As a strength and conditioning professional, I’m a big fan of engaging in multi-joint exercises and lifts to train just about any part of the body, and the upper body is no different. The reason for this is that when you start multi-joint movements, you are better off stimulating multiple muscle groups, which will give you a much deeper training effect from your workouts. I’ve included 2 strong and powerful upper body exercises here for you to up the intensity of your workouts!
Powerful Upper Body Strength Training!
1. Staggered Kettlebell Pushups: For this particular upper body exercise, you will need the availability of a moderately heavy kettlebell. In this particular exercise, the weight of the kettlebell isn’t as important as the size, but you actually need a moderately heavy weight for this particular exercise to work.
To start, drop to the ground and prepare to execute a push-up. Before you do the pushup, place the kettlebell on the floor and roll it down on its side so the handle of the bell is facing you (pointing toward your feet). Get into a push-up upright position and place one hand on the kettlebell ball and the other on the floor. From here you’re going to execute a push-up with one hand on the bell. This is great for offsetting your range of motion and distributing your weight in a different way to make your push up that much more challenging. Run a designated number on one side and then switch to do the other side.
2. Plyo-Push Ups in the Bell: As I mentioned earlier for this exercise, you will need the availability of a moderately heavy bell for this to work. Once again you’ll want to flip the barbell on its side and get into a push-up upright position with the barbell positioned in the center of your chest on the floor.
With your hands positioned just outside the kettlebell, perform a partial pushup. Your range of motion will be inhibited due to the position of the barbell being close to your chest. The exercise is designed this way on purpose. As you come out of this partial range, push up explosively, lifting your hands off the floor and grasping the kettlebell ball with your body balanced on the bell. Next, simply pop your hands off the bell in one quick motion and bring them back for another plyometric push-up. Between each push you’ll want to fly up and grab the bell sphere with your hands. This is a great upper body power move for you to do.
If you haven’t started implementing kettlebells into your upper body workouts yet, then get started. Feel free to access the rest of my articles on the subject for more information. Remember that almost anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart!
