An effective upper body workout focuses on building strength, endurance, and muscle tone across the chest, back, shoulders, arms, and core. Whether you're training at the gym or at home, incorporating exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, bench presses, and rows ensures a well-rounded routine. Adding dumbbell curls, tricep dips, and shoulder presses enhances arm definition and functional strength.
A balanced upper body workout should engage multiple muscle groups to improve overall body mechanics and posture. Strengthening the chest with exercises like push-ups and bench presses not only builds size and strength but also supports better breathing and stability. For back muscles, rows and pull-ups are essential to develop a strong foundation and reduce the risk of injury.
Incorporating variations and resistance levels in your upper body workout ensures progressive overload, helping you continually challenge your muscles for growth. Core stability exercises such as planks can complement your routine and promote full-body coordination.
Consistency and proper form are key to maximizing your upper body workout results. Begin with lighter weights and perfect your technique before increasing intensity. Include rest and recovery to prevent overtraining. With the right approach, your upper body workout can deliver impressive strength and fitness gains over time. Whether you aim to tone muscles or build bulk, a strategic upper body workout is essential for achieving your goals.
6 Upper Body Exercises You Should Pay Attention To
When it comes to upper body exercises, they all have similar exercises.
Honestly, every workout you find anywhere will have the same exercises with similar rep schemes for the most part. This is because these exercises train important movement patterns.
They are also compound exercises that hit multiple muscle groups in a natural motion. Naturally, this makes them safer to perform and will help you burn more calories during each individual training session.
For upper body exercises, the most important movement patterns to train are:
- Vertical pulls
- Horizontal pulls
- Vertical push
- Horizontal push
- Loaded carry
Listed below are examples of exercise variations that accomplish these movement patterns. These are probably the 6 best exercises for building upper body muscle mass.
1. Pull Ups
The pull up is a classic exercise and is used to target the upper back muscles. This movement completes the vertical pull movement pattern.
The pull up is considered one of the best back exercises for the lats. However, not many people can do it. The workout progressions at the bottom of this article will show you how you can be able to do an unassisted bodyweight pull up from a beginner level to an advanced level.
Some variations of the pull ups that you can use in your upper body workouts include:
- Eccentric Only Pull Ups
- Concentric Hangs
- Band Assisted Pull Ups
- Chin Ups
- Neutral Grip Pull Ups
- Wide Grip Pull Ups
- Weighted Pull Ups
2. Barbell Row
The barbell row is another back exercise that is used to build back muscles. It performs a horizontal pull movement pattern.
It requires a lot of core and shoulder stability to perform. However, once you get advanced enough to use the exercise, you will be able to build a lot of size with the amount of weight you can pull. This is one of the main reasons why it is considered a staple in bodybuilding.
Some variations of the barbell row you can use in your upper body workouts include:
- Inverted Row
- Seated Cable Row
- Standing Cable Row
- Half Kneeling Cable Row
- Shotgun Row
- Dumbbell Row
- T-bar/Landmine Row
3. Overhead Press
The overhead press is used to build the push muscles of the shoulders and triceps. It is used in most upper body workouts because it completes a vertical push movement pattern.
Like the barbell row, the overhead press requires a lot of core and shoulder stability to perform properly.
To do it safely, many progressions will be used in the workouts listed below.
Some additional variations you can include in your upper body workouts for the overhead press are:
- Landmine Press variations
- Z Press
- Pin Press
- Dumbbell Overhead Press
- Arnold Press
4. Bench Press
Everyone's favorite movement (or at least it used to be), the barbell bench press and its variations are used to complete horizontal push patterns in many upper body workouts.
The bench press is great because, like all barbell variations, it allows you to maximize your usable weight.
However, like most of the exercises on this list so far, it requires a lot of stability - mainly from the shoulder ligaments.
Therefore, we'll use several exercises in the workouts listed below to help build the pre-requisite strength.
Other exercises used to accomplish the horizontal push movement pattern include:
- Push Ups
- Floor Presses
- Dumbbell Presses
- Incline Presses
- Decline Presses
5. Dips
Depending on how you do it, the dip falls into a hybrid of vertical and horizontal push movement patterns. Regardless, one thing is certain about the exercise – it builds some serious triceps, chest, and shoulder muscles.
Many upper body workouts you’ll find online will include some form of dip variation. It can be used as a primary movement or as an accessory movement.
And like the pull-up, it’s a bodyweight exercise that not many people can do. So, in the next workout routine, we’ll include plenty of progression to get you there.
Here are some dip variations you might want to consider including into your upper body workouts:
- Eccentric Only
- Pec Minor Dips
- Band Assisted Dips
- Weighted Dips
6. Farmer's Walk
The farmer's walk is undoubtedly one of the best and least used exercises. It's a heavy carry that, depending on how it's used, achieves a certain level of cardiovascular conditioning, trains the core, and packs on the glutes.
Only the farmer’s walk will be used in the upper body workout routines to come, but if you’re looking for some variety you could include:
- Suitcase Carries
- Waiter Carries
- Trap Bar Farmer’s Waks
Create Your Upper Body Workout
When creating your upper body workout, you need to keep in mind what stage of training you are in. If you are a true beginner and lack any kind of stability required to perform some of the exercises listed above, you will not be able to have much success with a more advanced training program.
Below, we will lay it all out for you. No matter what stage of training you are in, there will be a program that focuses on your upper body. If you are a beginner, lower body workouts can be used as a form of progression from one stage to the next.
We have also included lower body workouts in the routine to ensure your aesthetic physique. You may notice that as you get stronger on your lower body workout days, you will get stronger on your upper body lifts.
