How To Exercise Upper Body On 5 Weight Machines

If you are always wondering which weight machine to ht at the gym and in what order, you are not alone. People, without an instructor, can easily get the exercise wrong, and worst, even injure themselves. Let’s take a look at some videos, explaining how to use these machines and the proper procedure.

#1. Incline Chest Press

Targets: Chest, shoulders (front), and triceps

Set the back bench at an incline of 45 degrees to engage upper-chest muscles.
1. Start by holding the handle, with your hands about 6″-12″ more than your shoulder’s width and elbows parallel to the floor.
2. For working the triceps, grip the handle with hands slightly narrower than shoulders.

#2. Assisted Pull-Up Exercise Machine

Targets: Upper back, shoulders (rear), and biceps

The key to this machine is lifting up your body weight, as it requires balance and control.
1. Go wider on the grip, as it’ll engage the top portion of your upper-back muscles (lats).
2. A narrow-width grip will stress the upper back, upper abs.

#3. Lateral Raise Machine

Target: Shoulders (middle)

Lateral Raise Machine from In-Shape Health Clubs on Vimeo.

Unlike the shoulder press, a lateral raise targets the top round part of your shoulder, which gives your upper arm a toned look.
1. To prevent injury to the shoulder, raise your arms only to shoulder level, NOT higher and keep arms parallel to the floor
2. While bringing the arms down, make sure that they don’t touch the body; this keeps the shoulder muscles stressed throughout the repetition.

#4. Cable Machine Overhead Triceps Extension

Target: Triceps

All your triceps are getting engaged in this workout, as compared to 2 in the Incline Chest Press or Triceps Push-down Machine.
1. Bring the cable handle over your head and turn your back towards the machine.
2. Distance your feet and start with elbows bent 90 degrees alongside your ear.
3. Pull the handle to extend arms over head, keeping elbows close to ears so that you can feel the triceps getting exercised.

#5. Cable Machine Biceps Curl

Target: Biceps

This exercise engages all the muscles in your arm as opposed to just upper arms flexed in Lateral Raised Machine. Also, you can tone your core and develop balance by standing for this routine.
1. Stand straight, keeping your core engaged and curl the arms to bring the handle toward your chest.
2. Bring the arms down, all the way till your thighs and again lift up, but this time, only till waist level. This is 1 rep.
3. At the end, keep the elbows at 90 degrees, ensuring that they engage better and you get a fuller benefits.

You could begin by performing 2 sets of 12 reps for each exercise, and after every 2 reps, pick a higher weight to make it tougher. Rest about a minute between sets, before feeling the difference in the tone of your body.