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Thursday - Upper 2
The second upper day balances out the first one

You’ve made it to Thursday.
You already know how this works by now… (just in case)
The skeleton will be posted
You’ll break open each type of hot dog and talk about what you’re trying to eat/drink/condiment ranking
I’ll give a demo Upper 2 session that I might make
I’ll give a short list of other things I think you should be feeling to make the most of this
Upper 2
The Skeleton
Look whether or not you want to have a different Upper 2 day is up to you, I’d recommend it, but you could just keep running Upper 1 boring 🥱
Your second Upper session also has two blocks.
For the most part these exercises will be in the 4-8 rep range with 0-1 RIR but please read the description of each type of exercise to make sure.
To learn about how to perform warmups on this please read this.
Every set no matter what will have 2-3m rest.
First Block | Muscle Target |
---|---|
2x Chest Press | Chest |
1x Unilateral Sagittal Lat Row | Mid/Upper Lat |
1x Kelso Shrug/Upper Back Row | Upper Back |
1x Frontal Pulldown | Lower Lat |
Second Block | Muscle Target |
---|---|
1x Unilateral Shrugs | Levator Scapulae |
1x Preacher Curl | Biceps |
1x JM/Overhead Extension | Triceps (Med+Lat Head Focus) |
Like always, move around anything anyway you like inside the blocks.
Don’t mess with the ACTUAL blocks themselves. First before Second, always.
To balance this day out, reverse Monday’s order, or structure based on muscle priority.
Picking/Performing the Exercises
First Block
2x Chest Press
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For this exercise you’re trying to pick something that makes us move the arm similar to this image.
You’re keeping your elbow free from the torso (focusing more on what’s comfortable) ideally around 45-60 degrees of flare
You’re keeping your wrists strong and engaged
You’re keeping your forearm perpendicular to the force you’re resisting
You’re staying in your chests’ active range
The image assumes you’re on a chest press machine, if you were using a freeweight/etc instead you’d just want to make sure that the arm path and force is similar.
Ideally pick something stable like a machine.
Hardest position: When you do this try and make it so that it’s hardest at the bottom of the movement.
Proximity to failure: As you’re doing two sets on this try and have the first set be 1-2 reps from failure and then match the reps on the second set, was your perception of failure right?
Rep range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Chest Press Machine > Smith Bench > Barbell Bench > Dumbbell Bench
Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
Equipment: If you’ve got cranky elbows you can add elbow wraps
Alternative Exercise Flyes: If you’re super into flyes feel free to do them instead here. I won’t talk much about them (as I’d rather you didn’t) but I will give a tier list. Back Supported Cable Flyes > DB Flyes > Pec Deck > Cable Flyes
1x Unilateral Sagittal Lat
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All of this is the same as Monday, you can do the same movement, or something different that follows the same criteria. Completely up to you.
For this exercise we’re trying to pick something that makes us bring the arm back similar to this image.
Your wrist has a neutral grip
Your elbow is close to the torso like you’re pulling into your hip
Your forearm is perpendicular with the force you’re resisting at the end of the movement
Imagine your hand is a hook and you’re pulling with your elbow
You’re stopping the movement when the elbow is in line with the torso, not overextending backwards
You’re not bringing the shoulder forward or rotating at the torso
You should support the chest/hip to add stability
You should hold onto something with the free hand to add stability
The image assumes we’d be pulling from a cable, if we were using a DB instead we’d just want to make sure that the arm path is similar and that force acts the same way.
Hardest position: Find what’s most comfortable for you here.
Proximity to failure: Try and be at 0-1 RIR.
Rep Range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Hip supported cable row > Diagonal Lat Pulldown (JPG Pulldown 🙄) > Any Machine Row (risky) > DB Row
Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
Equipment: Use straps
1x Kelso Shrug/Upper Back Row
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You’ve got two options here.
Do the upper back row you did on Monday here
Do a kelso shrug here
You could also do a different upper back row but if you chose to do that go back to Monday’s email and read up on it.
This will be all about Kelsos.
For this exercise we’re trying to pick something that makes us bring the shoulders back and forward similar to the image.
Your wrist has a pronated grip roughly about shoulder width apart
You’re keeping your arms locked out, although SLIGHT elbow bend during the movement is allowed
You’re focused on rounding the shoulders all the way forward, and then bringing them back to shoulder level (not focusing on going back further for a squeeze)
You’re pulling with your shoulders and letting your hands and elbows act as hooks
You should support the chest to add stability
The image assumes we’d be pulling from a smith machine with a bench for support, if we were using a machine/anything else instead we’d just want to make sure that the shoulder path is similar and that force acts the same way.
Hardest position: We want this to be the hardest at the bottom
Proximity to failure: Try and be at 0-1 RIR.
Rep Range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Smith Machine Supported Kelso Shrug > Chest Supported Kelso Machine > Chest Supported DB > No Support Smith/BB/DB
Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
Equipment: Use straps
1x Frontal Pulldown
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This is the same as Monday.
Second Block
1x Unilateral Shrugs
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For this exercise we’re trying to pick something that makes us bring our shoulder up similar to this image.
Your wrist has a neutral grip in line with the shoulder
You’re letting the shoulder be pulled all the way down with the weight
You’re bringing your shoulder as close to your ear as possible
You’re keeping the arm straight (some slight bend is allowed it natural)
You’re holding on to something with the other hand for stability
You’re pulling with your shoulder and letting your hand and elbow act as hooks
You’re keeping your torso still so you don’t use that to help
The image assumes we’d be pulling from a DB/Smith machine, if we were doing something else we’d just want to make sure that the shoulder movement is similar and that force acts the same way.
Hardest position: This should be hardest at the bottom
Proximity to failure: Try and be at 0-1 RIR.
Rep Range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Smith Machine Shrugs > DB Shrugs
Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
Equipment: Use straps
1x Preacher Curl
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For this exercise we’re trying to pick something that makes us curl our arm whilst being supported so our arm is in front of us.
Your wrist has a pronated grip
You’re resting your upper arm against a stable, flat, inclined surface
You’re hopefully sitting down/adding stability somehow
You’re focusing on squashing your forearm into your upper arm
You’re keeping your wrist strong and engaged
The image assumes we’d be doing machine preacher curls, if we were doing something like cable/db preachers we’d just want to make sure that force acts the same way.
Hardest position: Try and make it hardest at the bottom
Proximity to failure: Try and be at 0-1 RIR.
Rep Range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Machine Preacher Curls > Cable Preacher Curls > DB Preacher Curls > Barbell Preachers
Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
Equipment: Shouldn’t need straps but it won’t hurt
1x JM Press/Overhead Extensions
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For this exercise we’re trying to pick something that makes us extend the elbow (focusing on the triceps).
It’s similar to Tuesday’s email when we spoke about Quad bias vs Hip bias squat patterns.

