10 Free-Weight Exercises for Men To Build Upper-Body Strength

Every man wants to build a strong, muscular upper body. Thick shoulders, a big chest, a wide back—all these features showcase excellent fitness. That being said, if you head to the gym, you’ll likely see many men training their upper body with machine exercises. The issue with machines is they force your body into rigid, two-dimensional paths that don’t match how your body actually moves. This prevents you from learning how to stabilize weights, resistance, and more. If you want to pack on serious muscle in your upper body, free-weight exercises are the name of the game.

By working with free weights such as dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells, you can build tremendous strength and learn proper movement patterns to keep your joints and muscles happy. In this article, we will break down 10 of the absolute best free-weight exercises for men to build upper-body strength and muscle.

Dumbbell Bench Press

If you want a strong upper body, the bench press is one of the top exercises you must add to your routine. It targets the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and arms and lets you move a lot of weight for more results. By using dumbbells, it’s easier on your shoulders and elbows and you won’t need a spotter (unless the weights are super heavy).

How To Do It:

1. Lie on a bench with your chest up, shoulders squeezed together, and feet flat on the ground.
2. Drive the dumbbells upward, keeping your shoulders back.
3. Drive through your heels, as well, keeping your glutes on the bench.

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Floor Press

This is a great alternative to the dumbbell bench press for people with shoulder issues. The floor prevents your elbows from descending too low, which can cause pain for people who can’t handle the full range of motion with a bench press.

How To Do It:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent.
2. Keep your chest up, shoulders squeezed together, and feet flat on the ground.
3. Drive the dumbbells upward, keeping your shoulders back.
4. Keep the dumbbells directly over your elbows throughout.

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

Rows are the best exercise to strengthen your upper back, which adds a lot of width and thickness to your torso (since your back muscles are much bigger than your chest muscles). By using a chest-supported variation, you eliminate the stress on your lower back and can just concentrate on pulling the weights with the correct technique.

How To Do It:

1. Set an adjustable bench to a short incline
2. Lie chest down on it with a dumbbell in each hand.
3. Start the movement by pulling your shoulder blades together and row.
4. Don’t let your elbow pull past your ribcage.

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Bicep Curl

If you want big arms, it’s important to build total-body strength first before focusing too much on specific muscles. Yet once you have a solid level of strength, isolation exercises will take your upper arms to a whole new level. And when it comes to direct arm exercises, bicep curls are everybody’s favorite. You can do these with dumbbells, barbells, EZ curl bars, and more.

How To Do It:

1. Hold a weight so your palms are facing away.
2. Curl the weight, and don’t swing your body.

Single-Arm Kettlebell Overhead Press

Overhead presses are an extremely underutilized exercise to add a lot of strength, power, and muscle to your upper body. The benefit of using a kettlebell is that it’s easier on your wrists because you can keep them straight and you can rest the weight on your shoulder at the bottom of the exercise. Also, you target each arm separately to fix any asymmetries and reduce the stress on your shoulder joint (instead of using a straight barbell).

How To Do It:

1. Hold a kettlebell at your chest with the kettlebell on the outside of your arms and your hands underneath your chin.
2. Keep your chest up, pull your shoulders back, and crush your armpits.
3. Keep your wrists straight, tense your body, squeeze your glutes, and drive the kettlebell directly overhead.
4. Focus on pushing your body into the ground, rather than the kettlebell away from you.

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Push Press

This is a power exercise to add serious strength to your entire upper body, especially your shoulders, arms, and traps. By using an explosive lower-body movement to propel you, you can actually push more weight overhead, which helps you build even more strength over time.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

How To Do It:

1. Lower yourself into a very partial squat.
2. Explode upward with your legs while driving your arms overhead.
3. At the top, make sure your biceps are next to your ears, and your wrists are flat, not bent backward.
4. Carefully lower the kettlebells back to the rack position and repeat.

Three-Point Row

This row variation allows you to target your left and right sides separately to eliminate any imbalances. It also targets your core because those muscles have to work to keep your torso stable as you pull.

How To Do It:

1. Facing parallel to a bench, place your right hand and right knee on the bench, getting your torso parallel to the ground.
2. Grab a dumbbell with your left hand.
3. Squeeze your shoulder blades and row.

Single-Arm Landmine Press

For those who struggle to push weight directly overhead—maybe because of cranky shoulders or a lack of mobility—the landmine is the perfect alternative. You’ll push up at an angle, which takes pressure off your joints as the weight goes up. If you don’t have a landmine, just place a folded-up towel in the corner of a wall and wedge one end of a barbell there.

How To Do It:

1. Place one end of a barbell in a landmine.
2. At the other end, stand facing the landmine, grab the other end with one arm, and hold it near the same shoulder.
3. Drive the barbell overhead without twisting.
4. Finish all your reps on one side and alternate.

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Skullcrushers

Some guys think “big arms” equals lots of bicep curls. But in reality, your triceps actually make up about 70% of your upper arm—so, if you’re going to emphasize an arm muscle, your triceps is the one to target to fill out those arm sleeves. And if you want one of the best free-weight exercises to do so, look no further.

How To Do It:

1. Lie on your back with your feet on the ground.
2. Grab two dumbbells and hold them above your chest with your palms facing each other.
3. Bend your forearms toward your head while keeping your upper arms still and keeping your palms facing each other.
4. Extend your arms back to the starting position and repeat.

Single-Arm Farmers Carry

If you want strong arms, tremendous core strength, and great endurance—in one exercise—look no further than the single-arm farmers carry. One additional benefit of doing this exercise is that you strengthen your grip and forearms, which not only builds thicker arms but also increases your strength on practically any upper-body exercise! Why? The stronger your grip, the stronger your body.

How To Do It:

1. Grab a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand.
2. Keep your chest up and shoulder blades squeezed.
3. Walk forward.

Anthony J. Yeung, CSCS