A short YouTube tutorial by Natalie Jill explaining four favorite upper-body bodyweight exercises—pull-ups/chin-ups, planks (and variations), push-up variations, and dips—with coaching tips, progressions and common form cues. She emphasizes that bodyweight training can be intense and effective for upper-body strength and core, and references fuller tutorials and paid programs for more guidance.
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Hi, guys. Natalie, Jill here. Welcome back to Happy, Healthy and Fit. Today we're doing the best body weight exercises to change your upper body. Everybody always says, how much weight should I lift? Or how many reps do I need to do? And what I say is, you don't have to use machines, you don't have to use weights. You can use your own body weight, you can make it intense, and you can truly change your upper body strength and your core, because we're always engaging our core and working that when we're doing bodyweight training. So my four favorite exercises to do, and you can really do these with your own body weight anywhere, are, number one, pull ups or chin ups. Now, before you panic and say, well, I can't do a pull up or chin up yet, let me tell you, anyone can start and learn to do a pull up or chin up. Just the act of working to pull yourself up is going to change your body. It's intense, it forces you to progress and it challenges you. And that really works. Your arms, your shoulders, your back, your chest. It's a great upper body exercise. Now, I do have a full tutorial on how to do a pull up or a chin up, so make sure you check that out here on my YouTube channel as well. But pull ups and chin ups, you're going to start with anything. Number one exercise for my top four is a pull up or a chin up. And you can do that on a bar, you can do it on rings, you could do. You can even take a squat rack, lower it down and start there with your feet on the ground. It's a great way to start and to work those muscles. My second favorite body weight exercise for upper body strength and core is a plank and variations from that position. Plank is the best exercise you can do for core. And by changing your position with your arms, having it up on your hands, having it on your forearms, and then doing some twists and variations, you really get a great workout. And you can do planks everywhere. Now, you want to make sure you're doing a plank correctly. And I do have a full tutorial on how to do a plank correctly. So make sure you check that out because a lot of people will arch their back and that is not the correct way to do a plank. You want to really engage that core, engage those glutes, tuck everything forward, and really work the core in a plank. My next favorite body weight exercise is push up variations. And these all start from that plank position. And by changing your hands, putting them inside or taking them wider, you're gonna work different parts of your upper body. The wider you go, the more you're gonna work your chest. The closer in you put your elbows, the more you're gonna work triceps, the back of your arms. But push ups are great. You can progress those. You can make them easier by standing and doing them from a wall or a countertop. You can make them harder by putting your legs up and elevating them and doing them from a decline. My final favorite upper body exercise, really to help you progress and change your body are dips. And dips are awesome. You can do them on the ground, you can elevate up to make them harder. You can lift your legs up, make them even more challenging. And you can do them fully using all of your own body weight on a machine or a bar or even on some rings. Really work those triceps and help you engage your core. So there you have it. Bodyweight exercises can absolutely change your body. They can be intense, they can be challenging, and there's no magic number on those you want to do. What's challenging for you. If you're a total beginner, doing one or two may be as hard for you as somebody completely advanced doing 40 or 50. It's the intensity that changes your body. You can do them. And body weight exercises are awesome. Thanks, everybody. Be sure to check out other videos on my channel here. And for a program to totally help you progress and change your body, check out my 12 week super shred program, which does have a lot of body weight workouts. Also has some weight workouts in there. Or check out my Rev for dvd, which is fully bodyweight workouts. See you next time. Bye.
