Everyone needs strong and supportive shoulder muscles because they can enhance our functionality for various reasons. Weak or painful shoulders will not let us work properly thus resulting in a meaningless life. To achieve stronger and better muscles, very famous exercises like Shoulder Press or Front Raises are there. But here we will uncover the most demanding and easy-to-perform exercise commonly known as Upright Row. In this short and informative blog, you can find valuable information about this exercise and discover alternatives to Upright Row.
Basic Information
Upright Row is an excellent addition to your fitness routine as it targets multiple muscles of the upper body including your back and shoulders. Majorly, the deltoids and upper traps will bear the entire pressure but don’t forget to engage your core. With a barbell, you can perform this exercise easily but in case you don’t have a barbell, you can use dumbbells alternatively. A simple goal of lifting the weight up to the chest level will pump your heartbeat and increase overall stamina.
Moreover, it also increases shoulder width which makes it valuable for weightlifters to achieve muscle mass. Many fitness trainers recommend this exercise because the risk of injury is very low. Moreover, it also allows you to go with the desired weight that you can handle easily. Despite the fitness level, this exercise will give the same benefit for the beginner and advanced ones if performed with extreme care.
Benefits of Upright Row
Every exercise has a unique significance and benefits for individuals. Similarly, this particular exercise also promotes your well-being in its specific terms. Here are some of the potent benefits that this exercise will bring to you.
Feasible Shoulder Strength: Except for Traps and Delts, this exercise also works best for bicep brachii and teres minor. Pressing the weight up will surely expand the shoulder and add a layer of extra weight to it.
Stronger Grip Positioning: As you need to lift the barbell which demands a strong overhand grip. this directly improves your hand grip and wrist size ensuring powerful wrist power.
Cardiovascular Exercise: This specific exercise aims to pump your heart and increase your overall breathing rate. However, persons with serious heart complications can stay away from this exercise. But those who want to make their heart healthy should incorporate this one into their routine.
Adjustable Weight: One of the best advantages of this exercise is the weight adjustment. However, you will start with a low weight but when you become a master, you must increase the weight to get maximum results.
Easy Access: Barbell is a common piece of equipment and can be found anytime and anywhere in commercial gyms. So you can perform this without waiting for the machines to get free.
Athletic Boost: Upright Row plays a crucial role in improving your overall athleticism and improves stability. Your shoulder joints will work strongly as the exercise generates flexibility in the main joints.
Whether you are aiming to generate strength in the upper shoulders or covering the aspect of fitness, this exercise has everything you need. With a single barbell, you can get what you want for the upper body.
How to Perform Correctly
Proper form is very important to get the maximum results and if you ignore this, nothing is achievable. So try to focus on improving the form and follow the basic steps:
- Hold the barbell with an inward palm position and stand straight without a flex in the back.
- By engaging the core, you will support your shoulders to lift the weight. so make sure to involve the abdominal muscles.
- Lift the weight to the neckbone slowly and pause for 3-4 seconds.
- Then lower the barbell down and exhale to prepare yourself for the next movement.
- Repeat the process for said number of times and give your best to perform 2 sets at least.
if you feel pain in the upper body, then take a rest. Continuous movements may lead to excessive loads upon shoulders, so it’s better to take rest for three minutes after one set. Muscle tissues will open up as you are putting continuous pressure on the shoulder muscles.
Alternatives to Upright Row
Here are some of the effective and suitable alternatives to Upright Row that will give you the same opportunity.
1. Arnold Press
Arnold Press is one of the most significant and powerful shoulder workouts that allows a twist in the dumbbells at the peak point. The specific movement of the equipment makes this exercise special for your upper-body muscles. Not only your shoulders will gain the benefit but the core engagement is also all above. Specifically, this exercise is best for your deltoids and gives value to your overall stability.
You are free to perform this workout anywhere with a pair of dumbbells. Just sit on the chair or bench with a neutral back. Hold the dumbbells in each hand and lift them to the maximum point. At the maximum position, you aim to twist the dumbbells to let them pressurize the shoulders deeply. without flaring the elbows or arms, bring the equipment down and repeat the movement.
2. Lateral Dumbbell Raises
Lateral Dumbbell Raise is a common movement requiring you to lift both the dumbbells by your sides. Instead of weighting the dumbbells from the front, you have to open your arms maximumly and lift the weight. This will surely focus on shoulder muscles and improve your joint muscles. Make sure to bring the weight up to the shoulder level to make it more significant.
Your overall stamina will boost up and your core will gain a positive impact. However, your chest line also becomes visible when you expand the arms and then squeeze them to lower the weight.
3. Landmine Press
Landmine Press is one of the suitable and considerable alternatives to Upright Row because of the same muscle-targeting approach. In both exercises, your shoulders are the main muscles but the movement is different. Landmine Press is a unilateral exercise as it brings only one side in the activation while keeping the other at rest. This will significantly improve the focus and enhance the growth of muscles on one side.
For example, if you want to train one specific side, then Landmine Press allows you to do so. For a beginner, this movement is user-friendly as you need to install weighted plates on one side and move the barrel from the other side. But make sure to place the barbell at a sticky angle so it wont get slipped.
4. Behind the Neck Press
Behind the Neck Press is an advanced exercise where you start moving the barbell from your neck. For improving your shoulder stability and mobility, this exercise is best. A common difference between an upright row and this exercise is the direction. Upright Row requires you to lift weight from the front whereas this particular workout allows lifting from the back end.
However, gripping the barbell strongly is also mandatory as slippiness can badly hurt the trainer. Start with bearable weight and move on slowly to get positive results.
5. Barbell Shoulder Press
If you have mastered upright row and still looking to improve your shoulders using the same equipment, then the barbell shoulder press is a worthy one. Similar to the upright row, you have to engage the core and other upper-body muscles to perform the movement. Rather than bringing it up from the thighs, you are asked to lift it from the neck level.
If you are familiar with overhead press then this is nothing new for you. Moreover, you can perform this anytime and anywhere with a barbell in hand. All the benefits that you can avail of from Upright Row can be expected from this particular exercise.
Ending Lines
Alright, every exercise has its place in terms of fitness and quality. But to achieve the best possible results we must try different variations and target the muscles. similarly to give shoulders keen attention, an individual must try some exercises like Face Pulls or Front Raises. In this blog, we appear with Alternatives to Upright Row that surely will boost overall strength and performance. Try the exercises and see the difference in your overall fitness and shoulder power. Keep visiting for more value!