An all-round upper body workout must include well selected upper body exercises that take care of all the main upper body muscle groups. These target muscles include the back, the chest, the shoulders, the biceps and the triceps. The result of such a workout program will be a great overall strength gain with no muscular imbalance.
It is advisable to frequently change the exercises to ensure that there is a continuous progress as the body responds to these changes. This is because repeating the same exercises for a long period of time gives the body an opportunity to adapt to the exercise stress and slows down your progress.

CHEST EXERCISES

Isolated chest exercises: some of the isolated chest exercises that guarantees good results are dumbbell pullovers, pec dec fly and cable crossovers. When performing chest isolated exercises, one should concentrate on squeezing the pec muscles only.

Compound chest exercises: compound exercises have the advantage of stimulating the biceps and triceps hence reducing the intensity of the exercises to be carried out on them. These exercises may include dips, bench press and push-ups. The bench press can be performed on a flat , decline or incline surface using either dumbbells or barbells.

BACK EXERCISES

For a balance of the upper body, it is highly recommended that you perform an equal number of back exercises as those done on the chest when performing upper body workout.

Isolated back exercises: some of the exercises that can specifically target your back muscles include pull-ups and pull downs. They should be done with either close, wide or reverse grip.

Compound back exercises: the best known compound exercise for the back is one that allows you to lift a high total weight in any variation of the row. Rows are performed by dumbbells, t-bar, barbell or with cables.

SHOULDER EXERCISES

Shoulder exercises can be performed on their own day, when exercising the chest or when exercising the back muscles. They must be considered in every upper body workout program because they determine how broad you appear.

Isolated shoulder exercises: some of these exercises include reverse cable flyes, reverse pec dec, upright rows, front and side lateral dumbbell raises and shoulder cable flyes. Most people find some difficulties in performing these exercises and usually use smaller weights.

Compound shoulder exercises: the two common compound exercises for the shoulders are the Dumbbell Arnold Press and the shoulder press. The shoulder press can either be performed with a set of dumbbells or with a barbell.

BICEPS EXERCISES

During upper body workout, proper compound exercises for the chest and the back usually work on the biceps and very little exercise is required for them. Any additional exercising of these muscles should be done with caution to avoid over-training.

Isolated bicep exercises include close-grip chin-ups, concentration curls, single arm dumbbells or cable curls, dumbbell or barbell curls and incline curls.

TRICEPS EXERCISES

Triceps are usually worked out when you perform chest and back muscles. Triceps constitute a large part of your arm muscles and should be worked out if you want to have a bigger arm.

Isolated triceps exercises: these exercises may include triceps push-downs, overhead dumbbells, dips, French press or close-grip bench press.

Compound triceps exercises: they include chest workouts like bench press and incline press and all shoulder workouts.

When carrying out upper body work out, choose a single exercise and give it 2 or 3 weeks. Then move to another exercise that target the same muscle but in a different way. This will allow progression and will result to a well toned upper body.

An upper body work out is much different from a lower body work out. It is important to build on a good workout routine and follow certain rules when working with your upper body. Since there are specific muscles that need to be worked on a daily basis in the upper body which is quite a contrast from lower body exercises which can all be done in a single session. It is important to identify which muscles to exercise in your upper body and then schedule the work accordingly. Many people make the mistake of working on multiple upper body muscles at the same time which can also lead to disaster.

Before moving to look at the best upper body workout exercises you need to know about the different sets of muscles in the upper body. The upper body contains four primary muscles which are the chest, back, shoulders and abdomens. Besides these primary muscles there are also the secondary muscles that need special attention like the biceps, triceps and the forearms. It is important for you to understand that each of these muscles needs a different set of exercises which should be done on different days to get the best results.

• Aim for quality and not quantity: It is important for you to realize that it is not the number of exercises that you do but the manner in which the exercises are done. Give your body time to relax before and after every exercise. It is also important for you to know that your muscles need to be free of stress before a workout.
• Be consistent with a workout plan and keep a log: Keeping a log of your daily exercises is very important. Consistency is the key to building muscles and should always be maintained. Do not exercise if you are unable to dedicate time to it.
• Maintain a high protein intake in your diet: It is important to have a high intake of protein for both lower body and upper body work out. Proteins help build and repair muscle tissue which is a very important step in any workout.
• Always warm up before you exercise: A proper warm up before you exercise is a must. A warm up can include light jogging and stretching exercises. It is important for you to know that your body has its limits too and that strained muscles can easily lead to injuries.
• Go to a trainer: If you are unsure of your exercise regime and have second thoughts, it is best to talk to a body trainer. It is important that you consult a trainer to know what exercises that are good for an upper body work out and the time schedule associated with exercising the different muscles.

