How to Get a Fit Upper Body Without a Gym

Co-authored by Shira Tsvi

Last Updated: May 25, 2021 References

If the gym isn’t your style, don’t worry—you can still stay fit by working out at home! Many people think that you need weights and equipment to get and maintain a fit upper body, but bodyweight exercises are just as effective.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Shira Tsvi
Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor
Expert Interview. 7 January 2020.} These moves don’t require extra reps—just a high level of resistance. Exercises like tricep dips, isometrics, shoulder squeezes, and decline pushups don’t require equipment and will still sculpt your chest, arm, and shoulder muscles just as effectively.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:
Toning your Arms

1
Do arm circles to strengthen your biceps and triceps. Stand up straight and hold your arms out at a 90 degree angle to your body. Make quick, small circles in a forward direction with your arms. Do as many as you can, then switch the direction. Once you’ve done as many of those as you can, take a break and then repeat the routine.^{[2]
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- This motion tightens and tones the shoulders as well as the biceps and triceps, the muscles at the front and back of your arm.^{[3]
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EXPERT TIP

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer

Michele Dolan, a certified personal trainer, advises: "Body weight exercises are fantastic for home exercise plans. Combine calisthenic moves like jumping jacks and burpees with pushups, lunges, squats, and calf raises."
2
Work your triceps with sets of tricep dips. This bodyweight exercise helps firm up the underside of your arm. Use a chair to help complete this exercise—hold the seat and move your body in front of the chair, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Your body should be supported by your arms bent behind you. Raise and lower your body for three sets of fifteen reps each.^{[4]
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3
Hold plank pose for at least thirty seconds. Keep your body horizontal to the ground and push up on your arms. Keep your back straight and make sure your wrists are positioned shoulder-width apart. Hold this pose for at least thirty seconds to give your arms a good workout and build some definition.^{[5]
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- For a variation on the plank position, try the forearm plank. Bend your elbows directly beneath your shoulders and hold yourself up with your forearms. Keep your feet hip-width apart. Hold this move for 60 seconds.^{[6]
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- Raise and lower one leg at a time in classic plank position to develop better balance and engage your core muscles.^{[7]
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4
Sculpt your arms with some yoga poses. Yoga is a great way to engage muscles and build strength. For a quick five-minute workout sequence, start with downward-facing dog pose.
- Move into a plank pose, then open up your body to one side and raise one arm to move into side plank.
- After you’ve moved back into the extended plank position, take a deep breath and keep your body flat as you lower yourself to the floor in a chaturanga.
- Finish with upward dog pose, lifting your chest up and straightening your arms.^{[8]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:
Defining your Shoulders

1
Warm up with some stretches and light resistance moves. Make sure you warm up your shoulders before working out to keep from damaging the muscles. The best way to do this is to combine a few stretches for mobility with a few minutes of light resistance.^{[9]
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- For stretches, try arm swings. Make circular motions by rotating your arms forward and backward.^{[10]
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- For some light resistance exercises, use a band if you have one. If you don’t, perform five to ten minutes of light cardiovascular work such as knee pushups.^{[11]
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2
Hold moves for an extended period of time to incorporate isometrics. Isometrics are all about holding resistance, and are a great way to get the same effect as you would get with dumbbells at the gym.^{[12]
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- Perform isometric lateral raises by standing with your side to a wall with your arms lowered. Press your shoulder and the back of your hand flat against the wall and push out as hard as you can. Hold this move for five to twenty seconds, then alternate sides.^{[13]
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- Isometrics will strengthen your deltoids, the muscles that wrap around your shoulders, as well as sculpt your silhouette.^{[14]
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3
Try wall pushes. Your rotator cuffs are made up of four small muscles beneath the shoulder, which stabilize the shoulder joint. Toning these muscles will help to keep them strong and healthy to prevent joint injuries.^{[15]
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Expert Source

Shira Tsvi
Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor
Expert Interview. 7 January 2020.}
- To do a wall push, face a wall at an arm’s length distance away and fully extend your arms until your palms are pressed against the wall. Bend your elbows slightly and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause there.^{[16]
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- To finish the exercise, straighten up your elbows and push away from the wall but still keep your palms flat against it. Round out the back, pushing your chest backwards in a nice stretch.^{[17]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:
Strengthening your Upper Back

