When you’re looking to build gains in your upper body, it’s essential to ensure you include a chest and triceps workout in your routine.
Lots of people struggle to get these muscles to grow and see real muscle mass in this area. This is typically because they’re not training with enough volume, they’re not using the correct chest and triceps exercises, or their workouts aren’t intense enough. Below we’ve put together the ultimate chest and triceps workout to get these two important muscle groups working; we recommend you train your chest and triceps twice a week.
The explosive chest and triceps workout
We recommend about 60-90 minutes for the workout below, and it’s inspired by bodybuilder powerhouse Arnold Schwarzenegger. You just know his upper arms were huge. It’ll blast your chest and triceps using various moves to tear your muscle fibers and start making gains in no time.
The intensity and volume of this workout promises that you’ll be seeing progress. While the stress on your muscles ensures optimal growth and muscle gain. The chest and triceps is probably our favorite muscle group to work out, because when chest and triceps training is done well and you’re packing on some serious chest muscle, you’re feeling great.
Don’t rush your reps; focus on contracting the muscles being worked out and controlling your form through the entire range of motion.
About your triceps workout routine
How much do you know about your triceps or your upper arms in general? Well, the triceps brachii is a three-headed muscle that’s involved in two actions:
- Extending or straightening the elbow
- Pulling the arm down from an overhead or front of body position
Plus, your triceps are crucial in stabilizing the shoulder joints. They begin at the back of your scapula and on the back of the upper arm bone, aka the humerus, and it runs the entire length of the back of your outer arm, connecting to the tip of the elbow. Read on for the best triceps exercises.
The three heads on your triceps anatomy are: the long, the medial head, and the lateral head.
How to make the most out of your workout
Have a plan
To get the most out of your time in the gym and workouts, make sure you have a plan mapped out before you get to the gym. Tracking your routines, including reps, sets, and weights, also allows you to keep pushing yourself forward. And it’s a real motivator to see how far you’ve come. It’s also wise to have a backup plan. If you want to use the bench press but the stations are all full, have a backup like dumbbells on hand.
Group your exercises
Don’t forget that a well-rounded routine combines cardio, full-body workouts, HIIT and targeted workouts. Thanks to the massive amount of kit available at a gym, you can make any progress you’re aiming for. So, take full advantage of the different pieces of equipment and create workouts that target specific areas.
Also Read: What is bulking and cutting? The Ultimate Guide
This way, you can be sure that you’re going to hit your chest and triceps from various angles, for example. By training muscle groups, you’ll start to really be able to bring in key compound movements that will give you real gains.
Things to remember:
- Kick off with a warmup of 5-10 mins of cardio
- Choose weights that are heavy but don’t sacrifice your technique
- When you’re finished, cool down and stretch at the end to minimize injury
The explosive chest and tricep workout routine
We recommend about 60-90 minutes for the workout below, it’s inspired by bodybuilder powerhouse, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’ll blast your chest and triceps using various moves to tear your muscle fibers and start making gains in no time. The intensity and volume of this workout promises that you’ll see gains, and the stress on your muscles ensures optimal growth and muscle gain.
Remember the key to building strength is a combination of compound exercises and isolation movement, plus progressive overload to ensure that you’re consistently building your strength. The workout below is a combination of pressing exercises and pushing exercises, to offer a full range of tricep exercises.
Don’t rush your reps; focus on muscle contraction and controlling your form through the entire range of motion. Although bodyweight exercise and movements are great, using dumbbells and gym kit like the bench press, you’re able to build towards that progressive overload, aka, building strength and power.
Follow this advice, and you’ll be sure to see your chest muscles improving, your triceps muscles bulking and real muscle mass gains!
Flat dumbbell chest presses
Sets: 4
Reps: 8-12
How to do it:
- One of the key chest exercises out there, this is key in chest training. Begin by lying back on a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, just to the sides of your shoulders with your palms facing towards your feet.
- Press the weights above your chest, extending your elbows until your arms are straight. Don’t let the weights touch.
- Next, bring the weights back down slowly.
Barbell military press
Sets: 3
Reps: 6
How to do it:
- Begin with your feet together, lift the barbell to your shoulders, with palms facing forwards.
- Thrust the barbell above your head until your arms are fully extended and straight
- With control, slowly lower the barbell back down to the beginning.
One arm kettlebell press
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
How to do it:
- Begin with a kettlebell at shoulder height, palms facing inwards and a slightly bent elbow.
- Next, rotate your palm and extend your arm, and raise the dumbbell above your head.
- Hold here for a few seconds before lowering the kettlebell to the starting position.
Lateral raise
Sets: 3
Reps: 25
How to do it:
- Start standing with two dumbbells, hold them at your sides and palms facing your body.
- Engage your core and keep your upper body tight; keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lift the dumbbells.
- Keep raising your arms until they’re parallel with the floor.
- Hold here for a few moments before slowly returning to the starting position.
Dips
Sets: 3
Reps: 6
How to do it:
- Begin with grasping the bars of a dip station, your arms should be straight and your palms facing inwards.
- Next, start to slowly lower yourself down until your elbows are at 90-degree angles, keeping your elbows tucked in against your body. Hold for a few seconds.
- Enthusiastically drive yourself back to the starting position.
Close-grip bench press
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
How to do it:
- Begin by lying on your back on a bench, gripping a barbell in an overhand position.
- Inhale, slowly lower the bar until it rests above your chest.
- Exhale, and explosively drive the bar back to the beginning.
Triceps cable rope pushdown
Sets: 3
Reps: 25
How to do it:
- A great tricep workout, begin with attaching a rope handle to the high pulley of a cable station.
