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Exercises

Upper body exercises for strength: presses, pulls and how to balance them

Published October 29, 2026

The best upper body exercises for strength are the barbell bench press, incline dumbbell press, close-grip bench press, dips and push-ups for pushing forward, the overhead press and landmine press for pushing up, and pull-ups, lat pulldowns, barbell rows, one-arm dumbbell rows and face pulls for pulling. Train your upper body twice a week, pair every press with a pull, keep the main lifts at 3 to 8 reps with 1 to 2 reps in reserve, and add weight once every set reaches the top of the range.

  1. Barbell Bench Press Chest
  2. Barbell Overhead Press Shoulders
  3. Pull-Up Lats
  4. Barbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  5. Chest Dip Chest, Triceps
  6. Incline Dumbbell Press Chest
  7. One-Arm Dumbbell Row Lats, Upper Back

Horizontal presses

These build your chest, front shoulders and triceps. The bench press is the heavy anchor; the others add angles and work your triceps harder.

Chest, shoulders and triceps, press

Barbell Bench Press

Chest

The bench press moves the most weight of any upper-body lift, which makes it the main upper-body strength lift and the easiest to track over time.

How to do it

  1. Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, feet planted, and squeeze your shoulder blades back and down into the pad.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, unrack it, and hold it over your shoulders with locked elbows.
  3. Lower the bar to your lower chest, around nipple height, with your elbows angled roughly 45 to 70 degrees from your sides.
  4. Touch your chest without bouncing, then press the bar up and slightly back until it is over your shoulders again.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades stay pinned
  • Bar to the nipple line
  • Drive your feet into the floor

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides: let them sit a bit closer to your ribs so your shoulders stay comfortable.
  • Lifting your hips off the bench to finish a rep: keep your glutes down and count that rep as your last.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Machine Chest Press

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Upper chest and shoulders, incline press

Incline Dumbbell Press

Chest

The incline shifts the work toward your upper chest and front shoulders, and dumbbells let each arm move freely. It carries the volume day, with more reps than the heavy bench.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest to about 30 to 45 degrees and sit with the dumbbells on your thighs.
  2. Lean back and bring the weights to the outside of your shoulders as your back meets the pad.
  3. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and keep your hips on the seat.
  4. Press up and slightly in until your arms are straight over your upper chest.
  5. Lower under control until your elbows are just below the bench line.

Cues

  • Low incline, not a shoulder press
  • Wrists stacked over elbows
  • Touch the stretch, then press

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench steeper than about 45 degrees: the front delts take over. Drop it a notch if you mostly feel your shoulders.
  • Lifting your hips off the seat to finish a rep: that turns it back into a flat press.

Swap for: Single-Arm Incline Dumbbell Press, Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press, Incline Barbell Bench Press

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Triceps and chest, press

Close-Grip Bench Press

Triceps, Chest

Hands at shoulder width make your triceps do more of the work. Stronger triceps are what most people need to finish the top of a heavy bench press.

How to do it

  1. Lie on a bench and grip the bar about shoulder width.
  2. Lower it to your lower chest with the elbows close to your sides.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • Shoulder-width grip
  • Elbows tucked

Common mistakes

  • Gripping so narrow the wrists bend: shoulder width is enough.

Swap for: Close-Grip Push-Up, EZ-Bar Skullcrusher, Cable Triceps Pressdown

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Chest and triceps, dip

Chest Dip

Chest, Triceps

Dips load your chest and triceps with your full bodyweight through a deep range. Add weight once 10 reps are easy.

How to do it

  1. Grip parallel bars and step or jump up until your arms are straight and you are holding yourself above the bars.
  2. Lean your chest slightly forward with your legs under you or a little behind.
  3. Bend your elbows to sink down until your upper arms are about level with the bars.
  4. Press back up to straight arms and lock out.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, chest proud
  • Slight forward lean
  • Lock out every rep

Common mistakes

  • Sinking so deep your shoulders ache: stop when your upper arms reach the level of the bars.
  • Swinging your legs to get up: keep them still and end the set when you need momentum.

Swap for: Close-Grip Bench Press, Machine Chest Dip, Decline Push-Up

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Chest and triceps, press

Push-Up

Chest

Push-ups add pressing work without loading your shoulders the way heavy barbells do. They make a good finisher after heavy presses.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Overhead presses

Pressing overhead builds shoulder strength that horizontal pressing misses. The landmine press is an angled option for shoulders that do not like pressing straight up.

