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Is This Upper Body and Core Workout for Beginners?

This 30 minute bodyweight upper body and core workout can be done at home easily, too! For added difficulty—and as you grow stronger and more confident in your weight training abilities—you can incorporate dumbbells or mini resistance bands into the workout. Remember, the best workout is the one that you can do with the best form, not the heaviest weights. Use this upper body workout plan to sculpt your arms and abs in an easy-to-do workout for women and men alike.

Want a 10 Minute Upper Body Workout?

This workout is broken up into three circuits that are 10 minutes each. If you don’t have time to complete the entire workout, break the workout into quick 10 minute workouts for your upper body or core.

Watch the full video here.

30 Minute Upper Body + Abs Workout

Suggested:

5-10 Minute Warmup + cool down of your choice.

Optional:

Each exercise lasts for 1 minute. Challenge yourself as you grow stronger to treat each minute as an AMRAP (as many reps as possible!). Rest 1 minute in between each circuit.

Increase the difficulty!

Add in a set of dumbbells to add resistance to your strength training exercises.

Need a modification?

Scale the pushups to your knees or hold the plank positions.

Exercise List

Repeat each set 3 times, rest one minute before moving on to the next set.

Upper Body Circuit:

Dolphin Plank to Pike

How-to: Start in a forearm plank, with the shoulders stacked directly over the elbows. Press through the forearms to send your hips up and back into the sky, similar to a downward facing dog, but on your forearms. Return to the forearm plank, making sure that your hips are in one long line. This is primarily a shoulder and core exercise.

Form tip: Send your head through your shoulders and arms, trying to press through the forearms to send the hips to the highest point. When returning to the forearm plank, make sure that you squeeze the glutes and engage the core so that your hips are not lifted in the plank.

Challenge: Lift one leg during the plank and pike to add in a difficult balance test.

Shoulder Lateral Raise to Front Raise

How-to: From a kneeling position for additional ab engagement, squeeze the glutes to tilt the pelvis forward and activate the core. Start with the arms at your sides and lift outward so that your arms are extended, parallel with the mat, palms facing down. Return the arms to the sides and then lift the arms forward, palms facing down. Continue to alternate between lateral raise and forward raise.

Form tip: If in a kneeling position, do not release the muscles of the glutes and core and focus on keeping the pelvis tipped forward. This prevents strain on the back and swinging through the raises, increasing the shoulder strength and the ab work.

Challenge: Add in heavier weights to add resistance to the shoulder raises.

Modification: If you have sensitive knees, perform the raises from a standing position.

Tricep Pushups

How-to: Start by sitting on your butt, arms behind you in line with your hips, fingertips turned towards your core, knees bent and feet flat into the mat. Squeeze the glutes and lift the hips from the mat. Shift your weight backward so that it is directly over the wrists. Bend the elbows and press through the hands for a tricep exercise.

Form tip: Keeping the weight directly over your hands ensures that the tricep is being properly activated. Keep the elbows pointed away from your body and keep the placement narrow. If your hands are too far from the center of your body it will place stress on your shoulders and not work the tricep muscles.

Modification: To relieve pressure on the hands or sensitive wrists, set your glutes on the ground and press backwards into the hands, bending the elbows to work the triceps.

Ab Circuit:

Circle Leg Lowers

How-to: Lie on your back on your mat and engage your core by pressing your lower back into the mat. Press your palms into the mat for added support. Start with the legs at a 45 degree angle. Point toes and open the legs and draw a wide leg circle. At the bottom of the circle, at your lowest point that you can engage the abs without arching, raise the legs back upwards.

Form tip: Keeping the lower back firmly rooted into the ground is crucial for this exercise. If you find your back arching from the mat, decrease the size of your circle and only increase as you gain strength and control.

Challenge: Draw the circle with your legs in both directions. At the bottom, reverse the circle instead of raising the legs directly back up.

Single Leg V-Up

How-to: Lie on your back, arms outstretched overhead. Sit up, bringing one leg to touch the fingertips of your opposite hand. Fully lower down and switch legs.

Form tip: Lift the leg from the hip flexor to recruit the muscles of the transverse abdominals. If you need to bend your knee, do so, but aim to keep the leg as long as possible.

Challenge: When you sit up to touch one toe, lift the bottom leg, so that it hovers just above the mat in a scissor kick.

Hollow Body Hold + Bicycle Crunch

How-to: Lying on your back, bring your arms by your ears and your legs extended at 45 degrees. Roll your head, neck and shoulders off the mat, making sure to keep the head in between the arms and shoulders. Find the lowest point with your legs by engaging your core. Hold this hollow body hold for two seconds. Then, bring the arms behind the head, elbows wide. Bring the knees to a tabletop position, with knees directly over the hips. Touch the opposite elbow to the opposite knee, switch, and perform four times. Extend back into the hollow body hold and repeat.

Form tip: Maintaining core engagement is critical to prevent strain to the lower back and keep this an ab exercise! If your back is arching from the ground, lift the legs in the hollow body hold until your back remains on the ground.

Upper Body and Ab Circuit:

Pushup + Rotation

How-to: Start in a high hand plank, shoulders directly over hands, and core engaged in a pushup position. Lower down to touch the chest to the mat and press back up into the plank position. Alternate lifting one hand and twisting the head and chest as you reach towards the ceiling, before returning to the plank. Perform another pushup and alternate the rotation to the other side.

Form tip: Focus on getting full range of motion during the pushup. Keep the core tight and elbows pointed backwards at 45 degree from the body.

Modification: Drop your knees to the mat and perform the pushup. If you have sensitive wrists, you can perform the rotation on your forearms.

Reverse Plank Pushup

How-to: Set up in a reverse plank position by placing the hands underneath the shoulders, fingertips pointed towards the hips, and legs extended out long in front of you. Bend the elbows as much as possible and press through the hands to return to the reverse plank position.  

Form tip: Don’t let the hips dip, make sure to squeeze the glutes to keep the core active during the whole movement.

Challenge: Add a leg lift each tip that you dip the elbows.

Mountain Climber Twist

How-to: Start in a pushup position, shoulders over hands, core engaged, body in one long line. Bring the opposite knee to the opposite elbow. Return to plank position and alternate sides.

Form tip: Squeeze the core to prevent rounding the back as you bring your knee to your elbow.

Challenge: Make this a cardio burst or a HIIT exercise by working as fast as possible for the minute.

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