Home Workouts That Will Get You Ripped

With some inexpensive equipment and a little know how, there are several upper body exercises that can be beneficial to your at home workouts. They are great for building upper body strength as well as helping with over all fitness.

Dumbbell exercises are great way to strengthen your upper body. Beginners may want to start out with a lighter weight such as a 5-pound or 7-pound set of dumbbells, while a more advanced exerciser may want to use heavier dumbbells such as 10-pound or up sets of dumbbells. Use lighter weight dumbbells for exercises such as biceps curls, triceps extensions and shoulder shrugs. You will want to use heavier weights for your larger muscle group exercise like rows. A couple of examples of these exercises are the biceps curl and triceps extension. Bicep curls are done by holding the dumbbells in the palms of your hands and pulling the weights from your side to your shoulder. You do not want to move your back, get it as stable as possible. The triceps extensions start with the dumbbells straight over your head; you will then bring the weight back towards the back of your shoulders. You want to do as much reps as you can handle.

Resistant-band exercises, also known as flex-tube exercises, are great for building tone and definition. Resistance bands come in generally three different resistances, light, medium and heavy. For many of the exercises a medium band will offer the most versatility. Many of the band exercises are performed by standing on one end or handle of the band and with the other end or handle in one or both hands. Another way to use the band is to wrap it around a door handle and keep the other handle in your hand. A great example of one of these exercises is the chest work out; you will want to wrap the center of the tube around a rail or door handle, grab the ends of the tube with your hands and extend your arms forward until they are stretched out completely. Try to aim for 2 or 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.

If you do not want to use or can't afford dumbbells or a resistance band, you can always just use your own weight. Using your own body weight for resistant can be very useful when it comes to an upper body workout. Push-ups are one of the best upper body exercises known to man. To perform a perfect push-up a beginner should be on there knees and a more experienced exerciser should be on there toes, you use your arms to push your body up as far as your arms can extend, you try to keep your back as straight as possible. You will want to do as many reps as your body allows but please don't over do it.

Whatever upper body workout you choose, the benefits to your upper body and general health will greatly improve with a constant and steady workout. Remember to do only as much as your body can handle and don't over do it. There are also some great Home workout DVDs that can help you get absolutely ripped. Workouts like P90x and Shaun T Insanity are great for your upper body and overall health in general.