An upper body workout trains every major muscle above the waist, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps in a single session. Most upper-lower splits place this workout on day one of the week, pairing a pushing exercise like the bench press with a pulling exercise like the row, so both movement patterns get trained while you are freshest.
What Is an Upper Body Workout?
An upper body workout is a training session that covers every major muscle group above the waist in one sitting. Instead of dedicating separate days to chest, back, shoulders, and arms, you train all of them together, balancing pushing exercises like presses with pulling exercises like rows and pulldowns. Choosing the right mix of upper body exercises for each muscle group is what separates a balanced session from a random collection of lifts. This is what makes it different from a push day or pull day workout, which isolates one movement pattern instead of combining both.
Placing an upper body workout on day one of the week works well because you are training with the most energy and the least accumulated fatigue. Whatever heavy compound lift matters most to you, whether that’s your bench press or your row, gets done first while your nervous system is fresh.
What Exercises Belong in an Upper Body Workout?
A complete upper body workout routine balances pressing and pulling in roughly equal measure, then finishes with isolation work for the arms. Here is a sample day one structure that covers the whole upper body in about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Barbell bench press, 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps. The main pressing movement of the day, and the one most worth tracking week to week. If upper chest development is a priority, our upper chest workout guide covers how to shift more of this pressing volume higher on the chest.
- Pull-ups or lat pulldown, 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps. The main pulling movement, balancing out the pressing work from the bench press, and building width through the back.
- Seated overhead press, 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. A secondary pressing movement targeting the shoulders directly.
- Bent-over row, 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. A secondary pulling movement that builds thickness through the middle back.
- Bicep curl, 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Our bicep workout guide has more variations if arm size is a specific goal.
- Triceps pushdown, 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Our tricep workout guide breaks down additional accessory options for finishing the session.
How Do You Build an Upper Body Workout Plan?
- Start with one heavy push and one heavy pull. These two lifts, typically a bench press variation and a row or pull-up variation, should anchor your upper body workout plan and get the bulk of your training focus.
- Add a secondary press and a secondary pull. Rounding out the two main lifts with an overhead press and a row or pulldown variation gives your shoulders and back enough total volume without turning the session into two separate workouts.
- Finish with arm isolation work. Bicep curls and triceps pushdowns close out the session once the bigger muscle groups are already fatigued from pressing and pulling.
- Repeat the session once or twice a week. On a typical upper-lower split, this upper body workout repeats twice weekly, with a lower body session and rest days filling out the rest of the schedule.
How Does an Upper Body Workout Fit Into Your Week?
On day one, an upper body workout sets up the rest of your training week. It’s typically followed by a lower body session, then a rest day, then the same upper and lower pairing repeated once more before the week resets. Compared to a full body workout, which trains everything in every session, splitting upper and lower body across separate days lets you push harder on each one since you’re not managing fatigue from your legs and your arms in the same hour.
How TruFit Coaches Program Upper Body Day
When we set a new member up on an upper-lower split at TruFit, day one is almost always the upper body session, since it lets them establish their pressing and pulling numbers before adding lower body work later in the week. We cue members to hit their row before their bench press warms all the way up, since a back that’s already primed to pull tends to stabilize the shoulder blades better once the heavier pressing sets begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is an Upper Body Workout?
An upper body workout is a training session that targets the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps together, combining both pushing and pulling exercises in one workout instead of splitting them across separate days.
What Exercises Belong in an Upper Body Workout Routine?
A well-rounded upper body workout routine includes one heavy press, one heavy pull, a secondary press, a secondary pull, and isolation work for the biceps and triceps. That’s typically five to six exercises total.
How Many Exercises Should an Upper Body Gym Workout Include?
Most effective upper body gym workouts include five to six exercises. Going beyond that usually adds fatigue and workout length without adding meaningfully to your results.
Can Beginners Follow an Upper Body Workout Plan?
Yes. Beginners typically do well starting with lighter weights and focusing on form for each of the six exercises before adding significant load. The structure of the plan, pressing paired with pulling, works at any experience level.
How Often Should You Do an Upper Body Workout?
Most people training on an upper-lower split repeat their upper body workout twice per week, with at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions for the same muscle groups.
