The upper body workout you run from your Apple Watch
Published November 3, 2026
An upper body workout for Apple Watch pairs a press and a pull for chest, back and shoulders, then adds arm work, for 2 to 3 hard sets per exercise, logged on your wrist. In RIRLift you start the session on the Watch, confirm weight, reps and reps in reserve for each set, and the rest timer, supersets and next weights run there too.
You train in a gym with a bench, cables and machines, and want one upper day you can run without the phone.
The bench press goes first while you are fresh, then a supported row, an overhead press and a pulldown, so pressing and pulling stay even. Triceps and biceps finish as a superset on short rest.
Add it on your iPhone, switch to it in My Programs, and start it from the Watch. The arm pair at the end runs as a superset: the Watch shows which exercise and round you are on.
How to progress
Last session's bench was 185 lb for 10, 10 and 10 with 2 left: every set at the top of 6 to 10, so this one opens at 190 lb with the target back at 6. With Pro the Watch shows a 45, a 25 and a 2.5 per side. A lift that is not there yet keeps its weight, and its target rises by one rep if the weakest set hit it.
The benches are busy and you have about 20 minutes. You want upper body work in pairs.
An incline bench is usually free when the flat ones are not. Pairing a press with a row, and a raise with a face pull, lets one muscle rest while the other works, so the session fits in about 20 minutes.
Start it from the Watch. It shows Superset 1 of 2 and the round you are on, and the rest timer runs after the second exercise of each pair.
How to progress
The incline press is planned at 10 reps with 1 left. A first set of 50 lb dumbbells for 10 with 4 left had more in it than planned, so set 2 comes up to 55 lb, the next pair on the rack. Between sessions, double progression on the weakest set decides, as on every plan here.
You train at home with adjustable dumbbells, a bench or the floor, and a pull-up bar in a doorway.
Pull-ups load your back with your own bodyweight, the floor press works your chest without a bench, and pike push-ups cover the shoulders. Rows and rear-delt flies even out the pressing.
Set your bodyweight on the iPhone before the first session; the Watch uses it for pull-ups and pike push-ups. Then start it from the Watch next to the bar.
How to progress
Bodyweight lifts progress by reps until you add weight. Pull-ups logged 9, 8 and 7 with 2 left against a target of 7, so next time the target is 8. Floor presses at 45 lb for 15, 15 and 15 reached the top of 8 to 15, so next time is 50 lb with the target back at 8.
Each plan pairs every press with a row or pull, so pressing and pulling get the same number of hard sets. Shoulders and arms come last, where short rests are fine.
With your chest on the pad, nothing limits the set except your back muscles. You can push close to failure without your lower back or balance giving out first.
How to do it
Set the seat so the handles line up with your lower chest when your arms are straight.
Press your chest into the pad and grab the handles.
Pull your elbows back past your torso and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Let your arms straighten and your shoulder blades spread forward before the next rep.
Cues
Chest glued to the pad
Elbows past your ribs
Let the shoulder blades travel
Common mistakes
Peeling your chest off the pad to finish reps: lighten the load and keep contact.
Short reps at the front: go all the way to straight arms or you lose the stretch.
Swap for: Machine Row, Seal Row, Incline Dumbbell Row
Overhead press, shoulders
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Shoulders
It trains the shoulders directly and balances all the forward pressing. Sitting with your back supported keeps the lift simple while you learn it.
How to do it
Sit on a bench or sturdy chair with your back supported and a dumbbell at each shoulder, palms facing forward.
Brace your stomach so your lower back stays against the support.
Press the dumbbells up until your arms are straight overhead, bringing them slightly together at the top.
Lower them back to shoulder height under control.
Cues
Ribs down
Forearms vertical
Finish over your head, not in front
Common mistakes
Arching your back to finish the rep. Use a lighter pair until your back stays put.
Stopping the lowering at your ears. Bring the dumbbells all the way to your shoulders.
