Grab a long loop band and a set of dumbbells and let’s get to work! This 30-minute upper body workout can be done from home and it focuses on working your back, chest, and biceps – 3 major muscle groups in the upper body!
This workout should take you around 30 minutes to complete, not including your warm-up and cool-down.
Purpose of This Workout
The purpose of this workout is to build strength in your upper body, specifically, your back, chest, and biceps. At the end of this workout, you should feel strong, accomplished, and capable.
Many women neglect to work their backs, however, a strong back provides the stability we need to execute daily tasks with ease and with a reduced chance of pain and injury. Plus, a strong, sculpted back and chest will essentiate and slim your waistline!
If you’re a beginner, I put together a beginner upper body workout for women.
Equipment Required
- For this workout, you will need a long loop band like this one and a set of dumbbells.
- Beginners: 5-10 lbs dumbbells
- Intermediate: 10-15 lbs dumbbells
- Advanced: 1520 lbs dumbbells
Can This Workout Be Done Without Equipment?
No, you’re going to need at least a band to create some resistance for this workout.
Dumbbell Only Upper Body Movement Breakdown
Rear Delt Squeeze With Band
How To Do Rear Delt Squeeze With Band
- Hold a long loop band in front of your body with your arms straight across your chest.
- Push your arms out away from your center while slightly pulling down and squeezing your back.
- Keep your head straight and think about squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades.
Banded Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
How To Do Banded Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
- Sitting on the floor with your loop band attached to a high anchor point, position your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the band.
- Starting with your arms positioned over your head, pull down on the band, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the motion.
Banded Single Arm Lat Pulldowns
How To Do Banded Single Arm Lat Pulldowns
- Kneeling on the floor with your loop band attached to a high anchor point, hang onto the loop band with one arm with your shoulder close to your side.
- Keep a slight arch in your back and core engaged as you pull the shoulder back and down.
- Bring the handle down to just below the level of your chin before allowing the band to come back up.
Dumbbell Reverse Flys
How To Do Dumbbell Reverse Flys
- Begin in the standing position with a slight bend forward in your hips so that your torso is almost parallel to the floor with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Allow your dumbbells to hang straight down from your shoulders with your palms facing each other and your arms slightly bent.
- Keeping your back flat and your torso still, raise your arms straight out to your sides until they are in line with your body before slowly lowering them and returning to the starting position.
Lying Chest Flys
How To Do Banded Single Arm Lat Pulldowns
- Begin by lying on your back on the floor with two dumbbells, one in each hand over your chest with a slight bend in your elbows and palms facing each other.
- Slowly lower dumbbells in an arm motion until they’re in line with your chest. Do not drop your arms lower than your shoulders.
- Slowly press the dumbbells back up using the same arc motion.
Narrow to Wide Bicep Curls
How To Do Narrow to Wide Bicep Curls
- Holding two dumbbells, one in each hand, perform a regular bicep curl in front of your body.
- At the bottom of the bicep curl, rotate your arms to a 45-degree angle and perform a wide bicep curl (arms outside) keeping your elbows locked at your side throughout the whole movement.
- One regular + one wide bicep curl counts as 1 rep.
Hammer Curls
How To Do Hammer Curls
- Start in the standing position with one dumbbell in each hand, holding the dumbbells vertically with your elbows tucked in close to your sides.
- Slowly lift the dumbbells up towards your shoulders, but stop before you reach them.
- Slowing lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
30-Minute Dumbbell Only Upper Body Workout for Women
Now let’s put it all together into a 30-minute upper body workout that will target your chest, back, and biceps all at once!
| Type | Move | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Exercise 1 | Rear Delt Squeeze With Band | 3 | 10-12 |
| Single Exercise 2 | Banded Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns | 4 | 10-12 |
| Single Exercise 3 | Single Arm Kneeling Lat Pulldown | 3 | 8-10 each side |
| Superset 1 (3x) | Dumbbell Reverse Flys | 3 | 10-12 |
| Superset 1 (3x) | Laying Chest Fly | 3 | 10-12 |
| Superset 2 (4x) | Narrow to Wide Bicep Curls | 4 | 6 |
| Superset 2 (4x) | Hammer Curls | 4 | 10-12 |
That’s It! Your Upper Body Should Be Feeling a Burn!
You crushed it! This 30-minute workout proves that you don’t need fancy equipment or hours at the gym to build strength and confidence.
By focusing on effective, at-home exercises, you’ve taken a huge step toward feeling stronger and more capable in your daily life.
Remember, consistency is key – stick with it, and those results will come!
Ready to take your training to the next level? Check out the Simply Strong App, a strength training app for women over 35, for more workouts, progress tracking, and a supportive community to keep you motivated.
