For any fitness routine, strength training is an important element, specifically for the upper body. For women, the gains of muscle training go far beyond toned, defined muscles. According to some research, building strength in your upper body not only helps to prevent osteoporosis and enhances posture but also makes daily tasks easier to perform. And here is the best part! You can perform muscle training exercises in the comfort of your home. 

To help you get started, we’ve assembled some of the great workouts you can do anytime, anywhere, with just simple equipment including:

• Exercise mat
• Different levels of resistance bands
• Two or three dumbbells set
• An exercise bench

Warm-up first

To prepare your body for a workout the easiest and most effective way is to warm up first by performing exercises that focus the muscles you’ll be working on and enhance your circulation.

It will take about 8 to 12 minutes to fully warm up. After warm-up, you can start targeting certain exercises for your back, arms, chest, and shoulders.

1. Dumbbell Curls

Muscles they targets: biceps

1. To perform dumbbell curls, you need to stand or sit with a dumbbell in both hands, feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your side.
2. Keep your elbows near to your torso.
3. Rotate the dumbbells to ensure that the palms of your hands are facing your body. This is your initial position.
4. After this, take a heavy breath and when you exhale, while contracting your biceps, curl the weights upward.
5. Pause at the top of the curl, then lower to the initial state.
6. Repeat 7 to 15 times. 

2. Triceps Kickback

Muscle They Targets: triceps

1. To perform this workout, you need to stand with a dumbbell in both hands, make sure palms are facing in toward each other. Also, keep your knees partially bent.
2. Hinge forward at your waist with a straight spine, so your torso is nearly parallel to the floor. 
3. Keep your upper arms close to your body, your head straight with your spine, and your forearms bent forward.
4. As you exhale, keep your upper arms still while straightening elbows.
5. Pause then inhale and return back to the initial position.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 times. 

3. Triceps dip

Muscle They Targets: triceps and shoulders

1. Sit on a sturdy chair. 
2. Place your arms at your sides and feet on the floor.
3. Place your palms downward-facing beside your hips and grip the front of the seat.
4. While gripping the seat, move your body off the chair. Make sure your knees are slightly bent and your glutes hover over the ground. Also, ensure that your arms are completely extended, supporting your weight.
5. Until your elbows form a 90-degree angle, inhale and lower your body.
6. Exhale and pause at the bottom, then push your body up to the initial position, squeezing your triceps at the top.
7. Repeat 10 to 15 times. 

4. Resistance Band Pull 

Muscle They Targets: back, biceps, triceps, and shoulders

1. At chest height, stand with your arms out in the face of you.
2. Tightly hold a resistance band so the band is parallel to the ground.
3. Keeping both arms in line, by moving your arms outward, pull the band toward your chest. Start this motion from your mid-back.
4. As you squeeze your shoulder blades together, keep your spine straight. 
5. Pause, then gradually return to the initial position.
6. Repeat 12 to 15 times.

5. Two-Arm Dumbbell Row

Muscle They Targets: back, biceps, triceps, and shoulders

1. Stand with your feet and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Slightly bend your knees and by bending at the waist take your torso forward. You need to make sure that your arms are extended with the dumbbells near to your knees. Also, during the movement keep your core involved.
3. Holding your upper body motionless, bend your arms, engage the muscles in your back, and drag the dumbbells up to your side. Hope for your ribcage.
4. Squeeze and pause at the top.
5. Gradually lower the weights to the initial position.
6. Repeat 10 to 12 times.

6. Chest Press

Muscle They Targets: chest, shoulders, triceps

1. With knees bent and a light dumbbell in both hands, you need to lie down on a bench or an exercise mat.
2. Then extend elbows to a 90-degree position. Make sure that the dumbbells are over your chest.
3. After taking a deep breath, when you exhale, until the dumbbells nearly touch extend your arms up.
4. Pause, then come back to the initial position.
5. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

Safety measures

• Warm-up and cool off: Before doing any workout, warming up not only decreases the risk of injury but also prepares your body for exercise. Thus before getting started, you should spend at least 5-8 minutes in cardio or dynamic stretches. After finishing your workout, spend some time to cool down and stretch.
• Prioritize your form: Your focus should be on form when you first start a specific exercise routine. Then with time as you build endurance, confidence, and strength, you can perform more sets or start to increase the weight.
• Engage your core: To support your lower back, each exercise mentioned above needs core strength. To remain safe, before performing any move, you need to ensure that you engage your abdominal muscles and keep them engaged across the exercise.
• Break off if you experience pain: Upper body workouts will challenge your muscles and may leave you slightly sore, but you shouldn’t feel pain. But if you do, then stop and review the problem. 

Strength training has countless gains. It boosts muscle strength and endurance in your chest, arms, back, and shoulders. It also burns calories, builds stronger bones, and reduces your risk of injury. If you want to get the best results, try to perform an upper body workout a few times a week. Initially start with fewer repetitions and sets, then slowly increase the intensity of your workout.