Workout of the week: 10-min functional upper body workout

11th April 2022

ALL LEVELS / functional upper body workout / 10 minutes

Equipment: Barbell, dumbbells & gym bench

Lower body or upper body day — which one do you prefer? If you follow EVO, you know our opinion on these by now. If you don’t, we might as well clarify that we lean to a whole-body approach; after all, we’re functional fitness and natural movement advocates. However, we can’t say there’s a universally approved exercise method: we simply prefer this method.

Plus, our personal trainer Hannah Braun brought us a lower body workout last week, so we think it’s only fair we bring a functional upper body workout today. This short session can serve as a quick strength workout or be part of a broader training session. It has only 3 exercises that you should perform for 45 seconds with no rest between them. You’ll get a 25 seconds break between each of the 4 rounds. In total, this session will take you around 10 minutes to complete.

Dumbbell chest press
Barbell deadlift to row
Dips

Let’s build some muscle!

WORKOUT SETUP

3 exercises
45 seconds each
4 rounds
No rest between exercises
25 seconds rest between rounds
10 minutes total
Equipment: Barbell, dumbbells & gym bench

WORKING OUT FROM HOME? NO PROBLEM.

Barbell = a broom handle with a gym bag with weights on it
Dumbbells = water bottles filled with water and / or sand
Gym bench = stable chair

WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST

4 rounds

1 – DUMBBELL CHEST PRESS

12 reps

Grab two suitably heavy dumbbells, curl them to your chest, and lie back on the bench
Engage your core, set the shoulders, and turn the dumbbells so that the fingers are facing forwards. Position the dumbbells so that the elbows are bent to 90 degrees and in line with the shoulders. The dumbbells should sit close to the armpits (a maximum stretch for the chest). This is the starting position for the dumbbell chest press.
Keeping the core engaged and low back in neutral, press the dumbbells straight up and in towards each other, squeezing the chest muscles as you press. Pause at the top before returning to the start position.
Repeat for reps or time.

2 – BARBELL DEADLIFT TO ROW

12 reps

Grab a suitably loaded barbell with a shoulder-width grip. Engage the core and set the shoulders. Lift the bar to assume a standing position – this is your starting position.
Keeping the core engaged and the shoulders set, hinge at the hips until the bar is just below the knees. Row the bar towards your belly button and lower again. Immediately deadlift the bar to a standing position – this combination movement completes one repetition.
Return under control and repeat the barbell deadlift row for reps or time.

3 – DIPS

12 reps

Sit on the edge of the gym bench. Grasp the edge of it, pointing your fingers to your feet. Make sure your legs are extended, with your heels touching the floors.
With your palms, press to lift your body and slide forward, clearing the edge of the bench.
Now lower yourself until your elbows are bent.
Slowly push yourself back up to the starting position.
Repeat.