As trainers, it’s critical that we know how to structure an upper body workout for beginners. Many clients come to us wanting to tone their arms, chest, and back through strength training. As with any new personal training client, the initial focus should be on mastering the movement with correct exercise technique. Teach basic push and pull movements such as a row, biceps curl, chest press, and triceps extension. The goal is for the client to correctly activate the muscle group surrounding a joint to produce ideal movement. It’s part of motor learning and important before progressing to advanced goals such as increased muscle mass (hypertrophy), maximum strength gains, and power. And, for clients who are looking for fat loss or functional fitness, they too will need to learn these exercise basics to achieve their fitness goals.
As you begin to plan your upper body workout, use our tips here to help new clients get the most from their resistance training program.
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Assessments are critical at the start of a fitness program, whether you’re focusing on the upper body, lower body, cardio, or strength. They give you an idea of where the client currently is so you can train them safely and have data to compare for progress.
For an upper body program, you can choose from the following types of assessments:
Stretching is a tried-and-true way to temporarily increase range of motion, raise body temperature, activate muscles, and heighten the nervous system's state prior to the workout.
Static stretching will help to increase the range of motion around a joint or muscle group. This will increase the likelihood that the client will be able to have correct technique. These types of stretches should be held for 20 - 30 seconds and can include:
Follow static stretching with dynamic movements to increase blood flow and body temperature. Use these dynamic, upper body stretches to ensure your beginner clients are warmed up and ready to get started:
Watch videos for each stretch in A Dynamic Upper Body Warm-Up for All Clients.
Heavy compound sets and supersets may appease the former athlete, but high-intensity exercise may produce negative feelings for beginners. This is an American College of Sports Medicine best practice and something you should consider when developing an upper body workout.
As you develop your program, put yourself in the client’s position: if you begin with a challenging workout that induces elevated breathing, muscle soreness, and lethargy, would you fearfully wonder how much harder this program will be or how much more you can take? This type of programming can negatively impact motivation and feelings of mastery, resulting in giving up.
Work with your clients to build strength and confidence, so they can feel good doing compound lifts and supersets, not fearful.
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Mechanically advantaged exercises put clients in a position to train safely. While this can be a confusing term to understand, mechanical advantage comes down to the mechanics of the body. Muscles don’t push—they pull. Thus, when you choose exercises that allow muscles to pull on a lever at an angle of 90 degrees or perpendicular, a mechanical advantage occurs, making the exercise safer and more effective.
In general, choose movements that allow muscles to pull perpendicular to the axis of rotation instead of parallel and shorten the resistance arm. Here are some chest and back exercises that provide a mechanical advantage. Work these into your programming where possible:
Machines are fan favorites, especially for beginners and those suffering from joint pain. Despite what some in the fitness field say, you can get successful results using these devices. In some cases, the outcomes are even better than with barbells and dumbbells.
A recent study compared free weight training to machines over a period of eight weeks. No statistical differences were found in muscle thickness, though machines were slightly more effective for biceps and quads. While you don’t need to program your upper body workout for beginners to focus solely on machines, consider client preference. If they’re more comfortable with machines, this is a wise place to start. If they want dumbbells and barbells, then bring those into the programming.
There’s a myth in the fitness industry that the same exercises executed day-in and day-out for long periods will not improve health and vitality. However, it’s not about the exercises, it’s about the execution quality. When maximizing mechanical tension by controlling the movement's eccentric phase, going through a full range of motion, and maintaining a mind-muscle connection throughout the movement, goals will be met and performance will improve.
It’s essential to emphasize to the client that it takes time and practice to see results. Switching exercises every week does not allow the client to achieve competence—and that competence will improve self-efficacy and motivation.
Use the same exercises for a minimum of 4 weeks allowing enough time for the client to improve without risking their loss of interest. Some variety can be valuable, but progress is what keeps clients committed.
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The key to shoulder health is a normal resting scapula position. A normal resting scapula position indicates that the musculature surrounding this floating bone is active and functioning correctly. To keep the shoulder healthy throughout your client’s journey, you need to prioritize regular stretching and strengthening this area.
A few exercises that allow you to do that include:
Not only will these exercises improve shoulder health and posture, but the progress will keep your client coming back. When focusing on strengthening this area, remember that higher volumes (10 to 20 repetitions) and a higher training frequency (2 to 3 times a week) will get the client better results.
There are many exercises available to you, so choosing ones that keep the client happy and drive results can be challenging. Consider these 10 upper body resistance training movement that most beginning exercisers enjoy:
As with strength training movements, choosing the best stretches when designing an upper body workout for new clients can be challenging. Test these 10 upper body stretches:
Clients want to see results, but they also need to be guided to avoid injury and stay committed. When designing your upper body workout for beginners, remember mechanical advantage, dynamic stretching, low and slow progression, and the power of starting with assessments. Clients will leave feeling stronger and more confident in their training.
When you get a degree in exercise science from Lionel University, you learn how to design any type of fitness program. Further, the doors to fitness job opportunities are wide open. Regardless of whether you’re pursuing an associates degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree, specialists in exercise science are in demand.
As you go through your degree program at Lionel, you’ll also earn your personal training certification and Master Trainer certificate in the first few months. This means you can start working as a personal trainer while you finish your program! And, with the help of financial aid, earning your exercise science degree is even more of a possibility.
Check out our programs and contact Lionel today!