Mastering the art of a chest tricep workout is exactly what you need to start building unforgettable muscle mass. However, you must have the best chest and triceps workout to help you make the most out of your grind and time.
The last thing anyone wants is to use lackluster steps to get half as much mass as possible using pro-recommended tips.
This guide will give you everything you need to know to start your triceps workout. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to building healthy muscle fibers and achieving the upper body you’ve always dreamt of.
Why Focus On My Chest and Triceps?
As someone consistently hitting the gym, you likely know there’s no possible way to spot-train your body for weight loss. That said, you can work out your muscle fibers to build more muscle groups in specific areas.
Focusing on your chest and triceps can put your best foot forward. It’s also one of the simplest ways to work toward your dream physique.
Let’s discuss a few of the main reasons exploring a triceps workout routine should be one of the first things you do.
1. Look Great
There’s no doubt the most significant reason you’re looking up chest exercises is that you want to improve your aesthetics. There’s nothing wrong with that.
For example, when you’re walking up to someone on the beach, the first things they’ll notice are your chest and triceps. Of course, they’ll look at other areas like your stomach and legs, but your upper body tends to be the most prominent feature seen first.
Your triceps are relatively the same as your chest muscle because they’re incredibly obvious when for someone you’re meeting for the first time.
Did you know your triceps make up approximately 60% of your upper arms? Not training these muscles can force you to miss out on a massive opportunity to look your best and put your best self forward.
2. Build Fundamental Movements
Did you know that humans have critical movement patterns that we use in our everyday lives? These movements include rotating, squatting, pulling, pushing, lunging, carrying, etc. These fundamental movements are unique because they all work together when you begin training your body.
Pushing is one of the major movements we do during a chest and triceps workout. It is a fundamental activity that you should start working on for your overall health and strength.
As you push with a bench press, you’re also improving your triceps muscles to assist with pulling. As you lunge, you’re opening your hips, so squats and rotating become simpler on your lower half.
As such, you must work on chest exercises and a triceps workout to begin building your core physical strength.
3. Boost Physical Defense
Preparing your body for anything is something we should all consider, especially for our safety and the safety of those we love. Focusing on a chest and triceps workout undoubtedly gives you enhanced strength, such as pushing and pulling power, ideal for self-defense.
There’s no doubt the larger you appear and the stronger you are, the easier it will be to defend yourself as necessary.
Of course, a chest and triceps workout can help with boosting your lifts and general athletic ability. However, it can also protect you in the event of being attacked, allowing you to push offenders so you can get away safely.
Exploring the Anatomy of Your Chest and Triceps
Understanding your upper body anatomy is the first step to working your muscle fibers correctly. It can help you better understand how you’re starting to train your chest and what tricep exercises will be the most effective.
Interestingly, there are a few different components to your chest and triceps anatomy.
Chest Anatomy
You’ll find three primary types of muscle mass/groups in your chest: pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and serratus anterior.
- Pectoralis Major: This set of muscles comprises the largest section of your chest. The muscle fibers are fan-shaped and located on both sides of your chest.
- Pectoralis Minor: This muscle group is found below the pectoralis major but is still in the upper chest area. It’s a thinner muscle than the pectoralis major and surrounds the ribs.
- Serratus Anterior: The serratus anterior is a unique thin muscle that you’ll find surrounding your rib cage. Usually, it covers the upper nine ribs and moves your scapula.
Triceps Anatomy
Like the chest, there are a few groups to consider with your triceps muscle. Your triceps are on the upper back half of your arms and are considerably larger than the biceps.
There are three different heads in your triceps muscle: the long head, lateral head, and medial head.
- Long Head: As its name suggests, the long head is the largest of the muscle groups in your triceps. It runs down the entirety of your arm and makes up most of the tricep muscle mass.
- Lateral Head: Sometimes referred to as the “horseshoe,” the lateral head is located on the outer side of your arm.
- Medial Head: The final muscle groups are the medial heads in both arms. This component is located on the upper back and is generally opposite the long head.
What Are You Training For? Strength vs. Muscle Building
When you hit the gym, it’s likely you already have a goal in mind.
Many people find they’re interested in building their overall strength when they start working on their chest and triceps. On the other hand, others might be keen on boosting their muscle mass rather than their strength.
This leaves many people wondering, what is the difference between big muscle and strong muscle? Did you know that training for strength and bulk are two very distinct processes?
They both require different exercises as well as different techniques because big muscles don’t automatically equate to strong muscles.
Let’s explore the differences to help you achieve your ultimate workout goal.
Strength Training
As its name suggests, strength training means you’re looking to boost the total amount of power your body has to use. This type of training will require you to take your current muscle and make it better and stronger.
