The upper body is important in assisting with movements or performing actions that would be otherwise impossible to do using only the lower body. Examples could include climb-ups, cats, vaults, and underbars. Most exercises that work the upper body also indirectly work the core. Two primary motions involved with the upper body are pushing and pulling. The most basic exercises to train these motions are push-ups and pull-ups. Variations can increase or decrease the difficulty of the motions as well as help with balance and control.

The push-up (Also called the press up) is one of the greatest exercises for any of the disciplines. It's easy, has dozens of different variations, helps you gain overall strength, can be done anywhere, and tones your body. Not only does it focus on your arms, but it develops muscles in the chest, shoulders, and core. It's best to begin with the basic push-up (Click on the image above). Find a relatively flat area and just punch out repetitions of push-ups until they feel good. Don't forget to check out the variations to mix up your routine and to focus on particular muscle groups. There are three factors that affect the push-up's effectiveness - Hand/foot placement, weight, and speed.

Hand / Foot Placement:
Normally, the hands are placed a few inches outside of the shoulders and the feet are placed together, changing the hand and foot placement is a great way to change what muscles the push-up focuses on. For arms, there's the regular stance (Hands placed just outside the shoulders), wide stance, diamond, inverted, one-handed, etc. Having your hands placed inside your shoulders will target your the muscles in your chest while positioning the hands outside will target the shoulders. Different hand and foot placement can be carried throughout most variations.

Weight:
With the push-up and most variations, you use your feet to support the lower half of your body and your arms to support the upper half. You can mix it up by changing the weight that is supported by your arms. The most popular way to change the weight is the incline push-up although you can always wear a weight vest or backpack full of books. This variation includes having your feet supported on a higher surface than the ground or up against a wall.

Speed:
If you want to build speed, instead of going slow throughout transitions and holding a position for seconds, start moving faster. Shorten the transition from the starting position to the pushing position. Instead of holding the pushing position, immediately start the transition from pushing to starting. The higher the push-up speed, the more power you build. As you go slower, you build endurance and control. It's best to work on both the explosiveness and endurance of the push-up.

Variations (Click on the picture):

Pull-ups are one of the most important drills that any traceur or freerunner can do. This one drill is integral to the vast majority of climbing techniques and a good pull-up can help to distinguish you as an above average traceur. Although just about everyone has done a pull-up before in their life, it is common to see incorrect technique that takes away from the strength gains that can be received from this drill. It's best to work on the basic pull-up before performing harder variations, click on the image above to read the tutorial. This drill mainly works your arms and upper back, but variations can also work your chest and your abs. There are three important factors that affect the pull-up's effectiveness - grip, weight and speed.

Grip:
The width of the grip and your hand placement is important because these different factors will determine the difficulty and what muscle groups are emphasized.

Weight:
With the pull-up and most variations, you use are only using your body weight. You can add more weight to this exercise by wearing a backpack full of books, wearing ankle weights, wearing a weight vest, or having someone on your back.

Speed:
Fast pull-up speeds will develop your explosion while slow pull-ups will emphasize muscular endurance. It's best to work on both the explosiveness and endurance of the pull-up.

Variations (Click on the picture):

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