The Ultimate Bodyweight Workout

One month into the new year, most of us are hopefully sticking to our resolutions. Fitness trainers and experts list a collective way of making sure your workout plans are intact

- Ananya Swaroop

THE UPPER BODY WORKOUT

By Pranav Saini

Trainer says: Most people tend to focus on lower body strength to prevent the accumulation of fat around the hips and belly. It is important to equally focus on the upper body, so that one can perform everyday activities with ease, have a better range of motion and flexibility, increase muscle mass, lower the risk of diabetes, and have a healthy heart.

Three workouts to strengthen the upper body: Chest Press, Overhead press, or shoulder press and pullups.

Three points to keep in mind while working on your upper body

• Breathe constantly when lifting weights. Never, ever hold your breath You may have to work to make this an automatic habit. Each inhale and exhale should be as deep and full as possible

• Don't sit down, doing nothing, during a workout. Keep blood from pooling in your legs by walking around if you need a rest between sets. If you're doing upper body, walk while gently swinging your arms from the shoulder Keeping the muscles that you've just worked in gentle motion helps get rid of lactic acid and other waste products of muscle exertion

• The most important part of exercising or training for a sport is to always use proper form. Even if you were once taught the correct position for each exercise, you may have since strayed from using it. It's worth paying a personal trainer to watch you go through your program at least once a year to be certain you're still using the proper technique.

Must-have equipment: Saini suggests a Smith machine with pull-up bars and cable pulleys, an adjustable bench with a barbell, and sets of dumbbells and a stability ball, full-size resistance bands, and a yoga mat.