Interestingly, strength training doesn’t mean you have to bulk up, as you can use your existing muscle to your advantage. The most important concept of this workout regime is to teach your muscles how to work properly.
You’ll focus on building muscle fibers while teaching them when to engage as your muscles contract. Over time, these fibers will begin accumulating a lot of force into one cohesive unit.
A great way to understand the concept of strength training is to imagine a game of tug-of-war. On either side of the rope, five guys are looking to pull the other team to their side.
If one side is out of sync, their strength will be a fraction of the other team pulling entirely in sync. That is, even if the in-sync team is physically smaller.
The more cohesive the team, the higher their total strength, allowing them to pull the opposing team to their side successfully. This process will help you create stronger muscles to lift more weight, boosting muscle growth.
The three main things you should be prepared to focus on when strength training include:
- Heavier loads
- Lower numbers of reps
- Higher numbers of sets
Muscle Growth Training
The main alternative to training for strength is to train for muscle hypertrophy or muscle growth. This type of workout will focus primarily on architecturally changing your muscle mass to have a specific physical appearance.
Most individuals working towards muscle growth focus primarily on boosting muscle volume rather than their overall strength.
There are two main types of muscle growth training to consider: myofibrillar hypertrophy and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
- Myofibrillar Hypertrophy: With this type of muscle building, you’ll boost your muscles’ ability to get stronger using contractile units.
- Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy: This type of training doesn’t affect strength as much as others and is often used by bodybuilders looking for larger but not stronger muscles. This method fills the sarcoplasm in your muscle cells with fluid, which helps to provide a swollen, bulky look.
Although working towards muscle hypertrophy isn’t focusing as much on strength as strength training, it still requires plenty of work. You’ll have to spend hours at the gym, refining your routine to give your muscles their best chance at overall growth.
You’ll find you’ll spend a lot of time working with cable pulleys, dumbbells, and exercises focusing on stabilization, isolated movement, and muscle activation.
A few of the key features you’ll need in your muscle hypertrophy workout include:
- A high number of reps
- A moderate number of sets
- Moderate weight loads
- Adding specialty sets
- Continually altering grip and resistance angles
Chest Tricep Workout: 8 Workouts to Start Grinding Today
You now have a better idea of the muscle groups in your chest and triceps. It’s time to explore the different chest and triceps workout regimes you need to start today. From the bench press to train your chest to an incline bench press for chest and tricep benefits, the options are endless.
Check the following table for a summary of the workouts with corresponding recommended sets and reps.
| Workout | Recommended Sets | Recommended Reps |
| Barbell Bench Press | 3-4 | 6-8 |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Cable Crossovers | 3-4 | 12-15 |
| Chest Dips | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Tricep Pushes | 3 | 8-12 |
| Triceps Kickbacks | 3 | 12-15 |
| Lying Triceps Extensions | 3 | 8-12 |
| Pushups | 3 | 20-25 |
We guarantee you’ll find a collection of must-have steps to add to your tricep workout routine to pack on the muscle.
Workout 1: Barbell Bench Press
One of the most effective exercises you can get your hands on for a chest and triceps workout is a barbell bench press. The best part is you can easily do it at home or the gym, depending on the equipment you can access.
With this exercise, you’ll be engaging most of the muscle fibers in your chest, and maintaining good form assists with growth through triceps exercises.
Tips for Doing a Barbell Bench Press
Let’s dive into some tips to help you get started with the barbell bench press.
1. When doing a bench press, warm up slowly with lighter weights and work your way up.
2. This chest and triceps workout requires you to use heavy weights while maintaining good form for optimal bulking.
3. Only increase the weight of your bench press once you are 100% sure your form is correct.
Steps to Perform
We recommend doing a barbell bench press in three to four sets, each set with six to eight repetitions. Follow these steps:
1. Find a flat bench and lie down, allowing a slight arch to form in your lower back but ensuring your hips stay on the bench.
2. Grab a barbell and maintain a shoulder-width grip, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
3. Unrack the barbell, extend your arms, and hold the barbell directly above your chest.
4. Slowly lower the barbell, maintaining good form, bringing it to about two inches above your chest.
5. Raise the barbell and maintain good posture while you push it toward the ceiling. Keep your elbows tucked.
6. Repeat steps four and five for your chosen number of sets and reps.
Workout 2: Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline dumbbell bench presses are another massive chest and triceps workout that will burn your chest muscle and upper arms. It’s a massive favorite for people primarily working on the upper part of their chest.
With this level of chest training, your upper pecs will grow massively.
