Two days a week to work upper body

[DougK62]

So I have two days per week that I'm in the gym doing solely upper body lifting - Monday and Thursday. I'm looking for suggestions on what muscle groups I should work on the two days and what lifts exactly would be best. Each of these days I'll only be lifting for ~30-40 minutes and want to get the most out of it. What do you all do/recommend for lifts? Right now I just jump around to whatever looks good but I'd like a more structured routine for a bit. And I'd rather not use any machines - prefer free weights.

Thanks

 

[TallBill]

Make sure that you're hitting your back just as hard or harder then the front. What do you do on other days, or do you only plan on lifting twice a week?

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Make sure that you're hitting your back just as hard or harder then the front. What do you do on other days, or do you only plan on lifting twice a week?

During a week I also have a day of legs thrown in there, then I usually do some form of cardio for a couple days. So on these two days I want to hit everything above the waist in the most efficient manner possible.

 

[TallBill]

Ok, you could try something like this.

Day 1 - Chest, Triceps, Shoulders

Bench Press (flat, incline, or decline)
Dips
Flys
Military Press
Close Grip Bench Press
Side Lateralls
Tricep Pushdowns or Skullcrushers
Reverse Flys or Reverse Pec Deck


Day 2 - Back, Biceps, Traps

Pullups (or chinups)
Shrugs
Upright Row
Barbbell Row
Barbell Curl
Dumbbell Row
Hammer Curl
Good Mornings (Or Rack Pulls)


What all are you doing for legs? I'd highly recommend Deadlifting as it ties into the whole body.

 

[sash1]

stick with the compounds. two days is plenty to hit all the muscle groups. and 30-40mins is enough to complete these workouts.

squat
bench
deadlifts
PCs
military press
rows

something like:

day 1: 3x5 bench, press, PCs
day 2: 3x5 rows, squat, deads

if you want to workout biceps, add straight bar curls or pullups. triceps get hit during the bench, but add dips if you want more.

edit: just realized you said you already had lower body. instead of squats: snatches/straight bar curls/pull ups are great compounds as well.