The Best Upper Body Workout

For many women, training the upper body is seen as a crucial part of achieving good overall fitness - with benefits that extend well beyond the gym. However, it’s not always easy to know where to start.

That’s where we come in. Our guide provides the optimum routine for building arm strength and mobility, including Krissy Cela’s favourite upper body workout video.

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Why Upper Body Strength Is So Important

When we’re talking about the upper body, we mainly mean the chest, shoulders and delts, and how strength in these areas forms a key part in our overall fitness.

Upper body strength not only supports a smoother workout routine but it can also improve your daily life (lugging bags up a long flight of stairs on holiday, carrying groceries, etc). It’s also a vital factor in maintaining good posture and, in turn, can deliver a real impact on your self-confidence.

In other words, it’s not just about how much you can lift in the gym but about having more strength and confidence in your daily life too.

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Our Favourite Upper Body Workout

Oner Active founder Krissy Cela has come up with the ultimate upper body workout routine, stacking simple exercises that, with consistency, can offer big results. Remember, it’s always best to consult a professional if you’re unsure about any exercise to help prevent injury.

Below, we’ll walk you through each exercise and how best to execute them. Don’t forget to do a quick warm-up routine before you start your workout. You can find lots of ideas for stretches and why warm ups are so important here.

Don’t feel like reading? Check out Krissy’s video walking you through the workout below.

Push press

Start by holding a barbell at chest level, with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and facing away. With your legs hip-width apart and your core engaged, bend your knees slightly and then push up, straightening your legs and arms to propel the bar upwards until your arms are straight above your head. Slowly lower and repeat.

Inverted bent-over row

Start with a slight bend in the knees with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. With your back in a neutral position, hinge at the hips to grab your barbell from the floor. Using an inverted grip (palms facing away from you), straighten your back and lift the barbell until the bar touches your thighs. Hinge forward to 45 degrees and then pull the bar towards your lower torso (your elbows should be leading your pull here). Make sure to keep your core engaged throughout the movement and that your back doesn’t arch.

Incline chest press

Using two dumbbells and a bench set at around 45 to 60 degrees, gently lay back and raise your weights so that they’re directly above you. From here, retract your shoulders so that your elbows lower to meet the level of the bench. If you’re struggling, try reducing the weight of the dumbbells or push your hips up slightly for support.

Wide grip lat pull down

Using a lat pulldown machine, grip the bar at an even distance apart, with your thumbs on the back of the bar to ensure you don’t strain your forearms. Secure yourself tightly in the seated position and pull the bar down using your elbows. It’s natural to want to lean back slightly as you pull down to further work your lats and that’s totally fine.

Reverse grip front cable raise

Using a functional trainer machine, face away from the machine and bend your knees slightly. Grip the bar with palms facing up, hinge hips slightly and slow pull out and up, holding at the top for a couple seconds. Slowly lower and repeat.

Bent-over single arm row

Stabilise yourself by kneeling your right knee and hand on a bench. Stretch your other leg out behind you. Grab a dumbbell in your opposite hand and pull towards your hip. Slowly lower the dumbbell to the floor. Repeat on the other side.

Lateral raise

With knees and elbows slightly bent, raise dumbbells outward to be about parallel to the shoulders. Slowly lower and repeat.

How should you structure an upper body workout?

Oner Active founder Krissy Cela recommends doing 4 sets for each exercise and 8-10 reps each. But it’s worth remembering to listen to your body and find what works best for you.

How often should you be doing an upper body workout?

We recommend doing an upper body workout 2-3 times a week, alongside your other workout routines. Don’t forget to take an active rest day to ensure your body has time to recover and avoid injury. You can learn more about active rest days here.

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