Today we are going to cover the ultimate upper body workout for mass & aesthetics with a full video demonstration of each exercise + sets & reps given!
What separates this upper body workout for building muscle from all the others you will find on the internet is the use of the “Balloon Method” - which you will only find right here on Superhuman Fitness.
This is the ultimate mass building workout trick, as it's an easy way to ensure you maximize the 3 science backed ways your body builds muscle in a short and intense workout.
If you are reading this article there is a 99.9% chance you are likely only tapping into at most 1 of the 3 science backed ways your body builds muscle, so the minute you start using the Balloon method expect some quick results!
If you’re after an upper body workout that’ll help you add slabs of mass to your back, chest, arms, and shoulders this is it!
One great option for those who are looking to really take their progress to the next level with their program is to focus on doing an upper/lower split plan, which allows for a higher frequency of training. This means you can do this upper body workout for mass twice per week, and throw in 2 lower body workouts for mass as well.
An upper lower split is a great workout routine to build mass and equally separate your workouts. 2 days upper and 2 days lower is a good frequency. If you hit every muscle group 1-2x a week with the Balloon Method you are officially on the gain train!
When it comes to making great gains from your workout sessions, you want two things: intensity and volume. Volume is covered if you hit this workout twice per week. Volume means more total working sets each week.
Intensity is accomplished with the Balloon method and triggering those 3 science backed ways your body builds muscle.
In order to build the best well-rounded upper body workout, you’ll want to ensure that you have exercises in place that focus on a horizontal pulling motion, a horizontal pushing motion, a vertical pushing motion, a vertical pulling motion, and then some additional isolation exercises to help your arm muscles grow. All of these are accomplished here, so let’s get started!
Balloon Method Upper Body Workout For Mass
#1 Weighted Dips For Lower Chest and Triceps
The first exercise you’ll be doing are weighted dips, which are going to focus on the lower chest as well as the triceps and on this one, you’ll be working on maximizing the progressive eccentric portion of the exercise.
This means that you’ll be focusing on going down over a two count but still focusing on lifting heavier weight. This is the phase of the movement that many people often overlook but one that can really help you see impressive progress.
This move triggers 2 of the 3 science backed ways your body builds muscle, muscle damage and mechanical overload. Muscle damage occurs by focusing on slow reps on the eccentric portion. Mechanical overload occurs by lifting heavy and intense.
In order to ensure progress on this movement, you’ll follow this progression scheme.
Week 1 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps | |
Week 2 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps (at the same weight) | |
Week 3 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 1 | |
Week 4 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 3 | |
#2 Wide Grip Pull-Up For Back and Biceps
The next exercise is a definite must in any upper body workout for mass. It’s compound, it’s challenging, and it’s something that is easily scalable to your own strength level. If you aren’t able to do 8-10 bodyweight pull-ups, start focusing on just lifting your own weight.
If you can lift your own body no problem, then it’s time to start adding more weight.
The pull-up is going to target the lats, biceps, and back, promoting great strength and size gains. If you want to work your biceps to a larger degree, the best way to do that is with a wide grip, parallel grip hand position.
On this exercise, we’ll add one more unique twist at the end to further challenge your body and maximize you’re results – the static hold.
On the very last rep you do, you’ll hold that lifted position for at least a few seconds and then very slowly, lower yourself down in a controlled manner. The idea here is to keep constant tension on the muscles and really bring them to that point of higher fatigue. This move will trigger an increase in metabolic stress, which means more mass building!
You see the power of the balloon method workouts now? It’s all about increasing your workout intensity for faster results based on science!
To keep progression coming, use the same rep and weight scheme as above.
Week 1 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps | |
Week 2 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps (at the same weight) | |
Week 3 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 1 | |
Week 4 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 3 | |
#3 Barbell Overhead Press For Shoulders
This exercise is going to be great for hitting the anterior and lateral deltoids, both of which are critical in building an impressive and powerful looking upper body. While so many guys put a lot of emphasis on building up their chest muscles, the shoulders are what give you that broad frame and can help you achieve a slimmer waist, so if you’re really focused on aesthetics, this is for you.