Tips for Doing a Dumbbell Bench Press
Let’s review a few essential tips to help you get started with a dumbbell bench press.
1. With this incline bench press exercise, ensure you complete your entire range of motion. Doing so helps you activate as many muscle fibers as possible.
2. One of the best ways to master this chest and triceps workout is to do more reps as your body starts to warm up.
3. As with any other dumbbell bench press exercise, switch this exercise out for a standard incline bench press if you prefer to use a bar.
Steps to Perform
When doing the incline dumbbell bench press, we recommend doing eight to 12 repetitions in three to four sets. Follow these steps:
1. Ensure your bench is correctly positioned between 15 and 30 degrees, and get your dumbbells.
2. Sit on the bench leaning back with the dumbbells held above your chest. Ensure your palms are facing forward.
3. While keeping your core tight, squeeze your shoulder blades together to activate your muscles.
4. Using a controlled motion, press the dumbbells upward and fully extend your arm. Keep your elbows tucked and stop them from pushing outward.
5. Once the dumbbells are fully raised, lower them back into their starting position.
6. Repeat steps four and five for your desired amount of sets and reps.
Workout 3: Cable Crossovers
Cable crossovers have always been among the most popular tricep exercises. They are also a fantastic way to boost your chest muscle, simultaneously activating your chest and triceps.
This exerciser is one of our top recommendations if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly workout that helps you get a heavy chest pump.
Tips for Doing Cable Crossovers
Before you start, let’s review a few important tips to help you get the most out of your cable crossovers.
1. Remember, this chest training isn’t about using as much weight as possible. Instead, you will want to focus on slow and controlled movements.
2. Your form is equally important with this exercise as with the bench press. The better your form, the more effective the workout will be.
3. Cable crossovers might look easy from a distance but be prepared to feel the burn. As your pecs are doing all the work, the workout will put your isolated muscles to the test.
Step to Perform
We recommend three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions for this exercise. Simply follow these steps:
1. Make sure you position your cables at the proper height. They should be above your head.
2. Take one cable in each of your hands and take one step forward. Your dominant food should be ahead of your non-dominant foot.
3. As you step forward, you’ll feel some weight on the cables as the weight is released from the stack.
4. Slowly pull the cables’ handles toward you, squeezing your chest with every movement. Keep your arms slightly bent, assisting with the movement.
5. Continue pulling until you bring the cables as close together as possible.
6. Repeat steps four and five for as many reps as needed.
Workout 4: Chest Dips
If you’ve always been a fan of bodyweight exercises instead of a bench press, you’ll love chest dips for working on your chest and triceps. Instead of using weights as you would with a bench press, you’ll be using your body weight to increase the intensity of the workout.
Another benefit that makes dips one of the best chest exercises is you can do them relatively anywhere. What’s more, they also give you a pretty good tricep workout.
Tips for Doing Chest Dips
When you’ve started training chest and tricep muscles, having some tips to help you get started is essential.
Before you get started with chest dips, let’s review a few need-to-know things.
1. If there’s one chest exercise that requires proper form above the rest, it’s chest dips. You need to engage your chest muscles properly. Otherwise, you’ll be activating the wrong muscle groups.
2. Leaning slightly forward when performing chest dips can make a massive difference in your muscle growth. You’re getting a massive chest workout when activating even more pec muscles as you lean forward.
3. There’s no harm in adding extra weight once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of this chest and tricep exercise. It can be a great way to enhance your muscle growth in a shorter period.
Steps to Perform
Do three to four sets of chest dips with eight to 12 repetitions using these steps:
1. Find a machine with parallel dip bars and hop onto them, extending your arms fully.
2. Proceed with the exercise by lowering your body and leaning forward on the bars.
3. Continue lowering yourself until your arms parallel the floor, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
4. Once completely lowered, straighten your arms again, maintaining your form, as you reenter your starting position.
5. Repeat steps three and four until you’ve completed your desired sets and reps.
Workout 5: Tricep Pushes
If you’re searching for pressing exercises focusing on muscle contraction, tricep pushes are about to be your best friend. They help work on your upper arm and isolate your tricep muscles from the medial head to the lateral head.
Pressing exercises are a great way to boost muscle growth in your upper arm structures as long as you maintain proper form and adequate weight.
Tips for Doing Tricep Pushes
Let’s look at a few tips you can use to help you make the most of one of the best triceps exercises on this list.
1. When doing triceps pushdowns, focus on the weight you’re using. Starting with a challenging weight can help you get your triceps hard and ready for growth. Try reducing the heaviness if you find it too hard to reach your desired reps with your current weight.
