The best workout for upper body, for the week you actually train
Published October 12, 2026
The best upper body workout pairs a chest press with a vertical pull and a row, then adds lateral raises, a rear delt exercise, a curl and a triceps extension. Keep each session to about 20 hard sets or fewer, start with the big presses and pulls, and split it over two upper days a week if you can, so the weekly sets fit without one overlong session. If you train it once, make every set count and take the small muscles close to failure.
Intermediate lifters running a 4-day upper/lower split who want two upper sessions that don't shortchange the arms and delts.
An upper day has to cover five muscle groups, so each session stays at 18 to 20 working sets and the two days are built differently instead of repeating. Upper A leads with the bench press while you are fresh; Upper B opens with curls and triceps extensions, so the muscles that always end up last get one fresh session a week. Across the week that is 12 direct sets for back, 8 for chest, 6 for side delts and 5 each for biceps and triceps, with presses and rows adding more arm and front delt work on top.
Upper A: Press First
Exercise
Sets × reps
RIR
Rest
Barbell Bench Press2 warm-up sets firstShoulder blades pinned, bar to low chest
Run Upper A and Upper B on separate days with a lower day or a rest day between them, for example Upper A Monday, Lower Tuesday, Upper B Thursday, Lower Friday.
How to progress
Use double progression: once every set reaches the top of the rep range at the target RIR, add the smallest weight jump next session. On lateral raises and curls, add reps before adding weight.
EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench, Lat Pulldown, Seated Row Machine +2
Lifters whose week is built around legs and glutes, or who train three days, and want one upper session that covers everything.
One session a week means each upper muscle gets only 2 to 6 direct sets, so every set has to count: machines and dumbbells you can push close to failure safely, raises and arm work taken to 0 RIR. It caps at 20 working sets because sets late in a long session buy less. At this dose your upper body mostly holds what it has while your legs get the priority; to keep it growing, add a second upper session rather than piling more into this one.
Put it between two lower days with a day off on each side when you can, for example Lower Monday, Upper Wednesday, Lower Friday.
How to progress
Log every set and beat last week's reps or load on at least one exercise each session. When all sets hit the top of the range at the target RIR, go up in weight and drop back to the bottom of the range.
People training at home with a pair of adjustable dumbbells, a doorway or wall-mounted pull-up bar and a sturdy chair, but no bench.
The pull-up bar is what makes a home upper body workout complete, so pull-ups lead both days and back gets 12 direct sets a week. Chest is the hardest muscle to load without a bench, so it gets a 4-set floor press on day A and decline push-ups on day B, 7 chest sets a week, and side delts get 5 sets of lateral raises on top of the shoulder press. Rep ranges run a little higher than in a gym because dumbbell jumps are big and push-ups are bodyweight.
Train Home A and Home B on separate days, two or three days apart, with lower body or rest days between them.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of the range, then move to the next dumbbell. For pull-ups, once you get 12 clean reps on every set, hold a dumbbell between your feet.
Dumbbells cover chest, shoulders and arms, but without a pull-up bar your back stays undertrained, so a doorway bar is the best piece of equipment you can add. Lead each home session with pull-ups, use the floor press and decline push-ups for chest, and row one arm at a time braced on a chair. Rep ranges sit a little higher than in a gym because dumbbell jumps are big.
Use the same exercises, rep ranges and effort as anyone else; every plan on this page works as written. If your week is built around legs and glutes, run the one-upper-day plan and keep lateral raises and rows in it, since they shape the shoulders and back most. Pull-ups are often the hardest lift: use a band or the lat pulldown and work toward bodyweight reps.
Start with the heaviest press or pull while you are fresh, alternate pushing and pulling so one rests while the other works, and finish with raises and arm work. The catch is that the small muscles always land last, so on a second upper day, flip it and open with curls and triceps extensions. Upper B in the two-day plan does exactly that.
The seat and fixed handles hold your shoulders in place, so you can take a chest press close to failure without a spotter. It adds chest sets to the one-day plan without a second free-weight press.
How to do it
Set the seat so the handles line up with the middle of your chest.
Sit tall with your back on the pad and your feet flat, then grip the handles just outside shoulder width.
Press the handles forward until your arms are straight but not locked.
Let the handles come back slowly until you feel a stretch across your chest, then press again.
Cues
Shoulder blades stay on the pad
Elbows a little below your shoulders
Slow on the way back
Common mistakes
Seat too low so you press upward: raise it until the handles meet mid-chest.
Shoulders rolling forward at the end of the press: stop where your back stays flat on the pad.
The best way to load your chest heavily at home without a bench. The floor stops your elbows at the same depth every rep, which is easy on the shoulders.