You’ll again be using a progressive eccentric pattern on this exercise, pressing up and then lowering down over a 2-3 second count. You’ll do this while increasing the total weight you are using over your sets, which will help with ensuring you are constantly getting stronger and building muscle mass.
When doing the barbell overhead press, you also want to make sure you keep your core tight. Pushing a great amount of weight over your head when your back is not strong and properly aligned is a recipe for low back pain and you will end up injured eventually.
Likewise, make sure that you are pressing the weight directly above your head, not behind or not in front. It can help to tilt your head back slightly and shift your chest up, which will get you in the right pattern of movement.
If you’ve never trained like this before, it may feel slightly awkward but once you get used to this movement pattern, you’ll definitely find that you are stronger and feeling better while doing this exercise.
Many guys think they’re doing this exercise correctly when they’re really not. Have someone film you doing it so you can see for yourself exactly how you’re positioned. It may just be an eye opener.
Week 1 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps | |
Week 2 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps (at the same weight) | |
Week 3 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 1 | |
Week 4 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 3 | |
#4 Seated Row With Different Grips For Back
On the next exercise for this upper body workout you’ll be doing a seated row and utilizing two different hand grip positions to target the back from different angles and promote maximum growth.
On the first exercise, you’ll use a closer grip with the hands inside the shoulders and you’ll think of squeezing from your lats. Your mind-muscle connection when training back is everything as it’s easy to let any muscle take over the movement but you really want to target in on specifics while doing this movement.
On this set, you’ll use my balloon method drop set, so you’ll do 8-10 reps on the exercise until near fatigue and then immediately drop the weight by 30% and do another set of the same until near fatigue.
Rest for about 90-120 seconds and then after that, do a wider grip and focus on using your traps to guide the movement.
You’ll do the same set and rep scheme as noted above but this time, integrate the drop sets into it (so that will count as your two sets).
#5 Supinated Dumbbell Curls For Bicep Isolation
Now we’ll move into some arm work in this upper body workout. You’ll be doing dumbbell supinated curls but focus on putting your pinky finger in the middle of the dumbbell. By shifting the hand position on the weight like this, you’ll be ensuring that you’re targeting the bicep peak and target the forearm to a slightly less degree. As you lift the weight, think of squeezing that pinky finger around the dumbbell and turning the weight into the body. Keep the tempo slow and steady for 8-10 reps and then for the next exercise, you’ll do dumbbell lying skull crushers.
Week 1 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps | |
Week 2 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps (at the same weight) | |
Week 3 | 2 sets of 6-8 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 1 | |
Week 4 | 2 sets of 8-10 reps at 5-10 pounds heavier than week 3 | |
#6 Upper Chest Cross Body Low to High For Upper Chest
If your upper chest is lagging which most guys are, this is a great mass building finisher. No upper body workout for mass is complete without smashing your upper chest.
You’ll be doing a T30 set here, meaning 30 seconds time under tension and you’ll really want to focus on the mind-muscle contraction, using a lighter weight while you do this exercise. You are not aiming to go heavy here but to feel the muscle pump developing as the set progresses on. T30 sets are a staple of the balloon method training, helping you maximize time under tension and triggering metabolic stress. This is one of the intensity techniques missing in most mass building workouts.
For the progression scheme on this one, you’ll want to do:
Week 1 | 30 seconds time under tension | |
Week 2 | 35 seconds time under tension | |
Week 3 | 30 seconds time under tension with added weight | |
Week 4 | 35 seconds time under tension with added weight | |
Balloon Method - Action Steps For Upper Body Mass
This is a great upper body workout for mass you can smash twice per week in tandem with a lower body workout for some great size gains.
The best muscle gain results come from a structured plan of attack over a set period of time.
With this in combination with the Balloon Method and the right flexible diet plan you literally can’t fail.
Learn more about the Superhuman Muscle building program that utilizes the Balloon Method and allows you to hop on the muscle building fast-lane in less than 2 hours of workouts a week!
If you want to pack on slabs of muscle mass to your chest, biceps, shoulders, legs, back, and abs this program is the ultimate cheat-code and has worked for tens of thousands of Superhumans, even with skinny hardgainer genetics!
