Some worry that training chest and triceps on the same day might be counter-productive to triceps growth, since most pressing movements already activate your triceps. My approach is, if your triceps are already warmed up from chest pressing exercises, then why not blast them that same day and then give them their own day later on the week? Triceps make up 2/3 of the muscle mass in your arms, so if you really want to build thickness it will mostly come from that area.
Having a strategy to this chest/triceps combo is important. I don’t recommend you performing big triceps movements like skull crushers and dips before you tackle a hardcore chest day. So how do we train these two muscles together, for optimal growth without affecting their true potential? Here’s the plan.
TRAINING TIP
Stretch in between sets to enhance not only oxygen and nutrient delivery during your training but also increase your mobility. This workout is a higher-volume style of training, so the idea is to get the most amount of blood into the muscle you are working. Keep rest intervals between 45-70 seconds.
STEP #1: Pec-Deck Machine Flyes
Sets: 1
Reps: 100
Do your best to do this set with limited breaks in between and keep the rest short. The idea behind doing these 100 reps is to bring a lot of blood into that pectoral muscle so that you can create a better muscle mind connection and tackle that chest.
STEP #2: Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
Sets: 4
Reps: 20
Focus on a slower movement and allow the bar to almost touch your upper chest in every rep. Do not jerk the weight immediately up, control the movement throughout the entire range of motion and stretch that pectoral muscle.
STEP #3: Incline Dumbbell Press/Incline Dumbbell Flye Superset
Sets: 4
Reps: 8 (press), 20 (flyes)
Get ready to fry your chest with this combination of compound and isolation movements. Perform the compound exercise first, since you’ll be lifting a heavier load here before immediately moving on to the isolation movement. Focus on bringing those dumbbells as close together as we can from the elbow joint and squeezing the chest at the top of each rep
STEP #4: Dips
Sets: 4
Reps: 15
Now we are targeting a bit of the triceps a tad more. Focus on making sure your brachialis (upper forearm) is almost touching your biceps as you descend down and squeeze that chest on the upward motion. Choose your own bodyweight, but if 15 reps is each then add a resistance belt and challenge yourself with additional weight
STEP #5: Decline Skull Crushers (Decline Triceps Extensions)
Sets: 4
Reps: 20
The decline bench will allow you to perform this exercise with a better range of motion as opposed to a flat bench. If you don’t have a training partner it’s easier to grab the barbell from the floor and do this exercise to failure on your own.
STEP #6: Machine Chest Press
Sets: 4
Reps: 20
Why a machine and not a barbell or dumbbell for this exercise? At this point in your workout, your energy levels are going to be lower than they were at the start – so performing this on a machine and making sure you get a squeeze in every rep is crucial. That’s also why we are going higher volume and doing more reps; since it’s a controlled movement on a machine you have the power to control the movement.
STEP #7: Triceps Pushdowns
Sets: 4
Reps: 20
This exercise is now a full triceps lateral-head enhancer that will help you bring out that thickness to your upper arms.
STEP #8: Close-Grip Pushups/Regular Push-Ups Superset
Sets: 2
Reps: Failure
First start with the close-grip push ups with your palms and hands facing closer together, which will focus more on the triceps. Perform a set to failure and immediately switch to regular push ups to really fry your chest. This will end your workout with a hell of a pump.