2. Posture is a crucial facet of growing your triceps heads. Keep your back straight and ensure your elbows don’t flare outward.
3. As you work your tricep heads, pay close attention to what muscle groups you use. If your tricep heads don’t feel the burn, you’re likely working the wrong muscles.
Steps to Perform
Tricep pushes work best if you do them in three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Use these steps:
1. The first step is to ensure you’re properly positioned in front of your cable machine. Ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart and you have a straight posture.
2. Hold the cable handle with an overhand grip, keeping your elbows tucked so they don’t flare out.
3. Slowly extend your elbows while pushing the cable handles downward. This movement should give you the feeling of stretching your triceps muscles.
4. Once you reach the bottom of the movement with your elbows fully extended, hold this position for two to three seconds.
5. After pausing, return your arms to the starting position, maintaining proper form the entire time.
6. Repeat steps three through five until you’ve completed your chosen number of sets and reps.
Workout 6: Triceps Kickbacks
Triceps kickbacks are a great way to focus on stabilizing muscles while improving your shoulder joints. Designed similarly to tricep extensions, this is a great way to gain muscle with beginner-friendly exercises.
The best part is you don’t have to hit up your local gym for Triceps Tuesday. Just grab some dumbbells and get started at home.
Tips for Doing Triceps Kickbacks
Let’s dive into some of the top tips to help you get started with these triceps exercises.
1. The best way to get into triceps training with this exercise is to work on one arm at a time. This process allows you to focus on maintaining proper form with each arm for optimal bulking.
2. Finding the best form for triceps kickbacks can take some time, as it’s one of the more challenging isolation exercises on this list. It can be helpful to continue practicing until your triceps are the only muscles receiving the workout.
3. Only increase the weight for triceps kickbacks once you’re confident in your form. Doing so without proper posture can lead to injury and lacking triceps training.
Steps to Perform
Using 12 to 15 reps per set of three sets, follow these steps for triceps kickbacks:
1. Take a dumbbell in one hand, ensuring your palm is facing inwards when holding the weight.
2. Lean forward and bend your knees, maintaining a straight back for proper posture.
3. Hold your upper arm close to your body, ensuring it doesn’t flare out.
4. With the dumbbell held, straighten your elbow while only moving your forearm. Maintain complete control over your upper arm, ensuring it doesn’t move as well.
5. After extending your arm, hold this position for three to four seconds before returning to the starting position.
6. Like other chest and triceps workouts, repeat steps four through five, alternating arms after each set.
Workout 7: Lying Triceps Extensions
Another massive fan-favorite tricep exercise is the lying triceps extension. This chest and tricep workout is ideal for getting in a heavy lift with compound movements.
It’s such a rough chest and tricep workout that it’s often called “skull crushers.”
Extensions are a must-do if you’re hunting for the best chest and triceps. With a single movement, your lying triceps extension will simultaneously hit all three tricep heads.
It may be challenging, but it’s well worth the investment.
Tips for Doing Lying Triceps Extensions
Let’s review some tips for working this muscle group out with triceps extensions.
1. For this exercise, you will want an EZ bar at your disposal. It allows you to have optimal grip without using massive equipment. Alternatively, you can use a straight bar or dumbbell, whichever you prefer.
2. Another essential part of this chest and tricep workout is to pay close attention to your elbows. Your elbows must remain in the same position without moving, or you won’t be isolating the right muscles.
3. Finding a comfortable weight to start with is essential to get the best chest and tricep grind. Once you have an idea of a good weight to start with, work your way up.
Steps to Perform
When doing lying triceps extensions, do up to three sets with eight to 12 repetitions. Follow these steps:
1. Find a flat bench in your gym or home. Lie down completely and hold your EZ bar with an overhand grip.
2. Extend your arms slowly, keeping the EZ bar positioned above your chest, and keep your elbows completely straight.
3. Bring the bar back towards your head until it almost touches your forehead.
4. Extend your arms a second time, bringing the EZ bar back into its initial position.
5. Repeat steps three and four until you’ve completed your whole chest and tricep workout.
Workout 8: Pushups
With the popularity of gym machines and equipment like flat benches and barbells, old-school workouts are quickly being forgotten. Pushups are still one of the most effective workouts, and many top-ranked worldwide bodybuilders still use them.
Not only are pushups an amazing part of your workout routine for the ultimate chest, but they also help with your total overall strength.
You may also find pushups preferable to barbell bench presses because they allow your shoulder blades freedom of movement. As such, the back half of your body helps to build its dynamic stability rather than focusing on purely isolating workout moves.
Tips for Doing Pushups
Let’s jump into some industry-leading tips to help you get the most out of your pushup routine.
