Tuesday's Upper Body Workout

Today's Experience daily workout focuses on building upper body strength with minimal equipment. All you need is a mat and a set of dumbbells or weights (canned goods, wine or detergent bottles are all good backups!)

This workout kicks off with a low-impact warmup to get the blood flowing and the upper body loosened up!

Warmup - 30 seconds of each movement for 3-4 rounds

• Forward arm circles - Think about increasing the range of motion in your shoulders with a variety of big and small circles.
• Reverse arm circles - Make sure to keep your chest tall and core tight to really target the shoulders.
• Jumping jacks - No need to rush on these! Take your time to engage a variety of muscles and avoid compromising your form.
  
• Squat to punch - Think about using your chest muscles to propel your arms forward. Don't forget to keep your core tight and engaged throughout the entire movement!

The first circuit in the workout includes three movements to target your "push" muscles - chest, shoulders and triceps. To complete the circuit, go through each exercise one right after the other, resting between each as needed, for three total rounds.

Circuit #1 - 3 times through

• Pushups x 5 - Keep your spine neutral (not arched), core tight and focus on pushing through the chest to complete each rep. Modify by resting on your knees if needed.
• Tricep dips x 10 - If you don't have an elevated surface, you can prop yourself up on your heels as shown. Focus on keeping your elbows alongside your body and squeezing the triceps at the top of each dip.
• Plank shoulder taps x 5 each arm - This move will target the core, chest and shoulder muscles. Keep your spine neutral (not arched), core tight and try to move as little as possible between each tap. Once again, you can perform these on your knees if needed.

The second circuit in this workout focuses on isolating the upper body muscles, specifically your biceps, chest and shoulders. Once again, complete one exercise right after the other for three rounds.

Circuit #2 - 3 times through

• Bicep curls x 10 - Keep the chest tall and focus on squeezing the bicep to lift the weight each time.
• Chest press x 10 - Keep your core tight and propel the weight with your chest muscles.
  
• Shoulder press x 10 - Make sure to keep your spine straight and neutral and don't let your elbows drop at the bottom of each press. Think about lowering the dumbbells to eye level each time.
  

And that's it! Let us know what you thought of Tuesday's upper body workout in the comments below!