3-Day Upper Body Workout Routine For Bodybuilders

Coming up with a sustainable workout plan is pretty tough. So I thought of a way through which we can incorporate the best exercises and create a varied upper body workout routine that suits anyone.

The exercises listed below don’t necessarily need to be completed in one week, but you can do that if you want to work out often.

Just remember to have at least one rest day in between. You can do leg day in between each of these, as long as you rest the muscles in your upper body.

Here’s how this workout is structured:

The first day of this upper body workout routine comprises exercises for the chest, back, and abs.
Day 2 is for the chest, shoulders, and abs.
And day 3 is for the back, biceps, triceps, and abs.

The reason why we work abs in each of these three working days is that the abdominal muscles are worked with bodyweight exercises (which are lighter, of course, than the weighted ones), so they can regenerate quickly.

Besides, we need to do ab work during our upper body workout routine because on our leg days, we often use the abs when we squat and deadlift. And we don’t want to stress them too much by doing crunches at the end.

3-Day Upper Body Workout Routine

Here is a 3-day upper body workout routine to get yourself shredded:

Day 1

Each day starts with a 10-minute cardio warm-up, then there are the supersets for an effective upper body workout.

10-Minute cardio warm-up: jump rope 10 x 60 seconds or any other cardio exercises for 10 minutes to get a proper warm-up.
Chest – barbell bench press 3 x 8;
Back – barbell bent-over row 3 x 10;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest 30 – 45 seconds before the next exercise superset.

Chest – dumbbell incline bench press alternating arms 3 x 8;
Back – lat pull-downs 3 x 10;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Chest – cable fly 3 x 12 (lighter weight than your max, of course);
Chest – push-ups 3 x 15;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Back – cable (bar) high row 3 x 15;
Back – cable (rope) pull-overs 3 x 10;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Abs – decline crunches 3 x 25;
Abs – plank 30 seconds;
Abs – floor crunches 3 x 20.

Day 2

Day two also consists of supersets. Remember to take a break of 30-45 seconds between each superset, so that your upper body workout routine can benefit you the most.

10-Minute cardio warm-up: jump rope 10 x 60 seconds or any other cardio exercises for 10 minutes to get a proper warm-up.
Chest – dumbbell bench press 3 x 15;
Chest – high cable fly 3 x 10;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Chest – incline barbell bench press 3 x 8;
Shoulders – standing barbell military press 3 x 6;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Shoulders – cable side lateral raise 3 x 12;
Shoulders – cable front raise 3 x 15;
Shoulders – bent over dumbbell rear delt raise 3 x 15;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Chest – push-ups 3 x 15;
Shoulders – arnold press 3 x 20;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Abs – kneeling cable crunches 3 x 25;
Abs – plank 20-30 seconds;
Abs – stability ball crunches 3 x 20.

Day 3

The last day of the workout will tone your back, arms, and abs.

10-Minute cardio warm-up: jump rope 10 x 60 seconds or any other cardio exercises for 10 minutes to get a proper warm-up.
Back – seated cable row 3 x 10;
Biceps – seated barbell curl 3 x 12;
Triceps – lying dumbbell triceps extension 3 x 12;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Back – back extensions 3 x 15;
Biceps – incline dumbbell curl 3 x 8;
Triceps – overhead triceps extension 3 x 15;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Back – one arm lat pulldowns 3 x 12;
Biceps – wide grip barbell biceps curl 3 x 15;
Triceps – tricep dips 3 x 15;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Back – reverse grip barbell bent-over row 3 x 15;
Biceps – close grip barbell biceps curl 3 x 8;
Triceps – close grip pushups 3 x 10;
Jump rope 30 seconds / stationary bike 30 seconds in between each set.

Rest.

Abs – kneeling cable crunches 3 x 25;
Abs – plank 30 seconds;
Abs – stability ball crunches 3 x 20.

You should try this upper body workout routine for at least one month, ideally going towards 2 months, so that you can see proper results.

Each week try to increase the weight a little, but stay safe.

After two months it’s okay to change your routine to make sure your muscles don’t get too used to this upper body workout routine, otherwise, it stops being effective.

Let me know in a comment below if you’re going to try this upper body workout routine. And don’t forget to come back and share your progress too!