1. By far, the most obvious tip to put to good use when doing pushups is to make sure you keep your arms straight. Doing so ensures your triceps get most of the workout while also hitting chest muscles in the best way.
2. Did you know that pushups can also be compound exercises that help develop your core? When doing a pushup, brace your core tightly, preventing your spine from rounding. It can help you maintain good form.
3. Another massive tip to help you master pushups is to imagine you’re pushing the ground away from you. Too often, people think of lifting themselves off the ground, which can put a lot of pressure on your elbow joints.
Steps to Perform
Do three sets of pushups with 20 to 25 repetitions. Use these steps:
1. With a soft yoga mat on the floor, get down on all fours on the ground.
2. Ensure your hands are placed slightly farther apart than shoulder width but not too far apart.
3. Push yourself up into a plank position using your hands while remaining on the tips of your toes.
4. Lower your body in a slow, controlled movement until your chest touches the floor.
5. After reaching the floor, push yourself back up.
6. Maintaining proper posture without a curved back, repeat steps four and five for your chosen number of reps.
The Benefits of Working Your Chest and Triceps Together
You now have a great list of top-rated workouts to get your chest and tricep grind underway. It’s time to consider whether it’s better to work one or both muscles together.
Interestingly, simultaneously working your chest and triceps has a few key benefits.
Tip 1: Focusing on Compound Movements
Compound movements can be incredibly helpful when working out your triceps and chest. These exercises will use multiple groups of muscle at the same time rather than using one isolated muscle.
Keep compound movements your top priority, as they give you a good foundation for chest and tricep exercises. From there, you can then focus on isolating exercises to focus on one part or the other.
Starting with compound exercises is the most effective method. The movements you do at the beginning of your workout give you the best gains. Therefore, ensure you work multiple muscles simultaneously to get the most massive workout.
Tip 2: Reducing Your Warm-up Time
Warming up before a workout can be a hassle, especially when you have the pre-workout flowing and you’re ready to truly pump massive weights.
However, warming up is necessary to give your muscles their best chance at growth without tearing. Warm-ups are also essential to reduce the likelihood of injury, whether from an acute or chronic injury.
A major benefit of using compound exercises that work on your triceps and chest simultaneously is it helps to reduce your warm-up time.
You’ll be working both of your muscles together rather than having to warm up your chest and then your arms separately. This is a fantastic way to get your head in the game to have the most effective gym session imaginable.
Tip 3: It Happens Naturally
If you were to break down the workouts you’d typically do for your triceps and chest, you’d notice something fascinating.
Most exercises work your chest and arms naturally without you having to go out of your way. This is because building your pectoral and tricep muscles requires pushing movements, pushing resistance away from your body.
Instead of spending hours developing a workout routine for each muscle group, most activities need both to work anyway. Not only does this help to save you time when you’re getting ready for the gym but also while working out.
Tip 4: Every Exercise Is Customizable
Whether using a flatbed or leaning against a wall to work your muscles, the customization options are endless. Everyone’s body has different requirements for weight, posturing, and form.
Fortunately, tricep and chest workouts are incredibly adaptable, allowing you to tailor them to your specific needs.
You can choose between different weights, whether you want to start lighter or heavier, based on your skill set.
There’s also the option of using different types of weights, such as barbells or dumbbells.
Finally, you can choose the perfect number of sets and reps to help you bulk up within your desired timeframe.
Chest Tricep Workout FAQs
1. How long should a chest and tricep workout last?
The length of your chest and tricep workouts will depend on the intensity and volume of weights you lift. On average, strive for between 60 and 90 minutes, keeping your sets under 90 seconds at the most.
High-intensity workouts are bound to show the most improvements but ensure not to overwork yourself toward injury.
2. Can you train chest with sore triceps?
It is possible to train your chest with sore triceps, even though it will be slightly uncomfortable.
You’ll also want to ensure you have a spotter around, as sore muscles tend to be weak and less effective at lifting.
For your safety, you better give yourself a rest day before lifting serious weights with sore triceps.
3. Can chest workouts cause chest tightness?
Chest tightness can happen for many reasons, one of which is your workouts.
However, this tightness is likely to be different than difficulty breathing.
If you are concerned about a restricted chest outside of sore muscles, seek medical attention immediately.
Mastering a Chest Tricep Workout Is Easier Than You’d Think
There’s no better time than now to start your chest tricep workout to get the physique you’ve always wanted.
Whether you’re grinding for strength or wanting to bulk for aesthetics, there are a ton of great exercises to do.
The best part is you don’t even need a gym membership. You can do most of the exercises entirely at home.
