Skip to Main Content

NEW Challenge Out Now! FB Remixed: 2 Weeks of Strength, Cardio, and Mobility

Fun Upper Body Workout for Great Arms & Shoulders (Bored Easily)

28 Min • Upper Body
  • View on YouTube
    • Training Type Strength Training
    • Equipment Dumbbell
    • Membership Free

    Overview

    You asked for an upper body strength workout in the “For People Who Get Bored Easily” style and here it is. On top of that we have used compound movements that utilize multiple muscles and ranges of motion in a single exercise so you are doing even more work in even less time.



    In this routine we will be only doing one set per exercise and we will be using timed intervals to move us along. Each set is 45 seconds long with a 20 second break/prep to get ready for the next exercise. The entire workout is just over 25 minutes and only has one water break so be prepared to work. Through the course of this workout video we will be hitting practically every muscle group in the upper body and the fact that it is all weight bearing should leave you nice and sore tomorrow.

    Because this routine is for strength make sure you are using a weight that challenges you to the point of having difficulty continuing for the full 45 seconds in each set. For strength gains it is better to have to drop weight to keep proper form than it is to stick with a weight that is too heavy or to use a weight that is too light to properly fatigue your muscles. You are in charge of picking the right weight so make sure you push yourself to your own personal limits while still keeping that form clean.

    This routine has a cool down at the end to help you drop your heart rate slowly and help get the extra blood out of your muscles. We have not however included a warm up so you will want to get one in on your own. Whether you use one of our warm ups or you do a self guided one, be sure to target your upper body as much as you can since that will be the main focus of this workout routine.

    Related: take out all of the guesswork and get 4 weeks of workouts completely planned out for you with 4 Week FBFlex - 4 Week Upper Body Program for Arms, Shoulder, Chest & Upper Back

    This upper body workout is designed to be a stand alone routine so you don’t necessarily need to do any other workouts on the same day as this. However if you still have energy left after you are done or want to get a workout in later in the day then we would suggest a light cardio or core/abdominal routine.

    Hope you enjoy this routine and please let us know how you did and what you think about it in the comment section below.


    Workout Structure:
    - 1 Set per Exercise
    - 45 Seconds per set
    - 20 Second rest/prep
    - 18 Individual Exercises

    Equipment:
    - Dumbbells
    - Exercise mat (optional)
    - Weight Bench (optional)

    Warm Up/Cool Down:
    - Warm Up Not Included
    - Cool Down Included

    Workout: (45 Seconds On; 20 Seconds Rest)
    Reverse Fly + Pulses
    Chest Fly + Pulses

    Pullover + Crunch
    Overhead Press

    Tricep Extension + Close Row  
    Curl + Arnold Press

    Chest Press + Bridge
    Wide Row + Plank 

    -- Water Break --

    Lateral & Ventral Raises
    Side Pullover
    Other Side

    Cadence Curl
    Halo Extension

    Traveling Push Up
    Back Bow Pull

    Arm Circles
    Antagonistic Wide & Narrow Pulldown

    Tricep Dips
    Walkdown + Pulls


    Calories:
    Because this routine uses weights the calorie expenditure can vary wildly from person to person. With that said most people will fall in a range of 140 - 280 total calories burnt over this 28 minute video. Keep in mind that because this is strength training your afterburn will increase your total caloric burn and the harder you push yourself the more of an after burn effect you will have.

    Edit, to address the concerns over "1 set" of strength exercises versus several: We may not be doing more than one repetition of the same exact exercise, but that does not mean that we aren't targeting the muscle more than once. In this workout there actually are multiple/repeat sets of exercises that target the same muscle group, they are just less obvious because they're differing in exact angle, ROM or form. For example, we don't just target the triceps once, we target them directly three times: tricep extensions, tricep dips, and the halo + extension. The shoulders are targeted all throughout, but directly in 5 different sets in this routine; with the overhead press, the Arnold press, the pullovers, lateral & ventral raises, and arm circles -they all target the same muscle, in a different way. 

    In other words, if you're finding these easy, you're highly likely doing the exercises wrong or you are not lifting heavily enough.

    In addition: many studies have actually shown that one set is just as good as multiple sets in terms of building muscle and making progress in overall strength and conditioning. This is a hotly debated subject as everyone has a differing opinion but this is why we offer workouts like we do; incredibly varied & constantly mixing it up. In my opinion, there are pros and cons to both kinds of training, which is the reason for the smart variance we in our programs. Changing your training style often is one of the best ways to avoid or break plateaus.