Let’s try out the following ‘10 Best Upper Body Cardio Exercises Without Weights’. We’re happy to share these exercises with those who want to stay fit without using weights.
Maintain your fitness goals, lose weight, and include a heart-pumping exercise into your workout routine. The 10 Best Upper Body Cardio Exercises Without Weights that we share with you below will keep you active and in shape, staying fit and healthy for a very long time.
This routine is the ideal choice if you want to focus on your upper body. We’ll share good upper body cardio exercises that you can easily do at home without any weights.
In case you sustain a leg injury or on any lower part of the body, it does not mean that you should take a break from exercising. With these ten upper body cardio exercises, you can still stay in shape.
1. Arm Circles
Among the 10 Best Upper Body Cardio Exercises without Weights, arm circles are simple to execute. We suggest performing this exercise while sitting or standing. It helps tone the shoulders and arms.
How To Perform Arm Circles
Stand or sit upright and extend your hands straight to the side. Make sure that your arms are parallel to the floor.
Steadily start making clockwise circles and keep your arms straight throughout.
Perform 20 clockwise circles and alternate to counter clockwise circles. Do the same number of repetitions and repeat.
2. Shadowboxing
For a different type of activity that will keep your heart pumping, we recommend shadow boxing. Anyone can perform this fat-burning exercise.
For those who are not familiar with shadow boxing, it is merely throwing punches in the air.
Among fighters, shadow boxing involves complex footwork, but you can execute the activity without leg movement.
Avoid focusing too much on the fighting technique – we suggest throwing punches at shoulder level at high intensity.
We recommend doing shadow boxing for 5-10 minutes. This will provide you with an effective upper body cardio workout.
If you want more resistance, you can use boxing gloves. Take note that you can also perform this exercise while sitting.
3. Overhead Arm Claps
For those who are dealing with excess weight, we recommend this exercise as a good starting point. The activity stimulates the arms, trapezius muscles, and shoulders.
Although some find overhead arm claps easy to execute, it can effectively boost your heart rate in just seconds.
How To Perform Overhead Arm Claps
You can sit upright or stand and stretch your arms to the side. Always keep your arms straight and parallel to the floor.
Raise or elevate your hands and clap them over your head. Lower your arms to starting position and repeat.
Try clapping as fast as you can for a minute. Take a break and repeat it at least three times.
4. Battle Ropes
Many athletes include battle ropes in their workout routines. The reason for this is that battle ropes can provide your body with an intense workout.
The activity can effectively tone the abs, arms, shoulders, and back muscles. It can also improve your overall cardiovascular endurance.
Battle ropes can burn up to 10 calories in a minute. If you want to burn calories, we highly recommend this exercise since it allows you to burn up to 100 calories in just 10 minutes.
The best part about this activity is that you can perform it while sitting.
How To Perform Alternate Waves
Hold the battle ropes in each hand.
Start swinging the ropes up and down to produce a wave with each rope.
Continue alternating the swings and move the ropes as fast as possible.
Execute the exercise for up to a minute, then take a break and repeat.
5. Rhomboid Pulls
Rhomboid Pulls is another upper body cardio exercise that can strengthen the arms, shoulder, and back muscles.
For some, this exercise might be the least challenging. If this is the case for you,we suggest using it as a warm-up exercise.
How To Perform Rhomboid Pulls
Sit upright or stand and stretch your hands out to the side. Make sure that your hands are parallel to the floor.
Bend your elbows at 90 degrees and keep your forearms facing forward.
Squeeze all the arm muscles and pull back your elbows as far as possible.
Steadily bring your elbows forward to starting position and repeat.
Perform three sets of 20 repetitions.
6. Wall Pushups
If you want to include a beginner exercise for routine, we think wall pushups are ideal – especially among those who cannot perform the regular pushups. The exercise tones the shoulders, arms, and chest muscles.
How To Perform Wall Pushups
Stand two steps away from the wall. Lean forward and position both hands on the wall at shoulder level.
Make sure that your hands are shoulder-width apart.
Flex your elbows and press in until your chin touches the wall. Push back until your arms are fully extended.
Standing near the wall will make this exercise easier to execute.
Perform this exercise at high intensity for an effective upper body cardio workout.
7. Hand Walkouts
Hand walkouts are highly effective as an upper-body exercise. It builds up the arms, core, back muscles, and shoulders. It also engages the legs, but you should perform the exercise without any discomfort unless you previously sustained an injury.
How To Perform Hand Walkouts
Stand upright and position your feet shoulder-width apart.
Bend forward and position both arms on the floor. Make sure that your hands are as close to your legs as possible.
Perform short strides using your arms until you reach a pushup position.
Walk back with your arms to starting position and repeat.
8. Swimming
Swimming is a low impact exercise perfect for injured people. You can even swim without kicks if you’re a skilled swimmer. Or hold leg floaters between the thighs to prevent your legs from sinking. Swimming without kicks will give you a killer upper body workout.
Other than toning the upper body, swimming also builds cardiovascular endurance and improves lung capacity – which is hugely important.
9. Breakdancer
The breakdancer or sit-outs is a combination of stability, mobility, strength, and coordination. This exercise works out your upper body, entire core, and glutes.
Once you get used to the movement, you can speed it up, turning it into a low-impact cardio move.
How To Perform The Breakdancer.
While on all fours, stack your hands under your shoulders and your knees stacked under your hips.
Raise your knees slightly off the ground.
While maintaining your butt in a low position, raise your right leg below your torso, switching your body to open to the left. Keep your left arm in front.
Once you get relaxed with the move and eager for an extra challenge, lengthen your arm out to touch your right foot.
Return to starting position and repeat on the other side.
10. Burpee With Push-Up
When it comes to an effective no equipment exercise, you can rely on burpees for an intense cardio workout, especially if pushups are included.
The burpee with pushup is a full-body exercise that will work your core, arms, glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Additionally, the exercise will also increase your heart rate. We suggest adding an explosive jump at the end of the movement.
How To Perform Burpee With Push-Up
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms by your sides.
Squat to the floor and extend forward to position your hands on the floor, making sure they are shoulder-width apart.
Propel your legs straight behind you into a high plank with your hands underneath your shoulders.
Bend your elbows to drop your chest to the ground and straighten them to complete one pushup.
Jump your feet towards your hands so the lower body is in a squat position. Jump straight up into the air, reaching your arms overhead.
Final Thoughts
After a few sessions of the above, you’ll soon get the hang of it and start feeling the benefits within the same month.
Maybe because we all do these exercises together in a group, we push each other harder. Still, also, we immediately notice if one of the group is battling over a specific exercise, so we also look after each other.
Ann Roberts
