Blast Your Arms With This 20-Minute Upper-Body Cardio Workout

Why Do It: Push-ups are predominantly done as a strength-building exercise. The exercise primarily helps build muscle in your shoulders and chest. However, it also stimulates muscle growth in your core and lower body. While traditionally done as a strength exercise, push-ups can also elevate your heart rate and burn calories. From the diamond to clap push-ups, there are various ways to do this strength-building exercise, but here we will explain the most basic push-up. 

How to Do It:

1. Get down into a high plank position with your palms planted firmly on the ground just outside shoulder width. Ensure your arms are shoulder-width apart, with your feet together or within a foot of each other. 
2. From the plank, aim to lower yourself to the ground while maintaining a tight core. When lowering yourself, keep your back straight. Go to your depth; some people can touch their chest to the ground, some people touch their nose to the ground. The most important thing is to keep your back straight, preventing the hips from dropping to the ground.
3. When you reach your end range of motion, push yourself back up to your original  high plank position, then repeat. 

There are many modifications with the push-up, such as doing them to an elevated surface or doing them with your knees on the ground. 

Why Do It: Mountain climbers are a great exercise that combines strength and cardio in one. The mountain climber’s explosive movement offers a cardio rush, while the technique helps to stimulate muscle growth primarily in your core and shoulders. 

How to Do It:

1. Get down into a high plank position, with your weight evenly balanced between your palms and the balls of your feet.
2. Once established in the plank, begin explosively alternating bringing each knee to your chest. When one leg’s foot touches the ground, the other should immediately raise its knee to the chest. 
3. While maintaining an explosive high-intensity in your leg movements, always ensure your butt stays down, and your high plank angle is preserved where your core feels a parallel burn to the exercise’s cardio stimulation. 

Why Do It:

The dumbbell bent-over row is a strength workout that efficiently activates almost every muscle group in your back, especially your lats and traps. Beyond your back, the practice can also stimulate your biceps and core. 

How to Do It:

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, situate yourself with your feet firmly planted hip-width apart. 
2. From here, push your hips back, slightly bend your knees, and lower your torso so it’s almost facing the ground. Your arms are outstretched, holding each dumbbell. 
3. While holding your original stance, pull the weights to your sides, utilizing your shoulder blades as a leading source of strength.
4. When the dumbbells reach the sides of your torso with your elbows tucked, pause for a moment, then slowly extend your arms to their original outstretched position, then repeat.

Why Do It:

The dumbbell floor press is a strength training exercise that primarily engages the shoulder, triceps, and chest. The exercise also allows you to embrace the benefits of the dumbbell press without needing a bench. 

How to Do It:

1. Lower yourself to the ground with your back flat on the floor, knees bent, and your feet firmly planted into the ground. Your body should resemble a classic sit-up position. 
2. When situated, grab a dumbbell with each hand and hold them up with your upper arms slightly elevated and parallel to the ground. 
3. From here, press the dumbbells upward, fully extending your arms to where the dumbbells meet. Then, bring them back down to your starting position, and repeat.

Why Do It:

The lunge and dumbbell bicep curl exercise is a strength-focused movement that primarily engages your glutes and broader leg muscles. However, the incorporated dumbbell curl helps to build your biceps while adding beneficial weight resistance to your lunges.  

How to Do It:

1. Start by standing up straight with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides, fully extended while grasping the dumbbells. 
2. From your starting position, lunge one leg forward while lowering your hips until you find both your knees angled at 90 degrees. Your extended leg should have its knee hovering above your ankle, with your rear leg balancing and supporting your weight on the balls of its foot. 
3. Once in a lunged position, conduct a bicep curl with each arm holding the dumbbells. 
4. Then lower the dumbbells back to your sides, and push off your extended leg to return to your starting position. Repeat with your other side while continuing a bicep curl with each alternating lunge. 

Why Do It:

The dumbbell triceps extension is a strength-focused exercise that primarily targets your triceps, shoulders, and core. The exercise can be done using one or two dumbbells, but we will explain how to do it using one. 

How to Do It:

1. Stand with your feet slightly separated yet firmly planted on the ground. Make sure your core is engaged and your stance is balanced. Once planted, grab a dumbbell by its center grip using both hands. 
2. Then carefully place the dumbbell behind your head, holding it with your elbows bent parallel to the sides of your head.
3. Lift the dumbbell directly over your head by gently extending your arms fully upwards. Be sure to retain a firm posture and engaged core, and be mindful not to hit your head as you raise the dumbbell. 
4. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to your rear-head level, then repeat.

Why Do It:

Burpees are one of the most efficient equipment-free exercises that exist! Burpees offer both cardio and strength benefits and a total body workout. Burpees engage the muscles in your core, quads, glutes, shoulders, arms, and hamstrings. Furthermore, burpees are an intense cardio exercise that efficiently burns calories and fat, elevates your heart rate, and speeds up your metabolism. 

There are many types of burpees, however, we will focus on cardio burpees that do not include a push-up for this exercise. 

How to Do It:

1. Starting in a squatted position, jump up as high as you can. Aim for a height where your toes are pointing to the ground. While not necessary, you can include a clap over your head as you jump to help with rhythm and to keep your back straight while in the air. 
2. As you come down, land on the balls of your feet to avoid stressing your knees. As soon as you land, place your hands on the ground and kick your legs back to put yourself in a high plank position, ensuring a straight line from your head to your heels (bending your back could lead to injury and disrupt the burpees’ flow and benefits). 
3. Once in the up-plank position, immediately get out of it by bringing your legs forward while engaging your core and landing in your original squatted position, then repeat.