Upper Body Warm-Up: 4 Exercises with Resistance Bands

Warm Up With Them Anywhere To Get High Results

Before you start any upper body workout, you first need to warm up the area: shoulders, back, chest, and arms. The purpose is to increase your heart rate and blood flow, which enables more oxygen into your targeted muscle groups.

Your body responds to your brain, therefore it’s crucial to prepare properly – physically and mentally – for the chosen activity. Thus, creating the body-mind connection will get the best results out of your training.

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In a nutshell…

Warming up your shoulders, back, chest, and arms with the resistance bands increases flexibility, stabilizes the muscles and prepares them for the upcoming exercises. It creates the necessary tension to get your upper-body warm and activated for any push/pull movement. This reduces the risk of injuries and increases your overall performance.

Do yourself a favor: never skip the warm-up, even if you’re short on time. It prepares you physically and mentally to get the best results out of YOU!

Warm-Up With Resistance Bands

RESISTANCE BANDS is a very efficient tool when it comes to warm-up, because it helps you create the body-mind connection → it triggers your brain cells while engaging the muscles in your body. When you release the band, it will make you concentrate on the movement instead of momentum – creating more tension in the muscles.

It’s also great for beginners, as you can learn the fundamentals of the body movements by consciously focusing on the areas you’re working on. It creates a bigger range of motion on the targeted muscle groups, and makes them more flexible to the upcoming exercises.

This lightweight piece of equipment is very popular because it’s affordable, and its versatility gives you the upper hand to use it at home or in the gym. Depending on the exercise you’re doing, you can work with the band on its own or looped around something steady.

Resistance bands are made of rubber and can be flat or tubular in shape. They have the same length but come in different widths – from level 1 to level 6. As you move up on the levels, it becomes harder to stretch the band out – level 6 being the thickest and level 1 the thinnest. For beginners it is recommended to start the warm-up with level 1.

4 Efficient Exercises To Warm Up Your Upper Body Using Resistance Bands

1. SHOULDER CIRCLES

Increases the range of motion within the shoulders – as the shoulders are a ‘ball and socket’ joint, one of its movements is via circumduction.

– Hold the band tight in your hands and keep your arms straight

– Rotate your arms forward and backward over your head

*10 to 15 repetitions

2. PULL APARTS (3 variations)

Activates the rear deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids and the back of the rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, teres minor and infraspinatus).

– Grab both ends of the band. To make it more challenging, bring your hands closer to the center of the band. To make it less challenging, bring yours hands further apart.

– Keep your arms straight and palms up (it helps with the posture too).

The 3 variations includes:

a) Above the head to clavicle (shoulder blade

b) Across the shoulders

c) Across the hips (belly button region)

*8 to 10 repetitions for each variation

3. EXTERNAL ROTATION (VERTICAL)

Targets the rear rotator cuff muscles (specifically targeting the supraspinatus). It will also focus on the rear deltoids.

– Tie the band to a pole, or something steady

– Lift your arm at shoulder level. Band your elbow at 90° and keep it in line with your shoulder.

– Rotate your forearm up and down, without moving your elbow.

*8 to 10 repetitions each arm

4. EXTERNAL ROTATION (HORIZONTAL)

Targets the rear rotator cuff muscles (specifically targeting the supraspinatus). It will also focus on the rear deltoids.

– Tie the band to a pole, or something steady

– Lift your arm at shoulder level. Band your elbow at 90° and keep it in line with your shoulder.

– Rotate your forearm up and down, without moving your elbow.

*8 to 10 repetitions each arm