The 3 Best Upper Body Training Supersets for Football Athletes

When it comes to football performance, most athletes immediately think about speed, power, and lower-body strength. While those qualities are critical, one area that often gets overlooked is upper body training.

A strong, powerful, and balanced upper body can make a huge difference on the football field. Whether you’re driving an opponent off the line of scrimmage, fighting through contact, delivering a block, securing a tackle, or protecting the football, upper body strength matters.

We believe football athletes need more than just a big bench press. They need complete upper body development. That’s why we consistently program push exercises with pull exercises to create balanced strength, improve posture, reduce injury risk, and maximize athletic performance.

One of the biggest mistakes we see young athletes make is focusing almost entirely on pressing movements. Every athlete wants a bigger bench press, a bigger chest, and bigger shoulders. The problem is that many athletes perform far more pushing exercises than pulling exercises. Over time, this can create muscular imbalances that negatively affect shoulder health, posture, and overall athletic performance.

The muscles of the upper back, lats, rhomboids, rear delts, and traps play a major role in stabilizing the shoulder and generating force. If these muscles are weak, athletes leave performance on the table.

That’s why these three upper body training supersets have become staples inside our football performance programs. If you want to see more on upper body training, check out our article on eccentric upper body strength for baseball!

1. Bench Press Superset with Incline Dumbbell Rows

If there is one exercise that has become synonymous with football strength training, it’s the bench press.

For decades, the bench press has been used as a benchmark for upper body strength. A stronger bench press can help athletes develop greater pressing power, improve force production, and build the upper body strength needed to dominate opponents.

While we love the bench press, we never want to neglect the pulling side of the equation. That’s where incline dumbbell rows come in.

By lying chest-supported on an incline bench, athletes eliminate unnecessary momentum and lower back involvement. This allows them to focus entirely on moving heavy loads through the upper back and lats.

Benefits of this superset include:

• Increased upper body strength
• Improved shoulder stability
• Greater upper back development
• Enhanced pressing performance
• Better muscular balance

Sample Superset:

A1. Bench Press – 4 x 4-6 reps

A2. Incline Dumbbell Row – 4 x 8-10 reps

This combination gives athletes the best of both worlds: maximal pressing strength and heavy rowing volume to build a powerful upper back.

2. Incline DB Bench Press Superset with Reverse Grip Inverted Rows

Once foundational strength work is complete, football athletes need enough training volume to build muscle mass.

More muscle means more potential for force production, more durability during a long season, and more armor on the field.

This is where the incline dumbbell bench press paired with reverse grip inverted rows shines.

The incline dumbbell bench places a greater emphasis on the upper chest and anterior shoulders while allowing a larger range of motion than a traditional barbell bench press. Dumbbells also require greater stabilization, which can help athletes build balanced strength from side to side.

Pairing this exercise with reverse grip inverted rows creates a tremendous hypertrophy-focused superset.

The reverse grip position increases biceps and lat involvement while still developing the upper back. Because athletes are moving their own bodyweight, they can accumulate quality volume without excessive joint stress.

Benefits of this superset include:

• Increased muscle mass
• Greater upper chest development
• Improved upper back strength
• Better shoulder health
• Increased training volume

Sample Superset:

B1. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 x 8-12 reps

B2. Reverse Grip Inverted Rows – 3 x 15-Max reps

This is one of our favorite combinations for athletes looking to add quality size while maintaining athletic function.

3. Barbell Push Press Superset with Weighted Chin-Ups

Football is not just a strength sport.

Football is a power sport.

Athletes must be able to produce force quickly and explosively. That’s why we love including in our upper body sessions a vertical push and pull pairing that challenges both power and strength.

The barbell push press is one of the best upper body power exercises available. By utilizing the lower body to help initiate the movement, athletes can move heavier loads at higher velocities than they could with a strict overhead press.

The result is increased upper body power production and improved force transfer through the kinetic chain.

To complement the explosive pressing action of the push press, we pair it with weighted chin-ups.

Few exercises build relative upper body strength like heavy chin-ups. Athletes must move their bodyweight while producing maximal force through the lats, upper back, and arms.

Weighted chin-ups are an excellent indicator of athletic upper body strength and are a staple in many elite strength programs.

Benefits of this superset include:

• Improved upper body power
• Increased vertical pressing strength
• Enhanced pulling strength
• Greater athleticism
• Better transfer to sport performance

Sample Superset:

C1. Barbell Push Press – 4 x 3-5 reps

C2. Weighted Chin-Ups – 4 x 4-8 reps

This combination develops explosive force production while simultaneously building the relative strength athletes need to excel on the football field.

Final Thoughts

Upper body training is about much more than chasing a bigger bench press.

Elite football athletes need strong, balanced, and resilient upper bodies that can withstand the demands of competition. By pairing pushing and pulling exercises together, athletes can develop complete upper body strength while improving shoulder health, posture, and performance.

The bench press and incline row develop foundational strength. The incline dumbbell bench and reverse grip row build muscle and durability. The push press and weighted chin-up combination develops the explosive power and athleticism needed to dominate on game day.

If you’re serious about becoming a faster, stronger, and more explosive football athlete, your upper body training should reflect the demands of the sport.

Ready to take your game to the next level?

Check out our Football Performance System and get access to the same proven training methods used to help football athletes build elite strength, speed, power, and athletic performance year-round.