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Do you want to enhance your upper body physique, function, and strength? Then, it’s time to step up your chest and tricep training.
More than just mirror muscles, the chest and triceps are capable of incredible strength and powerful functional movements. This requires a combination of compound and isolation exercises to increase training volume and target each muscle from different angles.
Today, we will discuss chest and triceps workouts. We cover the correct technique, primary and secondary movers, and programming recommendations.
8 Best Chest And Tricep Workouts
These are the ten best chest and tricep exercises for enhancing physique, function, and strength in 2025:
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press.
- Dumbbell Skull Crusher.
- Overhead Cable Tricep Extension.
- Cable Single-Arm Tricep Pushdown.
- Chest Dip.
- Chest Press Machine.
- Incline Machine Press.
- TRX Tricep Extension.
These exercises use various equipment and angles to target different parts of the chest and triceps. They can be performed together to increase training volume and stimulate muscle growth.
8 Best Chest And Tricep Workouts
These are the eight best chest and tricep workouts. Below is a step-by-step technique guide, expert tips, and load recommendations.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
The incline dumbbell bench press is an upper-body compound movement that develops a fuller chest. By adjusting to a slight incline, we can target the fibers of the upper chest.
This exercise targets the chest as the primary mover. The triceps brachii are the secondary movers. Adding these to your chest and arm workout will increase chest and tricep training volume, increasing muscle growth.
How To Do
- Set up your incline bench in front of the dumbbell rack.
- Set the incline bench to a 30-degree angle, and adjust the seat to support your weight.
- Standing, grab a pair of dumbbells off the rack.
- Carefully sit on the bench seat and rest the dumbbells vertically on your thighs.
- Place your feet firmly on the floor shoulder-width.
- Lie back and immediately press the dumbbells into the air over your chest with straight arms.
- Inhale and tense your core muscles.
- Begin by bending the elbows outward and lowering the dumbbells.
- Lower until the dumbbells reach the chest.
- Pause, exhale, and press the dumbbells back up until the arms are straight.
Tips
- Concentrate on pushing through the elbows. This will improve your ability to target the upper chest.
- Focus on breathing and engaging your core muscles. This will create a stable base and improve your pressing capacity.
Optimal Sets & Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Skull Crusher
The dumbbell skull crusher is a tricep isolation exercise that overloads the triceps. Dumbbells allow you to use a neutral grip, perfect for anyone with limited wrist mobility. The primary mover is the triceps brachii. The secondary movers are the wrist flexors and wrist extensors.
The vertical position of the upper arms means the tricep moves through a greater range of motion. Working a muscle through its full range of motion has been shown to increase strength, power, and muscle size.
How To Do
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit down on the end of a flat bench.
- Place the dumbbell vertically on your thighs.
- Firmly plant your feet on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
- Lie back on the bench, and press the dumbbells so your arms are straight.
- Rotate the dumbbells to assume a neutral grip position.
- Inhale and engage the core.
- Exhale, and gradually allow your elbow to bend, lowering dumbbells toward your head.
- Lower until the dumbbells are at the side of your head, and pause at the bottom position.
- Exhale and begin to straighten the elbow. Lift the dumbbells until the arms are straight, then return them to the starting position.
Tips
- Beginners should start with a lighter weight and focus on technique. Aim to keep the upper arms vertical and control the movement through the full range of motion.
- Ensure your feet are firmly planted on the floor, and your core is engaged. This will keep your core rigid and improve your lifting capacity.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Overhead Cable Tricep Extension
The overhead cable tricep extension is an isolation exercise that can develop incredible triceps. The vertical arm position elongates the tricep fibers, meaning a greater range of motion and greater growth.
The triceps brachii are the primary movers. Secondary movers include wrist flexors and wrist extensors. Adding the overhead tricep cable extension to your workout can boost tricep training volume, increase stimulus, and promote greater growth.
How To Do
- Adjust the cable pulley to the lowest position and attach a rope handle.
- Facing the cable machine, grab the rope handle.
- Turn your body away from the machine, and lift the rope so it sits behind your back, with elbows bent.
- Position your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly lean forward.
- Inhale and tense your core.
- Exhale, and pull the rope toward the ceiling with your elbows tucked to the side of your head.
- Once the arms are straight, pause briefly. Inhale and allow the elbows to bend, gradually lowering them to the starting position.
Tips
- Perform with a lightweight. This will make it easier to get into position.
- Focus on correct breathing and engage your core for the duration of the set. This will improve your ability to isolate the triceps.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Cable Single-Arm Tricep Pushdown
The cable single-arm tricep pushdown isolates the triceps. Using one arm allows you to focus on creating quality contractions to develop your mind-muscle connection.
Cables offer continuous resistance through a greater range of motion, which can enhance muscle growth.
How To Do
- Adjust the cable pulley to the top position and attach a single rope handle.
