13 Upper Body Exercises to do if you HATE Push-up’s. || Guest Post.

Hi, I’m Kat from https://katspillsthetea.com/. I’m a lifestyle blogger and marketing executive from Surrey. I’ll be blogging about a little bit of everything. But as I’ve just started out, my focus so far has been on work-home life, organisation and fitness. Everything I write about is centred around one key thing: how to live a more positive life.

Today I’m going to be sharing with you my 13 favourite upper body exercises to do instead of push-ups.

DISCLOSURE: this post may contain affiliate links. I may earn off of qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. I will only ever recommend products that I use, or I feel will truly benefit you.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Are you sick of push-up’s making an unwelcome appearance in your upper body routine?

Want to find alternative exercises to strengthen your upper body?

If so, you’ve come to the right place!

Today I’ll be recommending 13 effective upper body exercises for strong arms, back and chest and shoulders.
What’s even better is, there’s not a single push-up in sight.

How I feel about push-ups:

If you’re anything like me, then you probably hate push-ups.
The only exercise I probably hate more than push-ups, are burpees. I mean seriously, who invented the burpee?
Although I’m determined to master the push-up one day, if I’m honest, I don’t ever see it being my favourite upper body exercise.
Saying that, there’s no doubt that push-ups are very effective. So, by all means, if you can successfully do a push up – carry on! Don’t listen to me!
You’ll probably find that when you’re looking for the best upper body exercises to do, push-ups crop up a lot. In YouTube videos, fitness blogs, on google etc. So, it’s great if you can do them.
With all that in mind, what is it that makes the push-up so popular?

So why are push-ups (apparently) so good?

To put it really simply, push-ups are so good because they’re so hard.

If an exercise is difficult, it’s almost guaranteed to be doing something right!

In fact, a push-up pretty much works your entire upper body. A standard push up targets the chest, shoulders, arms and abdominal muscles. So, you’ve got all areas covered just from doing one exercise.

In addition, there are a number of lesser known benefits of push-ups. Such as improved cardio vascular fitness. This 2019 study found that there may be a correlation between the number of push-ups you can do and your risk of developing a cardio vascular disease.

Also, exercises like push-ups that use your body weight, can significantly improve bone strength.

Not to mention, if you perform a push-up correctly it can train and tone your entire body. Not just your upper body.

So, if push-ups have all these great benefits, what’s with the vendetta against them?

Why do we hate push-ups so much?

So, having discussed why push-ups are so good. Now seems the appropriate time to discuss why they’re also, so bad.
If you head to google now and start typing “Why are push-ups so…”
The second search result that comes up is “why are push-ups so hard.” (At least that’s what it was for me).
Yep, my thoughts exactly. Google has read my mind again!
Then, if you scroll to the bottom of the page a bunch of other disparaging related searches come up like, “why are push-ups so hard for me”, “why I can’t do push-ups”, “I can’t do push-ups but I’m strong.”
It seems a lot of people out there agree that push-ups are simply just too hard.
Intrigued, I wanted to find out why this is.

My findings:

So, after doing a bit of research. I found that there could be up to 50 different reasons that we find it impossible to do a push-up?!

Here are some of the most obvious, or likely reasons:

• Your form is off. It could be as simple as your hands or feet are too far apart to properly support your body weight. Also, it could be that you’re slouching your back downwards, or pushing your bum too high in the air.
• You train your arms but skip shoulders, chest and back. The strength to do a push-up doesn’t just come from your arms, make sure you’re targeting all of these areas if you want to master a push-up.
• You only do cardio. If you’re only doing cardiovascular workouts like jogging or running etc, a push-up will probably feel pretty difficult. Try incorporating some strength exercises into your workouts!
• You’re pushing yourself too hard. Trying to do too many push-ups without having the proper strength or technique wont’ help you. Perfecting one is better than doing a hundred poorly performed push-ups.

As one of the most likely reasons is down to bad form, lets discuss how you can make sure your form is on point.

