5 Best Conditioning Exercises for Upper Body

Conditioning exercises are ones that help in toning, shaping, and strengthening the body.

Conditioning exercises for the upper body work on the back, neck, arms, and shoulders. They provide you with extensive benefits, including building greater flexibility and improving endurance. increasing coordination, enhancing speed, and more.

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Best Conditioning Exercises for Upper Body

We have created a list of five best conditioning exercises for the upper body that can give your neck and back stretches along with working on your frozen shoulders. Let's get started:

1) Push-up

Push-ups are amongst the best conditioning exercises for the upper body, as they help in engaging the core, hands, and back. This exercise can help in increasing core stability along with significantly enhancing athletic performance.

How to do a push-up?

• Begin by positioning both palms on the ground and placing them apart at shoulder distance. Keep your body elevated with your toes on the ground.
• Maintain tension throughout the body while keeping your core engaged.
• Drive your body to the ground by bending your elbows and maintaining the tension in the lower body.
• Push back to the starting position, and repeat.

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2) Pull-up

Pull-ups are a great conditioning exercise for the upper body and can help in building strength along with stretching the back. This exercise can also help in maximizing gains in the back and arms.

How to do a pull-up?

• Start by hanging on the pull-up bar with an overhand grip, keeping your hands apart at shoulder distance.
• Engage your core muscles before driving your body upward to the ceiling.
• Hold on to the top movement before reversing, and repeat.

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3) Bear Crawl Hold

It's one of the most underutilized conditioning exercises but can build strength in the body and improve posture. It's also a good shoulder impingement exercise that can help in building muscle endurance.

How to do a bear crawl hold?

• Begin in a tabletop position with both palms and knees pressed onto the ground. The pelvis should remain tucked in, and the knees should be in alignment with the hips.
• Elevate your knees one inch above the ground, and let them hover over the floor.
• Keep your core and glute muscles effectively engaged to reap maximum benefits.
• Make sure the spine remains neutral and long throughout the exercise.
• Hold for as long as possible before gently releasing.

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4) Dead Bug

It's one of the highly effective conditioning exercises for the upper body and can build core stability and burn calories. This exercise is also good for frozen shoulders and can help in back pain stretch.

How to do a dead bug?

• Begin by lying down on the ground on your back with your legs raised along the knees and hips at 90 degrees.
• Before reaching your arms straight at shoulder height, make sure the lower back remains pressed onto the ground and your navel to the back.
• Lower one arm behind your head while straightening your opposite leg to the front.
• Make sure the arms and legs do not touch the ground.
• Reverse the movement, and continue on the alternate side. Continue and change sides.

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5) Glute Bridge

It's one of the classic conditioning exercises that can help with back pain along with building core strength.

How to do a Glute Bidge?

• Start by lying down on the ground with your feet pressed onto the ground and knees bent.
• Position your arms on the side, with the palms pressed onto the ground.
• With slow movement, elevate your hips off the floor, and drive them to the ceiling while pushing onto your heels.
• While hovering above the ground, hold this position for a while. Gently release and repeat.

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Bottom Line

The aforementioned exercises are the most effective conditioning workouts for the upper body and should be incorporated into your daily routine.

These exercises provide a multitude of benefits, including helping with frozen shoulders, alleviating neck and back pain, stretching the shoulders, building upper body strength, and more. Regularly doing these exercises can aid you in enhancing your fitness and improve athletic performance.