- Ensure your elbows are bent and tucked in as you grab the handle. Engage your core and bring your arms down until your arms are fully extended.
- Hold for a few moments before returning to the start.
Incline dumbbell press
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
How to do it:
- This is a great working out for hitting chest and triceps. Begin by lying back on an incline bench that’s set to a 30-degree angle and lifting the weights to shoulder level with your palms facing away from you.
- Next, breathe out as you press up with both arms.
- Lock your arms and squeeze your chest to hold for a few seconds.
- Slowly return to the start position.
Cable pec fly
Sets: 3
Reps: 25
How to do it:
- At a cable crossover machine, attach some stirrup handles to the high pulleys, and make sure to set the pulley as low as it can go so that you’re targeting the lower section of your chest.
- Take a handle in each hand, and your arms should be outstretched with your elbows slightly bent.
- Place one foot slightly in front of the other, brace your core and pull the handles downwards and across your body so your hands meet in the middle.
- Return to the starting position.
Also Read: Leg exercises you need to start doing this week
Dumbbell skull crushers
Sets: 3
Reps: 8-12
How to do it:
- Start by lying face up on a flat bench. Your entire body, except your lower legs, should be on the bench, and your knees should be bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Hold one end of a dumbbell in both hands with your arms straight above you, flex your elbows and lower the weight towards your head.
- Continue to lower the weight behind your head with the bottom of the dumbbell in-line with the bench top.
- Begin to lift the weight back up until it’s above your chest.
- Don’t lock your elbows to ensure you keep the tension in your triceps muscle.
TRX triceps extension
Sets: 3
Reps: 8-12
How to do it:
- Start by attaching the cables to the anchor point on the TRX machine, and adjust the straps to hang about mid-length.
- Grab the handles and start with your body facing away from the machine. Step forward until there’s no slack left. Extend your arms above your head and with a 90-degree bend in your elbows.
- Take a split stance and lunge forward until the straps feel tight. Brace your core, exhale, and straighten your elbows. Your body should form a straight line but keep your head and spine neutral.
- Inhale, and with control, lower your body back to the start position.
Barbell bench press
Sets: 3
Reps: 6
How to do it:
- This is a chest exercise which is gonna make an impact! Begin lying back on a flat bench with a shoulder-width overhand grip and holding a barbell in the rack above you.
- Next, lift the bar off the rack, position it above your chest, and keep your arms straight and fully extended.
- As you breathe in, lower the bar slowly until it’s almost touching the middle of your chest.
- Breathe out, pushing the bar back to the starting position explosively. That’s one rep of a barbell bench press!
- Make sure you lower the bar slowly and hold for at least four seconds before raising the weight back up.
Incline dumbbell fly
Sets: 3
Reps: 10-15
How to do it:
- Start lying flat on your back on an incline bench, set to 30 degrees. Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
- Your elbows should be bent and pointing out at chest level and by your sides.
- Exhale slowly, lifting your arms above your chest.
- Inhale, lowering your arms back to the starting position.
Overhead tricep extension
Sets: 3
Reps: 10-15
How to do it:
- A great tricep exercise, you can stand or sit on the edge of a flat bench for this one. Start by holding the weight overhead, grasping the dumbbell with both hands.
- Slowly bend your elbows, lowering the weight behind your head. Keep your core engaged, and the weight should follow your spine.
- Straighten your elbows at the lowest point, extending the weight back overhead. Hold this position for a few seconds, and then return to the start.
Single arm tricep extension
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
How to do it:
- Stand or sit on the edge of a flat bench and hold a dumbbell in one hand behind your head with your elbow should be bent, pointing towards the ceiling.
- Extend your arm until your arm is straight and the dumbbell is overhead.
- Lower your arm back down, and repeat.
Oblique twist with a medicine ball
Sets: 3
Reps: 10
How to do it:
- Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you. Your knees should be bent and your feet flat on the floor.
- Brace your core and lean back at about a 45-degree angle holding a medicine ball directly in front of you with both hands.
- Slowly twist your torso towards the right and touch the medicine ball to the ground beside you. Hold for a few seconds before returning to the centre.
- Then switch sides, so twist your torso towards the left and touch the medicine ball to the ground.
Leg raise
Sets: 3
Reps: 10
How to do it:
- This is possibly the best bodyweight exercise for your lower abs and core. Begin by lying down flat on a mat.
- Keep your legs as straight as possible, lifting them until your feet are pointed towards the ceiling. If this is a challenging exercise, you can lift your knees to a 90-degree angle on the way up.
- Ensure you keep your feet flexed.
- Slowly lower your legs back down, keeping the pace.
Decline sit-up
Sets: 3
Reps: 8-18
How to do it:
- Sit on a flat bench with your knees bent and your feet under the padded bar.
- Cross your arms over your chest or intertwine your fingers behind the base of your skull.
- Lift your torso to touch your chest to your thighs.
- Hold for a few seconds and then return to the starting position.
There you have it, the explosive chest and tricep workout sure to help you make serious gains in your chest and triceps! Next time you’re training your upper body, include all if not some of this chest and tricep workout routine for serious gains.
Also Read: 5 Nutrition supplements you should be using for bodybuilding
Remember, your chest and triceps are great for compound exercises, and there’s a great mix of pressing exercises here. But you can also mix it up, throw in some isolation exercises on days that you’re working out your upper body, the cable machine for an effective tricep exercise, or use the bench press to get even more out of your chest and tricep workout routine.
What else can you do to build a strong chest and triceps?
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