Make everyday activities easier. Training your upper body regularly can make daily movements feel less taxing, whether you’re carrying four fully loaded grocery bags inside all at once, pushing your child’s stroller up a hill in your neighborhood, or picking your dog up off the floor, according to Harvey.

Support healthy posture. A strong upper body means a strong posture, says Harvey. A plethora of your upper-body muscles are responsible for healthy posture, including the core (which stabilizes the spine) and the traps and erector spinae (which stabilize other joints during movement). A strong serratus anterior—a muscle located below your armpits that connects your shoulder blades to your ribcage—also ensures proper posture of the shoulder complex, research suggests.

Work your core. Surprise: Your upper body also includes your core muscles, which play a role in supporting and stabilizing the spine. “So when we strengthen our upper body, we can also strengthen our core,” Harvey explains. “This will not only help you feel stronger, but it also will help [reduce the] chances of injury.” Core training helps you better transfer and control force throughout your body during athletic movements, research shows. Plus, core stabilization exercises may help reduce injury rates additional studies suggest.