The correct form for a push-up:

If you’ve got this far and you’re still adamant that you don’t want to ditch push-ups, then here’s how to do them properly.
• Have your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
• Your feet should be about shoulder width apart too. Find a position that’s comfortable for you personally, but you’ll probably find this is the best option.
• Think about how your form is when you’re doing a plank. This is what you want for a push-up too. Your body should be in one straight line – bums not high in the air, spine not slouched downwards.
If you still find this too difficult, here’s something to try first…

How to build up your strength to perfect the push-up:

If you’re not quite ready for the real deal, here’s some easier options, to build up your strength.
Push-ups on knees
The push-up on knees is a very popular option. To this day, I am still doing push-ups on my knees.
About two months ago I still struggled with even doing a push-up on my knees. Whereas now I can do multiple – so it’s definitely working.
Wall Press
I’ve been told this is the absolute best way to build up the necessary strength to do a push-up. So, it’s definitely something I need to try more.
To do a wall press you need to face a wall, arms out either side of you at shoulder height. Your hands rest on the wall, so your arms are straight. Then bend your elbows to bring yourself closer to the wall. So essentially, you’re doing a push-up, but standing up!
Try push-up handles
If you experience a lot of wrist pain when attempting to do push-ups, try using some push-up handles like these: https://amzn.to/2Co6Ah2. This will alleviate the pressure on your wrists.
Anyway, that’s enough about push-ups for now. Let’s find out what other upper body exercises are out there.

What I love about upper body workouts:

Just before I give you the lowdown on 13 of my favourite upper body exercises, I briefly want to talk about why I really love upper body workouts.

Now, believe it or not I used to hate upper body exercises. And now here I am writing an entire blog post about them.

I’ve always been more of a leg and booty day kinda girl. So upper body workouts used to take a back seat. However, since I started training more frequently and targeting different muscle groups on different days, I’ve grown to love them.

My upper body was always really weak, so there’s something I now love about how strong I feel after training my arms, chest and back.

In general, I’m a big lover of regular exercise because of the benefits it has on my mental health, something which I’ve highlighted in two of my recent posts on the Top 10 neck friendly ab exercises and the best knee friendly booty exercises.

For me, it’s all about maintaining a healthy relationship with exercise, one that is beneficial to my mind and body.

My top 13 upper body exercises to do instead of push-ups:

Whether you’re a push-up guru or an amateur like me, our upper body workouts shouldn’t be limited to push-ups anyway.
There are loads of other effective exercises to work-out your upper body.
Switch up your routine, keep it versatile, that way you won’t get bored!

1. Arm holds

I’m going to start off with a really straightforward and simple exercise: arm holds. But, don’t be fooled! Just because they look easy doesn’t mean they feel easy.

Firstly, stand up straight.

Second, lift your arms up and out. So, they’re in a straight line either side of your body.

Then, hold and feel the burn!

You can stick to using your body weight for this exercise to begin with. But, if you want to make it harder feel free to add weights, here’s some I’d recommend: https://amzn.to/3hdxvuC

If you’re exercising at home and you don’t own any weights, use tins or water bottles. This is just as effective!

2. Bicep curls

This is another exercise where you can make use of those tins that have been stocked in your kitchen cupboard for ages!
Firstly, straighten your arms downwards. So, they’re either side of your hips.
Then, curl your arms upwards until your elbows are bent like so:

As you reach this point make sure you’re squeezing and holding the tension in your arms.
Repeat.

3. Shoulder press

The starting position for a shoulder press is with your arms outwards either side of you, level with your shoulders, elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, like so:

Push your arms upwards towards the ceiling until they’re completely straight.
Return to the starting position and repeat.

 

4. Superman’s

Superman’s are super good for working your back muscles. For this exercise, start off by laying on the ground flat on your tummy.
Then, lift your arms up, so they’re either side of your head. Your elbows are bent.
You also need to try and lift your upper body and legs off of the ground as much as you can. So, really only the middle part of your body remains on the floor.
Next, push your upper body backwards further and your arms backwards and inwards slightly.
Top tip: make sure you’re pushing your arms as far back as you possibly can and squeeze your back.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat.