we want to make sure that at force is furthest from the elbow, to make it bias the triceps
Your wrist has a pronated grip and you’re resting the weight on the base of your palm (can be open or closed)
You’re focusing on bringing your hands towards your shoulders whilst your bend at the elbow and bring the upper arm down
You’re hopefully sitting down
You’re focusing on squashing your forearm into your upper arm
You’re keeping your wrist strong and engaged
You’ve found an amount of elbow flare and a position that feels comfortable
The image assumes we’d be doing a smith machine JM press, if we were doing something like DB we’d just want to make sure that force acts the same way and the movement is as close as possible.
Hardest position: This should be hardest somewhere in the middle/end (can use bands)
Proximity to failure: Try and be at 0-1 RIR.
Rep Range: Try and stay in the 4-8 rep range for this one.
Exercise rankings: Smith Machine JM Press > Freeweight SSB Bar JM Press > Barbell JM Press > DB JM Press/Skullcrushers
Rep speed: Rep speed: Aim for a maximal effort concentric, 3 second controlled eccentric, and a short pause at the top/bottom.
I shouldn’t have to explain the overhead extension, this is it.

same sort of rep range, proximity to failure, rep speed.
Attachment rankings: Straight bar > V Bar. Never use the rope
Demo Upper 2 Session
Here’s how I’d do it, not taking into account your personal goals or enjoyment and gym limitations etc. (I have gym limitations).
First Block | Muscle Target | Exercise I‘d Pick (for me) |
---|---|---|
1x Kelso Shrug/Upper Back Row | Upper Back | DB Chest Supported Kelso Shrugs |
2x Chest Press | Chest | Chest Press (Slightly Decline bc gym limitations) |
1x Unilateral Sagittal Lat Row | Mid/Upper Lat | Hip Braced Cable Row |
1x Frontal Pulldown | Lower Lat | Lat Pulldown |
Second Block | Muscle Target | Exercise I‘d Pick (for me) |
---|---|---|
1x Preacher Curl | Biceps | Cable Preacher Curl |
1x JM/Overhead Extension | Triceps (Med+Lat Head Focus) | Smith Machine JM Press |
1x Unilateral Shrugs | Levator Scapulae | Smith Machine Shrugs |
Pretty cool huh. I make it so easy for you guys.
Other Things You Should Bear in Mind
You already should have read this, if not read this now please 🙄 I do write it for a reason…
Upper 2 fills in some of the pieces Upper 1 misses, that doesn’t mean you have to do it though. You can just keep running Upper 1 as it’s already very balanced.
I hope you enjoy trying out this structure, and find a combination, and order that works for you.
Remember, as you become more advanced, you’ll need a different order (potentially).
Your Hypertrophy Hero,
Fletcher
P.S. You might be able to guess but I’m starting to get pretty bored of the skeleton stuff (I’ve been doing it all by hand…) hence why some of them are starting to get cursed.
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