In a time where there’s a thousand different exercises and machines to train your upper
body, I just want to remind you that you can build an incredibly strong and muscular
upper body with basically only two exercises and a pull-up bar. It almost sounds too
good to be true, however when you learn the basics and master the basics, you’ll
realize the basics is really all you needed in the first place.
While I love lifting heavy barbells and improving my absolute strength, I also love lifting
my own bodyweight and improving my relative strength. Check out this Calisthenics
complex that will literally train every single muscle in your upper body and leave you
with the most insane upper body pump ever:
Bar muscle ups
Bar dips
Strict pull-ups
Strict toes to bar
If you already possess a respectable level of upper body relative strength, aim to
complete this complex unbroken as demonstrated. If you want to make it more
challenging, simply increase the number of reps of each movement. I like to program
this complex for myself performing 3-5 sets of the complex with the goal of adding reps
or sets over time to increase volume. This complex will fatigue your entire upper body,
so make sure to rest 3-5 minutes between sets to ensure proper recovery.
I’m fully aware of the advanced level of this complex and that most people will lack the
requisite strength to perform it. It’s important to note that I’ve been training for 10+ years
and have literally performed thousands of strict pull-ups, dips, and toes-to-bar over my
training career. I’ve put the time in and done the work to achieve my current level of
relative strength.
So before you think it’s impossible, know that I’ve been at the beginner level too, I just
continued to practice and gradually improved over time just like you will do if you keep
working at it. So if you are at that beginner/intermediate level, you simply need to scale
down the movements and reps to your current ability level. So what would that look like:

Beginner Level:
10 # of strict pull-ups/band assisted strict pull-ups
10 # of bar dips
10 # of strict hanging leg raises
10 # of strict perfect push-ups
*Start with a rep range you’re comfortable with and gradually increase reps week
to week
Intermediate Level:
10 # of kipping bar muscle up/strict chest2bar pull-ups
10 # of bar dips
10 # of strict pull-up
10 # of strict toes to bar
*Start with a rep range you’re comfortable with and gradually increase reps week
to week

As you can see, once you master the beginner & intermediate levels, you’ll then
possess the requisite strength to perform the actual complex. Remember this complex
is not magic, and is just one (of many) methods to accumulate more reps. I recommend
performing these strict upper body movements 2-4x a week at minimum. Again, there’s
no shortcuts to building strength, it takes time. But I guarantee if you consistently
perform the basic exercises of strict push-ups,pull-ups, and dips while gradually
increasing volume over time, you will undoubtedly build a strong and muscular physique
to be proud of.