Chest and triceps workout: build a strong push day

A chest and triceps workout groups every pushing exercise into one session: your chest, front shoulders and triceps all work together to press weight away from your body, and your triceps assist on almost every one of those presses, so training them together is one of the most efficient push day workout templates you can run. This session uses four chest exercises and two triceps finishers across roughly 55 minutes, and it fits neatly as the "push" day in a push/pull/legs split or as a standalone chest and triceps day in a body-part split.

Who this chest and triceps workout is for

This is an intermediate-level, gym-based session — it assumes you already have reasonable technique on the bench press and have access to a barbell, dumbbells, a cable station and a dip station. It suits lifters who already train 3–5 days a week and want a dedicated push day workout to sit alongside a pull day (see the back and biceps workout) and a leg day, or anyone following the push pull legs split or a 5-day body-part split. If you are newer to lifting or do not yet have gym access, start with the beginner gym workout or a dumbbell full-body plan instead and build back to a split like this once the bench press feels solid.

How to run the session

Spend 5–8 minutes on a general warm-up first, then do 1–2 progressively heavier warm-up sets of the barbell bench press before your first working set, since a cold heavy bench press is a common source of shoulder tweaks. Work through the exercises in order: the barbell bench press leads while you are freshest, the incline dumbbell press and cable crossover follow to hit the chest through different angles, the chest dip adds a bodyweight compound movement with a stretch at the bottom, and the two triceps moves finish the session once your pressing strength is already partly fatigued — that is expected, not a sign you are doing something wrong. Rest the full time shown for each exercise: 2 minutes on the bench press keeps your reps quality high set to set, while the shorter 45–60 second rests on the triceps pushdown are enough because the muscle and load involved are smaller.

How to choose your weight for each exercise

For the barbell bench press, pick a weight that leaves 2–3 reps in reserve at the top of the rep range and only 0–1 in reserve on your last set — the RPE and RIR guide explains this "reps in reserve" idea in more detail if it is new to you. For the incline dumbbell press and cable crossover, prioritize a full stretch and squeeze through the chest over the heaviest weight you can move. The chest dip uses bodyweight as the load — if 3 sets of 8-12 is too hard, use an assisted dip machine or the bench dip until you build enough strength.

How to progress week to week

Use double progression on every exercise: keep the weight the same until you hit the top of the rep range on every set (for example, 4×10 on the barbell bench press, or 3×15 on cable crossover), then add the smallest weight jump available next week — about 2–2.5 kg (5 lb) on the barbell bench press, and 1–2 kg (2–5 lb) per hand on incline dumbbell press and skull crushers. Once bodyweight chest dips are easy for 3×12, add a light weight with a dip belt, 1–2.5 kg (2–5 lb) at a time. This lines up with the general rule from progressive overload: increase load in roughly 5–10% steps, and only once form stays clean across every set. Because this is only one push session a week, your chest and triceps get further volume on any other push-focused days in your split — running two push days is how more advanced lifters push past 10–20 hard sets per muscle per week.

Adapting the workout: home, missing equipment, fewer exercises

No barbell: replace the barbell bench press with the dumbbell bench press for the same sets and reps. No cable station at home: the dumbbell fly covers the cable crossover, and the resistance band chest press is a good home substitute needing only a resistance band. No dip station: swap the chest dip for extra push-ups or the bench dip for the triceps portion. If you are short on time, keep the two compound presses (barbell bench press and chest dip) and one triceps exercise, and add the isolation work back in on a separate short session such as the dumbbell arm workout.

Recovery basics

Your chest and triceps need roughly 48 hours before you load them this hard again, so leave at least a day between this session and any other heavy pressing or arm work. Some muscle soreness in your chest and triceps for a day or two afterward is normal — see the muscle soreness guide for what is expected versus what is not — and it usually fades faster once you have run the plan for a few weeks. Sleep and protein (roughly 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, spread across meals) do more for how quickly your chest recovers than any single exercise choice.

Common mistakes on a chest and triceps day

• Flaring the elbows too wide on the bench press: letting your elbows flare out to 90 degrees puts unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint. Tuck them to about 45 degrees from your body instead.
• Bouncing the bar off your chest: using momentum instead of control on the bench press shifts work away from your chest muscles and increases injury risk. Lower the bar under control and pause briefly before pressing.
• Skipping the incline angle entirely: training only the flat bench press leaves the upper chest under-trained. The incline dumbbell press in this session fills that gap.
• Training triceps before chest: pre-fatiguing your triceps on pushdowns first leaves you weaker on the bench press and dip, where you need that pressing strength most. Keep the order as written.
• Chasing depth on dips at the expense of shoulder position: going too low on a chest dip can strain the front of the shoulder. Stop the descent once you feel a good stretch, not pain.

What to do next

Use the plan builder to slot this in alongside a pull and a legs day, or check the workout split guide if you are not sure which structure fits your schedule. If you want a broader look at hypertrophy programming across a full week, the 4-day muscle-building plan and upper/lower split are good next steps, and the one-rep max calculator can help you plan working weights on the bench press once you know your numbers.