1
Do twenty shoulder squeezes to define your trapezius. Stand with good posture, then pull your shoulders back and squeeze for three seconds. Slowly return your shoulders to their relaxed, normal position. This exercise will strengthen your trapezius, the triangular muscle that runs across your back, shoulders, and neck. The trapezius stabilizes your upper back and supports good posture.^{[18]
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- Add a resistance band or hold your arms out goal post-style to intensify this exercise.^{[19]
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2
Do twenty reps of the shrug exercise to tone the back of the neck. Stand up straight and lift your shoulders as high as you can toward your ears, hold them there for two seconds, then lower your shoulders to a relaxed position.
- This exercise strengthens your trapezius and may reduces any back and neck pain that comes from sitting at a desk for hours.^{[20]
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3
Ask a friend to help you with some human plank rows. Grab your friend’s hand (or a sturdy post, if you’re working out alone) and lean backward, keeping your body perfectly straight, until your arm is fully extended. Pull yourself back up to vertical position to complete one rep.^{[21]
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- This move works the rhomboids, muscles that run through the upper-back and connect the shoulder blades to the spine. This exercise can help strengthen your upper back muscles, which support your posture.^{[22]
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- Go slowly and intentionally, focusing your strength through each rep.^{[23]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:
Adding Muscle Definition to your Chest

1
Perform a set of pushups. Pushups are a great way to strengthen your pectorals. Bodyweight exercises like pushups also target muscles in the arms and shoulders.^{[24]
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Research source} Master the correct basic pushup position to get the most out of your workout.^{[25]
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Expert Source

Shira Tsvi
Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor
Expert Interview. 7 January 2020.}
- Keep your body straight and flat, arms straight, and hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your elbows should stay tucked in as you lower your body, pausing when your chest almost touches the floor. Push back up into your starting position. Perform as many reps as you can.^{[26]
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- If this position is too difficult, try an easier version: rest your knees on the floor and perform the same movement, lowering your chest toward the floor and pushing back up.
2
Challenge yourself with some pushup variations. Once you’ve mastered the basic pushup position, try some variations for an added challenge. Different variations can also help focus on different muscles.^{[27]
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Expert Source

Shira Tsvi
Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor
Expert Interview. 7 January 2020.}
- For the diamond pushup variation, place your hands beneath you so your index fingers and thumbs meet to form a diamond shape, then lower yourself down and push back up. Focus on pulling strength from your chest. Perform as many reps as you can.
- Another great variation is the decline pushup. Keep your hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, but elevate your feet by putting them up on a bench or chair. Performing pushups in this position places more emphasis on the upper pectorals, giving you better muscle definition. Once again, perform as many reps of these as you can.^{[28]
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3
Try some advanced exercises like wall press-ups. This exercise is just like the decline pushup, except you place your feet flat against a wall instead of on a chair. Because this is an advanced move that requires more strength, it may take several weeks to fully master.^{[29]
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Community Q&A

Question

Do I need to lift weights to build muscle?

Shira Tsvi
Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor
Shira Tsvi is a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor with over 7 years of personal training experience and over 2 years leading a group training department. Shira is certified by the National College of Exercise Professionals and the Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports in Israel. Her practice is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Shira Tsvi

Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor

Expert Answer

Not necessarily. You can definitely strengthen your muscles and put on some muscle by doing bodyweight exercises, like push-ups and pull-ups. However, weight training is a great way to build muscle. Just keep in mind that your diet plays a major role when it comes to bulking up. You must increase your protein intake and maintain a healthy diet.
Question

How do you get fit fast?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Of course exercise is required to get fit. You may not 'get fit' fast since being fit is different depending on your starting point. Aim to improve on where you are now and you can probably achieve that in two to eight weeks.
Question

How can I exercise at home without equipment?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Body weight exercises are fantastic for home exercise plans. Combine calisthenic moves like jumping jacks and burpees with pushups, lunges, squats and calf raises.
Question

Can you build muscle without lifting weights?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Yes, resistance exercise which builds muscle, can be done without lifting weights.
Question

How can I stay fit at home?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Find a space big enough to do body weight exercises and work up a plan to do 20-60 minutes of body weight exercises 5 days a week. You want to achieve a sustained (10-30 minutes) elevated heart rate.
Question

What are love handles?

Community Answer

Love handles are fat deposits on the sides and back of the hips.
Question

How do I lose my love handles?

Jose Gabriel Muyar

Community Answer

Sometimes, It boils down to diet. If you eat very much, you might as well gain more love handles than lose them. Try cardio in the morning; do some jogging if you want. If you exercise while eating a lot, you'll never lose your love handles.