Before jumping into any upper body workout, whether it is push / pull, arms, etc.. you might want to consider implementing a short, easy to complete upper body warm-up routine, pre workout. Warming up properly is essential before every workout — not just to reduce the risk of injury, but also to help you perform better during your main lifts. A good warm-up should gradually increase your heart rate, loosen up your joints, and activate the muscles you’ll be using.
This warmup will only take 5 minutes, to offer an easy – viable way to protect against injury.
Upper Body Warm-Up
Before hitting heavy presses, pulls, or shoulder work, spend a few minutes getting blood flow into your upper body. As the majority of exercises on upper body days have some sort of shoulder stimulation, it’s very important to spend time making sure they are reasonably warmed up. As for the rest of you upper muscles, depending on workout you are completing, after your general warm-up, use lighter sets of your first main exercise to prepare for heavier work. For example, if you’re starting with a barbell bench press:
1-2 sets with lighter weight, focusing on perfect form, before moving to your working weight. This method not only primes your muscles but also grooves proper technique before heavier loads are introduced.
Here’s a simple structure for a shoulder focused upper body warm up:
5 minutes of light cardio (rowing machine, jump rope, or bike)
Dynamic stretches and activation drills:
Arm circles (forward and backward) (2 Minutes)
Arm Circles are a great way to warm up the shoulders, specifically the muscles in the Rotator Cuff. If your muscles are really tight, you can begin with small circles and gradually increase your swings to complete large circles.
Do these for 30 seconds to a minute, then reverse the direction of your arms and repeat.
Band pull-aparts or light resistance band rows (1 minute)
Band Pull Aparts help activate and prepare the muscles in the upper back, shoulders, and rotator cuff for more intense exercises, improving shoulder stability, posture, and overall upper body strength.
I like to do these for a minute, or until I feel like my upper body has loosened up.
Light dumbbell shoulder external rotations (2 minutes)
Light dumbbell external shoulder rotations are a valuable exercise for strengthening the rotator cuff, particularly the infraspinatus and teres minor muscles, which are crucial for shoulder stability and movement.
Like arm circles, I like to do 30 seconds to a minute, for each shoulder.