Exercise is about a lot of patience and hard work and a reckless approach will only lead to injuries and in some cases even lead to disaster. It is important to identify and know your own limits as they will also help you adapt to your exercise regime. A work out routine needs to be balanced and you also constantly need to adapt your mind and body to get the best results.

Some of the upper body workout routines are as follows and these are done along with upper body exercise machine like dumbbell, French presses, and more. It is important to remember that a 5-10 minute of 1 or 2 warm up set ups are recommended. Another is that there must be a regular interval or rest time, usually lasting for 1 or 2 minutes.

1.       Upper Body Workout Routinesfor the general upper body

Upper Body Workout Routine I

         Incline Barbell Press for Chest: Four sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Bent-Over Barbell Rows for Back: Four sets. Rep Scheme:  Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Standing Barbell Curls for the biceps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Lying French Presses for the biceps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Seated Barbell Shoulder Presses for the shoulders: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Barbell Shrugs for the traps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

Upper Body Workout Routine II

         Lat Pull Downs for the back: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Flat Bench Dumbbell Presses for the chest: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Incline Dumbbell Curls for the biceps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Tricep Pressdowns for the triceps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Dumbbell Lateral Raises for the shoulders: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

         Dumbbell Shrugs for the traps: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight

While doing this routine, it is also recommended that the weight will be gradually increased. Another is that the Fifteen, twelve, ten, eight scheme could be altered with the six, six, fifteen, and 20, rep scheme. In addition, one could also start with a heavier weight on the first couple of steps and then lower the weight on the last two sets.

2.       Upper Body Workout Routine for the Shoulder Muscle Mass

Overhead Barbell Press: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

Wide-Grip Upright Row: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

Bent-Over Lateral Raise: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

Dumbbell Lateral Raise: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

3.       Upper Body Workout Routine for the Back Muscle Mass

Lat Pulldowns or Pull ups: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: eight, eight, twelve, twelve

Bent-Over Barbell Row: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, eight, ten, twelve

T-Bar Row: 4 Sets. Rep Scheme: six, ten, twelve

Barbell Shrug: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: twelve, ten, eight, eight

Straight Arm Pull Down: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: ten, twelve, twelve

4.       Upper Body Workout Routine for the Biceps

Barbell Curls: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: six, ten, twelve, twelve

Dumbbell Preacher Cards: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: eight, ten, ten, twelve

Hammer Curls: Four Sets. Rep Scheme: ten, ten, twelve, twelve

Reverse Curls: Three Sets. Rep Scheme: eight, ten, twelve

In addition, one cold also do kettlebell exercises for a toned upper body part. However, working out on the gym using the chest workout exercises and following the best upper body workout routine as listed above are still the best and fastest way!

If you are worried about having a good workout plan for your upper body, then you are in right spot to learn about getting rid of that worry by learning to create a good routine. Creating a plan for lower body workout is not much essential as lower body muscles can all be worked out in one single day. Therefore, lower body workout plan is not that much necessary to worry about. But, coming to upper body workout, one has to pay a keen attention in deciding a good routine.

List of Upper Body Muscles

The primary muscles are :

• Chest
• Shoulders
• Back muscles
• Abdominals

The secondary muscles that are used to activate above muscles are :

• Triceps
• Biceps
• Forearms

Need of a good upper body workout plan:

You might be in a misconception that muscles can be trained for strength of growth by following any rough set of routine. If you have such thought then you are in a bad thought about muscle training. Muscles are indirectly linked to one another. It is really important to know about this fact. For example, chest and shoulder muscle workouts has an indirect impact on the triceps muscle. In the same way, back muscles are worked along with biceps secondarily. If you work out your muscles forgetting this fact, you might put more pressure on the development of triceps and biceps.
Following is an example plan for your upper body workout routine that does not put pressure on the development of triceps and bicep muscle growth.

Monday – back/lats
Tuesday – shoulder
Wednesday – biceps
Thursday – triceps
Friday – abs
Saturday- lower body
Sunday – chest.

Above plan is just an example to explain how to leave gap between workouts. Biceps and lat muscle workouts need a gap of two or three days. The same applies for chest, shoulder, triceps. Create your plan that will adapt to your body nature.