How to do it
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, a dumbbell in each hand at your chest.
Press the dumbbells up over your chest with your palms facing forward or slightly in.
Lower them until your upper arms rest on the floor, elbows about 45 degrees from your sides.
Pause for a moment with your arms relaxed on the floor, then press up again.
Cues
Elbows land softly
Pause, then press
Squeeze the handles hard
Common mistakes
Bouncing your elbows off the floor. Set them down and pause.
Flaring your elbows straight out. Keep them angled toward your hips.
Training one side at a time lets you pull through a long range and brace on anything nearby, which makes it the best row for home and a strong lat builder in the gym.
How to do it
Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, or your free hand on a sturdy chair with your feet staggered.
Hold the dumbbell with your arm hanging straight and your back flat, roughly parallel to the floor.
Pull the dumbbell toward your hip, keeping your elbow close to your side.
Lower it until your arm is straight and you feel your lat stretch, then repeat for all reps before switching sides.
Cues
Pull toward your hip
Back stays flat
Stretch at the bottom
Common mistakes
Twisting your torso to heave the weight up. Keep your shoulders square and use a lighter dumbbell.
Pulling with your hand instead of your elbow. Think of your hand as a hook.
Leaning back puts your arms behind your body, which stretches the biceps at the start of every rep. Doing it first on Upper B means it gets your best effort.
How to do it
Set a bench to about 45 to 60 degrees and sit back with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging straight.
Turn your palms forward and keep your upper arms hanging slightly behind your torso.
Curl the dumbbells up without letting your elbows swing forward.
Lower them until your arms are fully straight and you feel the stretch.
Cues
Arms hang behind you
Elbows stay back
Slow on the way down
Common mistakes
Bringing your elbows forward as you curl, which removes the stretch. Keep your upper arms still.
Going too heavy and cutting the bottom short. Use a weight you can lower all the way.
Swap for: Dumbbell Curl, Cable Curl, Hammer Curl
Make it fit you
Short on time
Pair exercises that don't share muscles, like a press with a row or a curl with a triceps extension, and rest only after each pair. You keep the same sets and finish much sooner. Leave the heaviest press as straight sets so its quality doesn't drop.
Move overflow to lower day
If you want more lateral raises or arm work and your upper day is already at 20 sets, add 2 to 3 sets to the end of a lower day instead. Your legs being tired doesn't affect a curl or a raise, and the upper day stays short enough to train hard.
Swap pull-ups for a pulldown
If you can't do 6 pull-ups, use the lat pulldown in the gym or a band-assisted pull-up at home for the same sets and reps. Test a strict pull-up set every few weeks and switch back once you can get 6.
Bring up a lagging muscle
Add 2 sets to that muscle's exercise on each upper day and put it earlier in the session. Take the sets from something that is ahead, so the session doesn't get longer.
Shoulders complain on pressing
Lower the incline, use dumbbells instead of a barbell, and stop each rep just short of where it pinches. If overhead pressing hurts, drop it; your incline press already trains the front delts, and lateral raises cover the sides.
Check your weekly sets
Log RIR on every set so you know which ones were hard. In RIRLift, weekly hard sets per muscle show whether your arms and delts got the sets you planned or got cut when a session ran long.
Questions
What is a good upper body day routine?
A bench or incline press, a pulldown or pull-up, a row, lateral raises, a rear delt exercise, and one curl and one triceps extension, mostly for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps. That covers every upper muscle in about 20 sets. The one-upper-day plan above is a ready-made version.
In what order should I work out my upper body?
Heavy compound lifts first, alternating push and pull, then shoulders and arms. If you train upper body twice a week, reverse the order on one day so your arms and delts get trained fresh at least once.
Is 5 exercises enough for upper body?
Five can cover the essentials: a press, a vertical pull, a row, lateral raises and a curl or triceps extension. With 6 to 8 exercises you can give the arms and rear delts their own sets. More than that usually means sets at the end of a long session that you can't push hard.
How many times a week should I train upper body?
Twice a week is the most practical way to fit enough weekly sets without making any one session too long. Training once a week still builds muscle if the weekly sets are the same, but fitting them into one session is harder.
Is it better to lift heavy or do more reps for upper body?
Both build muscle when you take sets close to failure. Use heavier loads for 6 to 10 reps on big presses and pulls, and 10 to 20 reps on raises and arm work, where heavy loads tend to turn into swinging.
How many sets should an upper body workout have?
About 20 hard sets per session is where most people can still keep quality high. Past that, the last exercises get your worst effort, and those are usually the arms and delts.
