If you want to increase musculature strength and muscle mass, then Crossfit training would be a great choice. Crossfit exercises not only build strength and muscles but also help you in day to day activities like pulling, pushing, etc. In this article, I’m going to share the top 10 Crossfit workouts that build upper body.
I’ve included both weighted as well as bodyweight CrossFit exercises that you can do at home.
Okay, Let’s start!
Best CrossFit Upper Body Workouts For Strength & Power
1. Bar Dips
Difficulty Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Triceps, Chest, and Shoulders
Bar dips are considered as one of the best upper body Crossfit workouts for all fitness levels. Even dips engage more upper body muscles than pullups. And it is reviewed by a study published in August 2015 that the upper body musculature involved in the Dip movement is 1.11 times stronger than the musculature involved in Pullups.
How to do bar dips correctly
Set-up
- First of all, grab the bar handles firmly and hoist yourself up.
- Look forward, brace your abdominal muscles and bend your knees slightly (if you like). That’s your starting position.
Execution
- Bend your elbows and lower yourself down until your triceps are parallel to the floor.
- And as you reach down, pull yourself up rapidly until you return to the starting position. That’s your one repetition.
Reps
5-10-15-20-15-10-5
2. Pull-ups
Difficulty Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Focus: Strength, Grip
Muscles Worked: Lats, Traps, Core and Arms
The pull-up is primarily an upper-body workout used to train muscular endurance or muscular strength. A study published in November 2018 investigated that pull-ups significantly increase core, biceps, lats, and trap strength and also help in muscle gain.
How to do Pull-ups
- Lift yourself up and grip the pull-up bar with both hands (slightly wider than shoulder-width apart) with an overhand grip.
- Keeping your abdominal muscles engaged, pull yourself up until your chin is close or above the bar. And then slowly lower yourself until your arms are straight. That’s one pullup.
Reps
20-15-10-5
3. The Push Jerk (One of the Best CrossFit Workouts)
Difficulty Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Focus: Strength and Explosiveness
Muscles Worked: Core, Shoulders, Forearms, Triceps, and Glutes
The push jerks work on several muscles at once and improve weightlifting performance. A research-based article published online in 2019 indicated that overhead pressing exercises such as push press, push jerk, or split jerk may be beneficial for enhancing power development and maximal strength.
How to do the push jerks
- First of all, place a bar in the squat rack to your chest height and stand in front of it.
- Bend your knees, reach under the bar, and grab the bar with both hands (shoulder-width apart) with an underhand grip, palms facing up.
- Keep your core tight, stand straight (in the shoulder-width stance) to remove the bar from the rack, and walk backward.
- Keeping the natural arch in your lower back, hold the barbell in front of your shoulders. That’s your starting position.
- Slightly bend your knees and push your hips back to lower yourself into a quarter squat position. And then push through your heels to stand upright and at the same time press the bar overhead and lift your heels off the floor.
- Now land your heels back on the floor while holding your arms straight overhead.
- And now, return the barbell back to the starting position and repeat.
Reps
12-9-6
4. barbell Military Press
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Shoulder and Core
The standing military press is a compound workout that works on the shoulder and core. And increase your strength and pressing power that helps you in other compound workouts like the bench press.
How to do the Military Press
- Place a bar into the squat rack, and put the desired weight.
- Reach under the bar, and grab it with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Now, press the bar overhead until your arms are straight overhead. And then return the bar to your shoulder height (in front of you). That’s one rep!
- Perform each rep in a controlled fashion.
Reps
8-10-12-10-8
5. barbell Bench Press
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength and Power
Muscles Worked: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders, Core
The bench press is one of the best upper body workouts for increasing strength and building muscles, especially for the chest. It is a compound workout that engages several muscles at once, such as the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.
How to do Barbell Bench Press
- Lay down on a flat bench on your back, place your feet flat on the floor, and grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the bar off the rack and hold it over your chest (with arms extended straight). That’s your starting position.
- Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, lower the bar toward your chest in a controlled manner until the bar reaches close to your chest.
- Hold for a moment and then press the bar back to the start. That’s your one complete rep.
- Perform each repetition in a controlled fashion and avoid arching the lower back during the movement.
Reps
5-10-15-10-5
6. Battle Rope Crossfit Workout
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Full-body
How to do battle rope workout
- Grab the rope tightly with your hands, and stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Palms facing each other.
- Lower your hips and whip ropes up and over in front of you for the maximum number of times.
Crossfit Upper Body Home Workout with No Equipment
7. Pushups
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Chest, arms, core
How to do a normal push-up
- First of all, get into a high plank position and keep your body straight from top to the bottom.
- Make sure to keep your arms are straight underneath your shoulders. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, bend your elbows, and lower your body toward the floor (as deep as you can go). And then press back to the start to complete one rep.
Reps
20-15-10-15-20
8. Diamond Pushup
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders
How to do diamond push-ups
- First of all, get into a pushup position with your arms directly underneath your chest and position your hands in a way they together form a triangle shape (or Diamond shape).
- Keeping your core tight, bend your elbows, and lower your upper body toward the ground.
- Pause, and then press back with your hands to return to the start. That’s one repetition.
- Make sure to keep your elbows by your sides while going downward.
Reps
20-15-12
9. Bench Dips
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength
Muscles Worked: Triceps
How to do a bench dips at home
- Start with sitting on the chair with your legs are straight in front of you.
- Lift your butt off the bench while keeping your hands on the bench, arms fully straight.
- Slightly and move your torso forward, now you’re ready to do dips.
- Bend your elbows and lower your hips down toward the floor.
- Hold for a second and then press back through your arms to return to the start. This is your one repetition.
Reps
20-15-10
10. Burpee
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Focus: Strength and Mobility
Muscles Worked: Full Body
Burpees is a complete upper body workout as it involves different movement such as push-up, squat, and jumping. You can burn a good number of calories by doing 4 to 5 sets of it.
How to do the Burpees
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold your arms straight at your sides.
- Lower your hips and bring your hands in front of your leg, and then kick your feet behind you. Now, you’re into a pushup position, complete one push-up.
- Quickly bring your feet under your hips and then extend your hips to stand upright. And as you stand up, perform a squat and then jump quickly in the air with your arms straight overhead and then land your feet and repeat.
- This exercise engages several muscles at once, so perform every rep in a controlled manner.
Reps
15-12-10
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