 

5. Twisting superman’s

For the most part, this exercise is very similar to the one I just described above. The starting position is exactly the same.
The only difference is, you don’t push your arms backwards. Instead, you’re twist your upper body from side to side.
To break it down really simply:
Lower your left elbow towards the floor by twisting your upper body towards the right.
You should be looking towards the right. And your right elbow should be higher in the air.
Then, twist the other way. Right elbow moves lower to the floor, upper body twists towards the left, left elbow is higher in the air.

6. Close row’s

I’ve included a few different variations of rows. Simply because I think they’re so great.
Let’s start off with close rows.
Firstly, you need to get your form right.
So, you want to have your feet hip width apart. A slight bend in the knees. And you almost want to be leaning forward slightly, so your back is in a straight line.
Your arms should be tucked in close to your sides.
Then, you want to row your arms forwards, until they’re in a straight line in front of you.
And finish by rowing them backwards, so that your elbows are bent at the side of your body again.
The trick is to really squeeze your arms and back as you row backwards.

7. One arm row’s

So, this one is pretty similar to the close row.
The starting position can be exactly the same.
But, the only difference is you only want to row one arm at a time.
So, for instance, let’s say you’re rowing your left arm. Row your left arm forwards and backwards while your right arm is held up straight to the side of you, in line with your shoulders.
Then, switch arms. Row your right arm while your left arm is held straight.

8. Wide row’s

One final row to add to the mix.
Again, your starting position is pretty similar to the two exercises above.
Which makes it nice and simple!
But rather than having your arms close to your side, they’re wider apart. You want to row your arms backwards and forwards in a ‘wide’ motion.

9. Dolphin hold

This one might look a little odd, but it’s a good one.
To begin your forearms should be resting on the ground. A little like you’re about to do an elbow plank.
But, then you want to lift your butt, so it is high in the air.
Your upper body and back should be in a straight line. And your head is in one line with your arms.
If possible, try to have your feet flat on the ground – but it’s also fine if they’re raised like mine are in the picture.
This is a really good one for the shoulders.

10. Plank

I included the plank in my post on my Top 10 neck friendly ab exercises.
I’m including it again because they’re really good for toning the whole body – upper body, arms, abs, thighs. Planks have got it covered.
In addition, planks come in endless amounts of variations for you to try.
Try elbow planks, long arm planks, reverse planks, planks with hip dips, side planks, back and forth planks… the list goes on!

11. Back squeezes

Remember the arm hold exercise that I spoke about first?
Well, the starting position for back squeezes is exactly the same as it was for the arm hold.
You want to stand up completely straight. With your arms out either side of your body, straight and in line with your shoulders.
Then, simply push your arms backwards, so they’re behind your shoulders.
As you’re pushing your arms back, really squeeze your back for maximum engagement.
Return to the starting position and repeat.

12. Triceps push together

Kneel on the floor. Lean forward a little and try to straighten your back.
Then, you need to have your arms straight out behind you, like so:

Next, you move your arms inwards towards each other, and outwards again. Do this motion fairly quickly.

13. Chest press

Finishing off with one of my favourite exercises, the chest press!
Remember the shoulder press? The starting position for a chest press is the same.
Firstly, your arms should be outwards either side of you, level with your shoulders, elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
Next you bring your arms inwards towards your chest like so:

Return to the starting position, repeat.

 

Overview:

So, to summarise my 13 favourite upper body exercises to do are:
• Arm holds
• Bicep curls
• Shoulder press’s
• Superman’s
• Twisting Superman’s
• Close row’s
• One arm row’s
• Wide row’s
• Dolphin holds
• Planks
• Back squeezes
• Tricep push togethers
• Chest press’s

Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this post and found some useful tips.

For similar posts check out my Top 10 neck friendly ab exercises and the best knee friendly booty exercises at https://katspillsthetea.com/

If you have any questions, tips or recommendations please feel free to email me at kat@katspillsthetea.com.

Or, if you prefer, reach out directly on my socials: Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest.

Thankyou so much to Kat for writing this post for my blog and I really hope you all enjoyed the read and enjoyed the different style/ topic of post. I will be back in a few days with a new post, but until then be sure to check out Kat’s blog and my previous post!