Shoulders and triceps, standing press

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

Pressing a bar overhead standing trains your shoulders, triceps and upper back, and your whole body has to stay rigid underneath. It is the second main upper-body lift.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over your elbows.
  2. Unrack it onto your upper chest, take one step back and set your feet about hip width apart.
  3. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs so your ribs stay down, and take a big breath.
  4. Press straight up, pulling your chin back so the bar clears your face.
  5. Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through until the bar sits over the middle of your foot with your arms locked.
  6. Lower it along the same line to your upper chest and re-brace before the next rep.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Chin back, bar straight up
  • Head through at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish reps, which turns the lift into an incline press: lower the weight until your torso stays vertical for the whole set.
  • Pressing the bar forward around your face: pull your chin back and keep the bar close enough to brush your nose.
  • Stopping short of lockout: finish every rep with the bar over your mid-foot and your arms straight, or the rep doesn't count in your log.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Landmine Press, Seated Barbell Overhead Press

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Shoulders and upper chest, angled press

Landmine Press

Shoulders

The bar travels on an arc in front of you rather than straight overhead, so it suits shoulders that pinch in an overhead press. It still trains pressing strength.

How to do it

  1. Wedge one end of an empty barbell into a landmine or a corner, and load the free end with plates.
  2. Stand facing the loaded end, feet about shoulder width, and lift the end of the bar to your upper chest.
  3. Wrap both hands around the sleeve end, elbows under the bar and close to your ribs.
  4. Squeeze your glutes and keep your ribs down, then press the bar up and forward along its arc until your arms are straight.
  5. Let your shoulder blades reach forward at the top, then lower under control until the bar is back at your chest.

Cues

  • Both hands on the sleeve
  • Press where the bar wants to go
  • Ribs down, glutes tight

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish the rep: if your chest tips back as the set goes on, take a plate off and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Pushing straight up against the arc: the bar is fixed at the floor, so aim up and forward and let it travel its own path.
  • Elbows flaring out wide: keep them under the bar so the press stays in line with your shoulders.

Swap for: Barbell Overhead Press, Incline Dumbbell Press, Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press

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Vertical pulls

Pull-ups and pulldowns build your lats, the largest muscles of your upper body. Use the pulldown until you can do 5 strict pull-ups.

Lats and biceps, vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

Pulling your bodyweight to the bar is one of the best tests of upper-body strength. Once you can do 8, add weight and work in sets of 3 to 6.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and hang from fully straight arms.
  2. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears before your elbows start to bend.
  3. Drive the elbows toward your ribs until your chin passes over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a dead hang and pull again.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, then pull
  • Legs still and together
  • Two seconds on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to cheat reps: cross your ankles and brace the abs.
  • Half reps from a bent-arm start: finish each rep at a full hang.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Lat Pulldown, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

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Lats, vertical pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The pulldown trains the same pull as a pull-up with a load you can set below your bodyweight, so it builds the strength for your first pull-ups.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked under it, then stand up and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
  2. Sit down with your arms fully stretched overhead and lean back only slightly.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and your shoulders lift toward your ears, then pull again.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Bar to the top of the chest
  • Let the stack lift you at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: stay nearly upright so it remains a vertical pull.
  • Stopping with the arms still bent at the top: the stretch overhead is half of what makes the pulldown work.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

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Rows

Rows build the upper back that supports every press. Do at least as many sets of rows as you do of horizontal presses.

Upper back and lats, row

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

The barbell row lets you load your upper back heavily, set for set with your bench press. Keep your torso still and pull to your lower ribs.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your thighs, hinge forward until your torso is near 45 degrees, back flat.
  2. Row the bar to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your sides.
  3. Lower to straight arms and keep the torso angle.

Cues

  • Brace before every rep
  • Bar to the belly button

Common mistakes

  • Standing taller each rep as it gets heavier: if the hinge goes, the set is over.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, T-Bar Row

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Lats and upper back, row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

Bracing on a bench takes your lower back out, so you can pull a heavy dumbbell with each arm. It is the row to use when barbell rows tire your back.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, or your hand on a chair seat with both feet on the floor, so your back is flat.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand with your arm hanging straight.
  3. Pull your elbow back toward your hip until the dumbbell reaches your ribs.
  4. Lower it until your arm is straight again, finish all reps, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow to your hip
  • Back flat as a table
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your chest open to lift the dumbbell higher: keep both shoulders level.
  • Shrugging the shoulder up toward your ear: pull the elbow back, not the shoulder up.

Swap for: Band Bent-Over Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Seated Cable Row

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Rear shoulders and upper back, pull

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

Pulling a rope toward your face with high elbows trains the rear shoulders and rotator cuff that heavy pressing leaves behind. Use it as the last exercise of the day.

How to do it

  1. Set the pulley at or just above head height and attach a rope. Grab it with your thumbs pointing back toward you.
  2. Step back until your arms are straight and the stack lifts, then stagger your feet or sit on a bench so you can lean back slightly without swaying.
  3. Pull the middle of the rope toward your forehead by driving your elbows out and back, keeping them at shoulder height or higher.
  4. As the rope reaches your face, pull the ends apart and rotate your hands back until your fists sit beside your ears, like a double-biceps pose.
  5. Hold that position for a beat, then let your arms straighten under control until your shoulder blades slide forward again.

