Upper Body Hypertrophy Template & Top Tips!

Sarah Hemington
Oct 17, 2020
2 min read

So, we've been here before...I recently provided you guys a copy of how to create your own lower body workout and the response was amazing (head over to the lower body hypertrophy template if you want this)

So I asked if you wanted the same thing for upper body workouts and people were super keen so here goes!

So what's there to know?

Top tips for programming success:

Your warm up should include getting the body warm, mobilising joints, maybe foam rolling if you're feeling areas of tightness and performing dynamic stretches and bodyweight movements that will be appearing in the main session e.g. a wall press up, cat cow to mobilise the spine, thread the needles, neck mobility.
For hypertrophy (building muscle) you need to be in the rep ranges 8-12.
Sets-wise I tend to stick between 3-4 sets for the main lifts (including a warm up set) and isolation movements 2-3 sets.
You need to start your session with the big main lifts (what we call compound lifts)- these are the most taxing as these involve multiple joints and muscles and should also involve the most weight too.
You need to include bilateral (both arm) as well as unilateral (single arm) exercises so you're working on building up strength as well as working on any weaknesses or differences you have one side compared to the other.
You should end your session with isolation exercises that target any areas you really want to work on or any areas of weakness.

If you use this template then it will cover all of these tips above so you're on the track for success!

Stick with the programme you make using this template for 4 weeks minimum and include progressive overload (e.g. gradually adding on reps OR gradually increasing the load every single week) so you're constantly adding a slightly greater stimulus to the body.