The pulldown trains the same pattern as the pull-up but lets you pick the load, so you can run 8 to 15 reps at a precise effort. Grip width barely changes how hard the lats work, so use the grip that lets you pull the most weight through a full range.
How to do it
Set the thigh pad so your legs are pinned and your feet are flat.
Take a grip about one and a half times shoulder width and lean back slightly.
Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your ribs.
Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and you feel your lats stretch, then start the next rep.
Cues
Shoulders down before the pull
Elbows to ribs
Arms fully straight at the top
Common mistakes
Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: keep the torso angle fixed and lighten the stack.
Cutting the top short: let the weight stack nearly touch down so the lats get the full stretch.
Swap for: Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown, Pull-Up
Triceps, easy to push hard
Cable Triceps Pressdown
Triceps
The pressdown is stable and simple, so you can take it to failure with clean reps. It finishes the triceps after the heavier press and overhead work, and pairs naturally with a cable curl at the same station.
How to do it
Attach a straight bar or rope to the high pulley and grip it with your elbows bent at your sides.
Lean forward slightly from the hips and brace.
Push the handle down until your arms are fully straight.
Let it rise until your forearms pass horizontal, keeping your elbows in place.
Cues
Elbows glued to your ribs
Lock out every rep
Control the way up
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows drift forward on the way up, which turns it into a press with your chest. Pin them and go lighter.
Leaning your bodyweight on the bar. Stand tall enough that the arms do the work.
The neutral grip puts the brachialis and brachioradialis to work alongside the biceps, so one exercise thickens the upper arm and the top of the forearm. That makes it the bridge between your biceps and forearm work.
How to do it
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing your thighs.
Keep your thumbs up and curl one dumbbell toward your shoulder.
Stop when your forearm is just past horizontal.
Lower to a straight arm under control, then curl the other side.
Cues
Thumbs to the ceiling
Wrists straight
No swinging
Common mistakes
Letting the wrists bend under a heavy weight. Squeeze the handles hard or use a lighter pair.
Swinging the dumbbells behind your hips between reps. Pause with straight arms at your sides.
Face pulls train the muscles that pull your shoulder blades back and rotate your arms outward, which rows alone leave under-trained. They take little recovery, so you can do them at higher reps at the end of the session.
How to do it
Set a rope on a cable pulley at about forehead height.
Grab the rope with thumbs pointing back toward you and step back until your arms are straight.
Pull the rope toward your face, splitting the ends apart so your hands finish beside your ears.
Return to straight arms under control.
Cues
Pull the rope apart
Hands finish by your ears
Elbows high
Common mistakes
Leaning back and using bodyweight: stand tall and use a weight you can hold at the end for a second.
Pulling to your chin with elbows low: raise the pulley or your elbows so it doesn't turn into a row.
Swap for: Dumbbell Face Pull, Band Face Pull, TRX Face Pull
Lats, vertical pull
Pull-Up
Lats
The pull-up loads your lats from a full overhead stretch to the bottom of the pull, and your bodyweight makes it hard to cheat. Once you can do 6 clean reps, it is the most direct width builder on this page.
How to do it
Grab the bar with palms facing away, hands a little wider than your shoulders.
Hang with straight arms, legs still, ribs down so your body doesn't arch.
Pull your shoulder blades down first, then drive your elbows toward your back pockets until your chin clears the bar.
Lower over about two seconds back to a full hang before the next rep.
Cues
Elbows to back pockets
Full hang every rep
Chest toward the bar, not chin over it
Common mistakes
Kicking or swinging to finish reps: stop the set when you need momentum and log that rep count.
Stopping short of a full hang: you lose the stretched half of the rep. Count only reps that start from straight arms.
Swap for: Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Assisted Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown
Chest press, no bench
Dumbbell Floor Press
Chest, Triceps
The floor stops each rep at the same depth, so you can press heavy dumbbells for your chest and triceps without a bench or a spotter.
How to do it
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, a dumbbell in each hand.
