upper

You stroll into the gym fired up to train your upper body, but all the benches are taken, the dumbbell rack is a war zone, and cable stations are backed up like it’s Black Friday. Before you consider bailing out, take a look in the corner. There it is: one lonely kettlebell waiting just for you...

Natural bodybuilder, powerlifter, and coach, Jeff Nippard is never afraid to admit that his physique is a work in progress, and explains that when it comes to shoulders, he has found that shrugs “just haven’t done much to grow them over the years.” To that end, he’s switched it up to focus on...

Two-time Olympia Figure champion Erin Stern is a busy bodybuilder and coach that likes to get the most out of her gym time, so when it comes to a back and shoulder focused workout, the landmine is her go-to for making explosive gains. “If I had to pick just one piece of equipment for a gym, it...

As we move into our 40s and beyond, staying mobile isn’t just about flexibility, it’s about preserving strength, preventing injuries, and ensuring we move through life with ease and confidence. Joint pain, muscle stiffness, and nagging aches aren’t simply a byproduct of aging; they’re often the...

Quentin Lake recently explained to M&F that focusing on his lower body allowed him to come back from injury in order to become an LA Rams Captain. But in his quest to become the total package of speed and strength, this player puts just as much effort into his upper body workouts too. Here’s an...

There are many cool and highly effective strength exercises and it’s impossible to do them all. Between all the variations of deadlifts, presses, rows, squats, and carries, you should never run out of ways to challenge yourself in the gym. But here’s the thing—progress isn’t always about...

Danalinn Bailey was a highly successful IFBB pro during her active career, amassing numerous trophies including the hallowed first place for women’s physique at the 2013 Olympia. Now the bodybuilder and coach is empowering women with her own brand of fitness, and in a recent Instagram post has...

Suspension training often gets a bad rap because you’re using just bodyweight, and there is no cold, hard steel in your hands. Plus, measuring progression using regular free weights is easy, but not with suspension trainers, where doing more reps is usually the best form of progression. So, some...

You want to be powerful, right? Not just the kind that looks awesome but the type that transfers to daily movements—whether you’re on the field, in the gym, or leaping a building with a single bound. That’s where the Med Ball Rotational Side Throw comes in. It’s not about throwing a ball against...

The standard pushup is a body-weight classic exercise that never goes out of style. But like most classics, the occasional update doesn’t go astray. The Spiderman Push Up is the answer if you want to spice up the pushup. This exercise is more than just a cool name—it’s for anyone looking to...

A popular and true saying has been floating around the weight room for a while: You got to row to grow. It doesn’t matter if it is vertical or horizontal, and it doesn’t matter what equipment you use. You must train your posterior delts, upper back, and lats hard and heavy as your wings depend...

Ahh, the humble pullup. It never lies to you—you can either do it or not, and there is no “it’s all you, bro” as the spotter sometimes peels the bar from the lifter’s chest. As great as the overhead and bench press are for the upper body, pullups and chinups are the best upper-body relative...

The pushup is a strength training staple renowned for its simplicity and effectiveness. But what if you could simultaneously elevate the traditional pushup to target more muscle while improving your strength and mobility? Enter the yoga pushup, an exercise that combines the conventional pushup...

Remember when 2014 NHL draft prospect Sam Bennett made the news due to his inability to perform one chinup during the draft combine? Other than that weakness, The Florida Panthers center is quite exceptional at everything else. The backstory behind the chin-up test is it was a last-minute...

The most often asked gym question is, ‘How much do you bench?’ No one ever asks how much you chin up, but they should. Although the bench press is a fantastic exercise to add upper body size and strength, the chin up, in my opinion, is the gold standard when it comes to upper body strength. It’s...

Here’s a little-known gym fact, kirk shrug may be, he best shrug variation you’re not doing. There’s nothing more imposing than a lifter with a big yoke, otherwise known as a set of massive upper traps, shoulders, and back will make you stand in awe—and move out of their way as they toss...

It could be argued that the three most popular pieces of gym equipment are in no particular order are the flat benches, standing cable machines and the lat pulldown machine. Take a look around your gym, while the adductor machines remains empty. Often you will find lifters milling around these...

There’s probably no need to tell you that dumbbell rows are near the top of the list when it comes to helping build a massive back, as well as blow up your biceps and improve your grip strength. But did you know that a combination of different unilateral dumbbell row variations each serve a...

One of the best pieces of muscle-building is that you must row to grow. You may have heard this before, but it bears repeating because too many lifters still focus on the mirror muscles. Training the posterior delts, upper back, and lats must be a priority when muscle and strength are your...

Have you heard the term out of sight, out of mind? This can be applied in many gym settings where some beginner and intermediate lifters train the mirror muscles—you know, abs, pecs and biceps—and forget those all-important posterior muscles. That’s where the inverted row comes in. One muscle...