Cues

  • Elbows high, hands finish behind them
  • Pull the rope apart, not just back
  • Reach forward at the start of every rep

Common mistakes

  • Loading it like a row and leaning back to move the stack: drop the weight until you can hold the end position for a second without your torso rocking.
  • Letting the elbows drop below your shoulders: the pull turns into a row and your lats and biceps take the work. Raise the pulley or lighten the load.
  • Stopping when the rope touches your face: the outward rotation at the end is what the face pull adds, so finish with your fists beside your ears.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Reverse Pec Deck, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Two upper days in an upper/lower split

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets32 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Pull-Up Bar, Adjustable Cable +4

You lift four days a week in a gym with an upper/lower split and want your upper-body days built for strength.

A heavy day and a volume day give each main lift one session near your limit and one with more reps. Each day has 16 sets, 7 pressing and 9 pulling, so your back keeps pace with your presses.

Upper A: Heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Bench Press3 warm-up sets first 4 × 3–6 2 3:30 min
Barbell Row 4 × 5–8 1 2:30 min
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 4–6 2 3 min
Pull-Up 3 × 4–8 1 2:30 min
Face Pull 2 × 12–15 1 1 min

Open Upper A: Heavy in the session builder

Upper B: Volume
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Dumbbell Press1 warm-up set first 4 × 8–12 1 2 min
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 4 × 8–12 1 90 s
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Chest Dip 3 × 6–12 1 2 min
Face Pull 2 × 12–20 1 1 min

Open Upper B: Volume in the session builder

How to run it
Do Upper A early in the week and Upper B later, with a lower-body day between them. Warm up on the first lift with 2 to 3 lighter sets.
How to progress
On the heavy day, add 5 pounds when every set reaches the top of the range at 1 to 2 reps in reserve. On the volume day, add reps to the top of the range first, then weight.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Shoulders that dislike barbell and overhead pressing

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench, Lat Pulldown, Adjustable Cable +1

Heavy bench and overhead presses make your shoulders ache, often after 40 or 50, but you still want to get stronger.

This plan keeps pressing in angles and implements that suit most shoulders: an incline with dumbbells, a landmine press instead of overhead, and push-ups. Pulling gets more sets than pressing across the week, 15 to 11.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Dumbbell Press2 warm-up sets firstPalms turned slightly in. 4 × 8–12 2 2 min
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Face Pull 3 × 12–20 1 1 min

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Landmine PressBoth hands on the sleeve. 4 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Push-Up 3 × 8–15 2 90 s
Lat PulldownClose neutral grip if you have one. 3 × 10–15 1 75 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Train the two days with at least two days between them. Keep 2 reps in reserve on presses and stop any press at the depth your shoulder stays comfortable.
How to progress
Add reps first, then weight. On the incline press, add the smallest dumbbell jump once every set reaches 12 reps; on push-ups, add a pause or raise your feet.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Getting your bench press up

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~55 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Dip Bar, Pull-Up Bar +2

Your bench press has stalled and you want two upper-body days built around it, without neglecting your back.

The bench is trained twice, heavy on Day 1 and with a close grip on Day 2, while dips and push-ups build the triceps that finish a heavy rep. Rows, pull-ups and face pulls add 13 pulling sets a week against 17 pressing sets, so the back keeps up while the bench gets priority.

Day 1: Heavy bench
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Bench Press3 warm-up sets first 5 × 3–5 2 4 min
Barbell Row 4 × 5–8 1 2:30 min
Chest Dip 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Pull-Up 3 × 4–8 1 2:30 min

Open Day 1: Heavy bench in the session builder

Day 2: Close grip and volume
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Close-Grip Bench Press2 warm-up sets first 4 × 5–8 2 3 min
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 4 × 8–12 1 90 s
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 6–8 2 2:30 min
Push-Up 2 × 10–20 1 75 s
Face Pull 2 × 12–15 1 1 min

Open Day 2: Close grip and volume in the session builder

How to run it
Train the two days with two or three days between them. Do lower-body training on other days, never right before Day 1.
How to progress
On the heavy bench, add 5 pounds when every set reaches 5 reps at 1 to 2 reps in reserve. When you miss the range two sessions in a row, drop the weight 10 percent and build back up.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do you get upper body strength?

Train a horizontal press, an overhead press, a vertical pull and a row twice a week, with heavy sets of 3 to 8 reps, and add weight over time. Keep pulling volume at least equal to pressing so your shoulders stay balanced.

What is the best upper body exercise for strength?

The bench press for pushing and the pull-up for pulling. Together with the overhead press and barbell row, they cover nearly all the upper-body muscles you need to get stronger.

How can I build upper body strength after 50?

The same way as at any age: hard sets and gradually heavier weights. Dumbbells, the landmine press and pulldowns are often easier on older shoulders than heavy barbell pressing, and the shoulder-friendly plan above uses them.

How many times a week should I train upper body for strength?

Twice. Two sessions give each lift enough practice and recovery. A third session helps experienced lifters, but most people progress well on two.

Should I train push and pull on the same day?

For strength, yes. Pairing them keeps your shoulders balanced and lets you rest one set of muscles while you train the other.