Press the dumbbells over your chest with your palms facing each other.
Lower them until the backs of your upper arms rest on the floor, elbows tucked about 30 to 45 degrees from your sides.
Pause briefly with your arms on the floor, then press back to straight arms.
Cues
Palms facing each other
Dead stop on the floor
Press to full lockout
Common mistakes
Bouncing the elbows off the floor. Let the arms settle for a beat before pressing.
Elbows flared straight out. Tuck them toward your sides.
Bracing on a bench takes your lower back out of the lift, and one arm at a time lets you reach a deeper stretch than any barbell row. Pulling your elbow toward your hip puts the work on the lats.
How to do it
Put one knee and the same-side hand on a flat bench, other foot planted wide on the floor.
Let the dumbbell hang straight down from your shoulder with your back flat.
Drive your elbow back and up toward your hip until the dumbbell reaches your side.
Lower until your arm is straight and your shoulder blade slides forward, then repeat.
Cues
Elbow to hip pocket
Reach long at the bottom
Chest stays square to the floor
Common mistakes
Twisting the torso to heave the weight: if your chest opens toward the ceiling, the dumbbell is too heavy.
Rowing to the armpit with a flared elbow: tuck the elbow and aim it at your hip to keep the lats doing the work.
With your hips high, the push-up becomes a vertical press for your shoulders and triceps. Raising your feet onto a chair moves you closer to a handstand push-up.
How to do it
Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet in and lift your hips until your body makes an upside-down V.
Set your hands a bit wider than shoulder width, head between your arms.
Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a spot just in front of your hands.
Press back up to straight arms, keeping your hips high.
Cues
Head forms a triangle with your hands
Hips stay over your shoulders
Common mistakes
Letting the hips drop into a regular push-up: walk your feet closer.
Cutting the range short: lower until your head is near the floor.
Swap for: Handstand Push-Up, Decline Push-Up
Rear delts with dumbbells only
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly
Shoulders
Sitting and leaning over your thighs locks your torso, so you get a clean rear delt fly with nothing but dumbbells and a seat.
How to do it
Sit on the end of a bench or sturdy chair and lean forward until your chest nearly touches your thighs.
Let the dumbbells hang under your legs, palms facing each other, elbows softly bent.
Sweep the dumbbells out wide in an arc until your arms are about level with your torso.
Lower slowly back under your legs without letting your chest rise.
Cues
Chest stays on your thighs
Wide arc, soft elbows
Light weight, slow reps
Common mistakes
Sitting up as the set gets hard, which makes it a lateral raise. Keep your chest down.
Bending the elbows into a row. Fix the elbow angle at the start and keep it.
Swap for: Incline Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise, Band Rear Delt Fly, Reverse Pec Deck
Make it fit you
Two upper days a week
Run the full-gym day and the superset day in the same week, with legs between them. That is every upper muscle twice a week.
Trim the rest on supersets
Rest is set per exercise. If the pairs run long, take 15 seconds off from the rest screen on the Watch and keep the press heavy.
Set your bodyweight once
Pull-ups, dips and push-ups use your bodyweight, which can only be set on the iPhone. The Watch reminds you if it is missing.
Plates on the wrist
With Pro, the Watch shows the plates per side for the bench press. Set your bar and plates once on the iPhone.
Questions
Can an Apple Watch track weight training?
The Workout app records the session's time, heart rate and calories. To keep the weight, reps and reps in reserve of each set, use a lifting app on the Watch. RIRLift saves a session with any lifting in it to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training.
Which workout type should I use for upper body?
For weights, Traditional Strength Training. RIRLift picks it for you when the session has lifting in it, so you do not choose a type.
Can I superset on the Apple Watch?
Yes. In RIRLift the Watch shows which exercise of the pair you are on and the round, and the rest timer runs after the pair.
How long should an upper body workout take?
About 20 minutes for the superset plan and about 45 for the full-gym day with straight sets, counting the rests each one sets.
