The Best Upper Body Workout Routine

If you want an effective and efficient upper body workout to accelerate muscle growth, read this post.

Chiseled abs, strong arms  broad shoulders, and a proud chest are the hallmarks of a well developed upper body. Add a powerful back to hold it all together and you have balanced and complete upper body.

This routine is optimized to stimulate the most muscle growth possible each workout.

The exercises have a synergistic effect.

Remember, Every good upper body workout needs a lower body workout to create a well-rounded routine.

What is an Upper-Lower Split?

A typical Upper Lower workout split looks like this:

• Monday – Upper Body Workout ‘A’ 
• Tuesday – Lower Body Workout ‘A’
• Wednesday – Rest
• Thursday – Upper Body Workout ‘B’ 
• Friday – Lower Body Workout ‘B’
• Saturday – Rest/Accessory
• Sunday – Rest

You can see that the upper-lower split is an effective way to train your entire body in just four workouts a week.

Accessory day is an opportunity to train your arms or abs.

What Makes a Good Upper Body Workout?

The objective is to train every muscle from the waist up.

This requires you to incorporate at least one of each of the following into your workouts:

• Horizontal push exercise (e.g. Bench Press)
• Vertical push exercise (e.g. Military press)
• Horizontal pull exercise (e.g. Bent over row)
• Vertical pull exercise (e.g. Pull up)
• Barbell or Dumbell Pullovers

Having an exercises for each criteria above ensures complete upper body development.

Upper Body Workout Routine

This routine consists of two workouts. ‘A’ and ‘B’.

Perform workouts three days apart. Alternate workouts by doing one than the other in three days.

Give it your all and don’t hold back. Treat each set like it’s your last!

Upper Body Workout ‘A’

• Pull Ups 4 sets x AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
• Bench Press 5 x 12,10,8,6,4 Reps
• Bent Over Rows 5 x 12,10,8,6,6 Reps
• Military Press 5 x 15,12,10,8,6 Reps
• Close Grip Pull Down 5 x 12,10,8,8,8 Reps
• Dumbbell Pull Overs 3 x 12,10,8

Upper Body Workout ‘B’

• Deadlifts 5 x 12,10,8,6,4 Reps
• Incline Bench Press 5 x 12,10,8,6,4 Reps
• Bent Over Rows 5 x 12,10,8,6,6 Reps
• Military Press 5 x 15,12,10,8,6 Reps
• Close Grip Pull Down 5 x 12,10,8,8,8 Reps
• Dumbbell Pull Overs 3 x 12,10,8

Key Point about the Upper Body Workout

Increase the weight used each set.

Rest one minute between sets.

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