The BEST Beginner Upper Body Workout at Planet Fitness (NO BARBELLS)

Beginner Planet Fitness Upper-Body Workout

This beginner-friendly workout takes about an hour. It prioritizes compound lifts where possible and includes alternatives for when equipment is busy or unavailable.

Before each exercise, warm up with two or three gradually heavier sets.

1. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

2 sets of 5–10 reps

Set the bench at roughly 15–45 degrees. Press with your elbows slightly tucked, keep your shoulder blades stable, and lower the weights over one to two seconds.

Alternative: Incline Smith-machine press or chest-press machine.

2. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

2 sets of 5–10 reps

Use a grip wider than shoulder width. Pull your elbows down toward your sides, bringing the bar toward your upper chest, then control the return.

Alternative: Diverging pulldown machine.

3. Single-Arm Cable Lateral Raise

2 sets of 6–12 reps

Stand with a wide stance and position the cable around hand height. Reach your working arm outward to target the side deltoid, minimizing shoulder shrugging. Lower the weight under control.

Alternative: Chest-supported dumbbell lateral raise.

4. Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

2 sets of 5–10 reps

Set the bench low enough for the weights to hang freely. Use a pronated grip and row your elbows back, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Let your shoulder blades spread during the controlled lowering phase.

Alternative: Reverse pec-deck fly.

5–6. Triceps Pushdown and Bayesian Cable Curl

2 sets each

Perform the single-arm triceps pushdown, then move straight into the single-arm Bayesian cable curl without resting between exercises.

• Triceps pushdown: Keep your shoulder neutral and your upper arm close to your side.
• Bayesian cable curl: Face away from the cable with your arm slightly behind your body. Move mainly at the elbow.

Alternative pairing: Dumbbell skull crusher and single-arm preacher curl.

The presenter also directs viewers to a separate beginner lower-body workout.

Presenter: TylerPath