When it comes to nailing down the best upper body strength moves for longevity, we pose the question: what moves help our overall functionality on a day-to-day basis? Meaning, what moves make living life easier?
There are basic movement patterns every human encounters:
Hip Hinge (bending over to pick something up)
Squat (picking up your kid, getting in and out of a car)
Pushing (pushing your kid down a slide)
Pulling (pulling the curtains, pulling things out of the dryer)
Press-up (putting something away in a shelf)
So, it’s critical that we find ways to make those movement patterns easier.
For our upper body, here’re some great moves that make pushing, pulling and pressing-up easier:
Benchpress or cable chest press
Dumbbell Rows or cable rows
Shoulderpress
Lateral Pulldown
Lateral Raises
Single Arm Dumbbell Rows
Pushups
Bicep Curls
Tricep Extensions
All of these moves improve your primary upper body movement patterns AND strengthen your upper body muscles all around, leading to even more functionality and a higher metabolism (and much more–muscle is the key to long term success).
Try adding these moves to your next upper body day!
