pattern and works your back muscles, arms, and shoulder blades. Although pull-up is one of the most effective upper-body exercises for beginners, it’s not so easy to perform at first. Practice it regularly following the right technique or try with assisted pull-up machine to do a complete pull-up.

Some popular variations of the pull-ups:

• Eccentric hangs
• Negative pull-ups
• Band Assisted Pull-Ups
• Chin Ups
• Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
• Wide Grip Pull-Ups
• Weighted Pull-Ups

2 – The Barbell Row:

The barbell row is another effective upper-body workout for beginners. It completes the horizontal pull movement pattern and helps build strong back muscle mass. A lot of core and shoulder stability is required to perform this movement. You can adjust the number of loads as per your capacity and gradually increase as you get used to it.

Some variations of the barbell row you can use in your upper body workouts include:

• Dumbbell Row
• Inverted Row
• Seated Cable Row
• Standing Cable Row
• Shotgun Row
• Landmine T-bar Row

3 – The Overhead Press:

The Overhead Press is one of the most popular upper body workouts that accomplish the vertical push movement pattern. It is basically used to build the push muscles of the shoulders and triceps. Similar to the barbell row, the exercise also involves a lot of core and shoulder stability to execute properly.

There are many additional variations of the overhead press you can try as upper body workouts:

• The Push Press
• Landmine Press variations
• The Military Press
• Z Press
• Pin Press
• Dumbbell Overhead Press
• Arnold Press

4 – The Bench Press:

The bench press and its variations are many beginner’s favorite workouts. It accomplishes the horizontal push movement patterns by working for the upper body muscle groups. The main benefit of this exercise is that it allows you to maximize the weight per your lifting capacity. However, it requires a lot of balance – mainly from the shoulder ligaments. so it is wise to build the strength first with several other workouts.

The following exercises can also be used to accomplish the horizontal push movement pattern —

• Push-Ups
• Floor Presses
• dumbbell incline bench press
• Incline Presses
• Decline Presses, and
• Dips, etc.

5 – The Farmer’s Walk

The farmer’s walk or farmer’s carry is one of the best-loaded carry exercises that not only accomplish cardiovascular conditioning but also trains your packs and the core. Unlike most upper body exercises, a farmer’s walk works the entire body and improves core musculature.

Some similar loaded carry exercises:

• Suitcase Carries
• Cross Walk
• Waiter Carries
• Trap Bar Farmer’s Walks, etc.

These 5 upper body workouts for beginners will help you build upper body muscle mass and master the fundamental movement patterns. However, it is important to remember that consistency is the key to success. As a beginner, you need to work harder and trust the process to maximize results.

Work with your instructor, make a plan, work hard and stick to it. Many beginners tend to rush things or switch workouts on a weekly basis and end up disappointed. To avoid that, always remember that everything takes time, patience, and discipline.

Follow a suitable healthy diet, work hard every day in the gym, and try to incorporate the above-mentioned exercises into your routine, you will reach your fitness goal within no time.