How to Tone Your Upper Body: 5 Best Exercises

Nov 23, 2023

Gains, gains, gains! Have you been struggling to measure up against the meathead at your local gym? Do you want to hang with the most toned people without a second thought given to your own physical appearance? Then this article is the perfect place for you! Hammer curls are most certainly a great starting point in toning your upper body. But there really is so much more you can do in the gym to achieve the exceptional toning you are striving for. With beach season well over and a season of hibernation upon us, it might be appealing to sit back and curl up under a blanket until the next beach season rolls around. But trust us. Should you take the following seriously, you will be in line to star in the next Baywatch. Or at least appear in the background. So, without further ado, the five best exercises to tone your upper body.

Some people in your past may have tried to tell you the best thing you can do for yourself in your toning journey is to focus on pushups as much as possible. While this is good advice, great advice would have been to recommend the dumbbell bench press. It should go without saying that you need a set of dumbbells for this exercise but here we are. To begin, grab a weight in each hand and lie on your back before bringing the weights to chest level. This is your starting position. From there, you will push the weights up and away from your chest to form a 90-degree angle with your chest and arms. Upon completing this, bring the weights back to your chest. Then it is just rinse repeat as desired.

Despite the very fun name, your arms will not be having much of this come the end of your workout. But keep your goals in mind whenever you come across pain when toning yourself. Afterall, there will be more than enough of it. But to return to the point, grab a set of lighter weights – something in the 7–15-pound range. To start this exercise, all you need to do is bring both fists up to head height, forming another 90-degree angle with your elbow. Then simply bring the weights together in front of your face and back again. As with many of these exercises, physical form is everything so be sure to pay close attention in this regard.

This exercise was mentioned earlier, but we did not have a chance to go into detail about it until now. That is not to say hammer curls are of lesser importance than any of the other exercises. In fact, some argue this is one of the premier activities you can incorporate into your workout repertoire if it is toning you seek. This is because of the impact it has on your biceps and brachioradialis. So long as you have a set of weights like those used for your dumbbell bench press you are ready to rock and roll. First, hold the weights in the same way you might hold the steering wheel of a school bus. Then, bending at the elbow, bring the weights to height. Once again, simply rinse and repeat until desired results are achieved.

Who is to say you must have zero fun while working out? Only you, really. So do not let your inner child be stifled while you are attempting to set personal fitness records. Jumping jacks can be a great way to ease this practice into your workout. Considering they utilize multiple arm muscles; they will also do you a world of good in the upper body toning department. Paired with some upbeat music, jumping jacks just might be the exercise you are looking for. To boot, this exercise affects more than just your upper body so you can make use of it in more ways than one.

You may be familiar with this exercise when it is referred to as a sit-up. But let's face it, the word "crunchy" is just so much more fun! And what upper body workout would be complete without a solid set of these? Chances are that crunchies have been part of your routine in the past. For whatever reason, they have now fallen by the wayside. But have you noticed that same outcome for your core? That is your lack of crunchies at work. So, get back to work.

In all this, remember - it is the end game of toning you are working towards here. Just as Rome was not built in a day, neither is an exceptionally toned body. Be patient, work hard, and be consistent. All this will soon pay dividends in the mirror.