The recommended duration for each stage is 4-8 weeks. Everyone's progress rate is different. Learn to understand your body and know when to advance to the next training stage. Make every step count, don't just fly through the programs.
Below is an example of how you should schedule your weekly workout. This is just a template. Feel free to adjust as needed.
Beginner Upper Body Focused Workout Split
Upper Body Focused Workouts for Kids will be used to build more advanced upper body workouts in future phases, helping them build stability and condition their bodies.
If you are new to weight training, or are unable to do dips and pullups without assistance, it is recommended to start with this phase.
This phase can last 4-8 weeks. Some may skip it altogether. Others may feel comfortable enough to move on to the intermediate phase after a few weeks.
My recommendation would be to stay in this phase for as long as necessary and move on to the intermediate phase as each set of each exercise becomes challenging.
With weighted exercises, it is recommended to increase the weight used week by week when you are able to. This is especially true for some lower body exercises, such as the trap bar deadlift and the goblet squat.
Intermediate Upper Body Focused Workout Split
In the intermediate phase of the Upper Body Focused Workout Split, you will build on the stability you have built in the initial phase. This phase is designed to bridge the gap from stability to full range of motion.
At this stage, we also begin to introduce some accessory movements to target the arms. Everyone is different and their goals are different. Use these accessory movements to incorporate exercises that you feel will help you better achieve your personal goals.
This phase can last anywhere from 6-8 weeks. Some may be able to reach a point where they are ready to progress faster than others. Ultimately, it is based on your personal ability to progress. Use your best judgment and only progress if you feel that this part of the routine is too easy.
As with all weighted exercises, it is recommended to increase the total weight used week by week. Again, this will ultimately be determined by your personal ability.
Advanced Upper Body Focused Workout Split
The ultimate and most advanced upper body focused workout split includes the most advanced variations of the movement patterns listed at the beginning of the article. You will also notice that it contains the most volume of the 3 upper body phases.
Additional accessory movements are added to this phase. Again, this is just a template. You will want to include any exercises that target the muscle groups you want to target and build for your personal goals.
This phase of the program can last anywhere from 8-12 weeks. This is the final phase, so you can use it for as long as you want. As long as you are enjoying it and still seeing results, there is really no need to change the routine
As with all weighted exercises, it is recommended to increase the total weight used week by week. Again, this will ultimately be determined by your personal ability.
Frequently Asked Questions About Upper Body Workout Routines
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about upper body workout routines. They are not specific to the workouts listed above, but hopefully will provide additional knowledge on how to create upper body workouts and how to implement them to maximize your muscle mass.
If you have any questions about upper body workout routines that are not listed below, please feel free to leave us a comment in the comments section. Who knows, we might add it to the list for future readers who may have the same question.
1. What is a good upper body workout routine?
A good upper body workout depends on you and your individual. It depends on your experience level when considering exercise selection and total volume.
This will also include exercises that train basic movement patterns such as horizontal pulls, horizontal pushups, vertical pulls, vertical pushups, and loaded carries. The exact variations used will be based on your experience level and ultimate goals.
A good upper body workout routine is also paired with a good lower body workout routine to ensure you have balanced strength and an aesthetic physique.
2. Is it better to do a full upper body workout?
Absolutely. Full upper body workouts actually allow you to be very efficient with your overall weekly training frequency depending on how they are written and paired with lower body workouts.
They allow you to target multiple muscle groups that should be fresh (if you use your rest days well) to maximize calorie burn in any workout session through compound movements.
3. How often should you work out your upper body?
As you age, you will want to work out your upper body at least once a week to maintain strength levels and promote healthy muscles.
To maximize muscle growth, you will want to increase that training frequency to twice a week.
Depending on how your upper body routine is written and your overall program, you could go as high as 3-6 times per week. However, you may want to consider investing in a coach to make sure this strategy is right for your personal goals.
4. How should I split my upper body workout?
This will depend on your personal goals and how many days a week you have time to train.
Traditionally, in upper/lower body splits, an upper body workout trains each upper body muscle twice a week.
However, some strength athletes may benefit from breaking it up into a push, pull, legs split depending on their strength level. This will help them recover better while shortening their individual workouts.
However, push, pull, legs splits are beyond the scope of this article. They are extremely effective at achieving higher training frequency and volume loads - so it may be worth considering depending on your personal goals and experience level.
5. How long should an upper body workout last?
A good upper body workout should last between 45-70 minutes. Some may be able to complete a good upper body workout faster depending on their experience level.
Beginners will have less training volume and will be able to complete optimal volume much faster than advanced lifters who have to do a lot of exercises and a lot of volume.
6. How long does it take to see results from lifting weights?
It depends entirely on your genetics.
I have also told people who adopt a new training regimen that they will start to notice a difference within 4 weeks, their friends and family will notice within 8 weeks, and the world will notice within 12 weeks. This is a good rule of thumb, but it is entirely anecdotal.
Try hard and do your best with every workout. The results will come.
Conclusion for Upper Body Workout:
A well-rounded upper body workout strengthens key muscle groups, enhances posture, and supports overall functional fitness. Consistent training of the chest, back, shoulders, and arms improves strength, endurance, and stability. Remember to:
- Warm Up Properly: Engage in light cardio and dynamic stretches to prepare your muscles.
- Maintain Proper Form: Focus on technique to maximize effectiveness and prevent injury.
- Include Variety: Incorporate compound movements (like push-ups and pull-ups) and isolation exercises (like bicep curls) for balanced development.
- Rest and Recover: Allow time for muscle recovery and growth by spacing out upper body sessions.