- Grab the rope with a neutral grip. With your free hand, grasp the cable machine for support.
- Take one step back from the machine and position your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Tuck your elbow to your side, inhale, and engage your core.
- Exhale and push the cable down, straightening the elbow.
- Once your arms are straight, briefly pause.
- Inhale, allow your elbow to bend and slowly release the cable back to the starting position.
Tips
- Focus on tensing your tricep and pause at the bottom position to intensify contraction. This ensures you create quality contractions with every repetition.
- Keep your elbows tucked to your side for the duration of the set. This will improve your ability to isolate the triceps.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Chest Dip
Chest dips are an upper-body compound movement that increases muscle mass and strength. They use our body weight to overload the chest and triceps.
The chest dip can be added to your chest workout routine. It provides overload and increases training volume at a moderate to high intensity. This is vital for promoting hypertrophy and strength.
How To Do
- Standing in front of the dip bar, step up and grab a handle on each hand.
- Brace yourself with your arms and remove your feet from the step.
- Inhale and engage your core muscles.
- Begin by bending your elbows, keeping them tucked to your side.
- Lean forward slightly and gradually lower until your chest reaches dip bar height.
- Once you reach this position, pause.
- Exhale, and push yourself back up, straightening your elbow.
Tips
- Lean forward slightly. This will allow you to target the chest.
- Keep your elbows tucked to your sides in line with the dip bars. This will improve tricep isolation.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Chest Press Machine
The chest press machine is a safe and effective way to target the chest and triceps. It is a compound movement that uses a hinge-based weight system. This decreases the need to stabilize weight and reduces the risk of injury.
The primary mover is the pectoralis major. The secondary movers are the triceps and anterior deltoids.
The hinge-based system makes it great for beginners to introduce chest and tricep training. This also makes it suitable for seasoned lifters, allowing them to overload the chest to failure without a spotter.
How To Do
- Sit on the chest press machine seat and grab a hand in each hand.
- Firmly plant your feet on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
- Inhale and engage your core.
- Exhale, push the handle away from the body until your arms are straight, then pause.
- Inhale, and gradually allow your elbows to bend, lowering the handles to the starting position.
Tips
- Concentrate on pressing through your elbows. This will improve your chest contraction.
- Keep your feet firmly planted and core-engaged for the duration of the set. This will increase core rigidity and improve your lifting capacity.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Incline Machine Press
The incline machine press is a compound exercise that targets the chest, triceps, and shoulders. It uses a hinge-based system to target the upper chest, without the need to lift heavy dumbbells over your body. This improves safety when lifting without a spotter.
Including the incline machine press increases your chest training volume. This will help you develop a fuller chest and a well-rounded physique.
How To Do
- Sit on the incline machine press chair.
- Position your feet shoulder-width apart, firmly planted on the floor.
- Grab the handles, inhale, and engage your core.
- Exhale, and press the handles diagonally toward the ceiling until your arms are straight.
- Pause, inhale, bend your elbows, and lower the handles back to the starting position.
Tips
- Focus on breathing and keeping your core engaged for the duration of the set. This will keep your torso rigid and improve your ability to press.
- Press through your elbows. This improves your ability to target the upper chest.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
TRX Tricep Extension
TRX tricep extensions use our body weight to overload the triceps for serious growth. Suspension training, such as the TRX, requires full body engagement to maintain an incline position.
The TRX tricep extension allows us to progressively overload the triceps by increasing the torso angle and volume. This can be done without bulky equipment, which is a draw for home-based training routines.
How To Do
- Stand facing away from the TRX anchor point and grab a handle in each hand.
- Straighten your arms out in front so they are parallel to the floor.
- Step back to create an angle for your torso toward the floor.
- Inhale and engage your core muscles.
- Allow your elbows to bend, and bring the handles toward your shoulders as you lower yourself toward the floor.
- Once the handles reach your shoulders, pause briefly.
- Exhale, and extend the elbows until your arm is straight at the starting position.
Tips
- Change the angle to increase or decrease resistance. Beginners should assume a more upright position. As you gain confidence, increase the angle of your body by walking your feet toward the anchor point. This will increase resistance and difficulty.
- Concentrate on keeping your core engaged for the duration of the set. This will keep your torso rigid, reduce unwanted movement, and improve tricep isolation.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Best Chest And Tricep Workout Routine
The workout below combined the five exercises above into a chest and tricep routine. Its focus is to promote muscle hypertrophy, with high repetitions for endurance toward the end.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
|---|---|
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3–4 sets x 8–10 reps |
| Chest Machine Press | 3–4 sets x 8–10 reps |
| Chest Dip | 3–4 sets x 8–10 reps |
| Dumbbell Skull Crusher | 3–4 sets x 8–10 reps |
| Overhead Cable Tricep Extension | 3–4 sets x 12–20 reps |
| Cable Single Arm Tricep Pushdown | 3–4 sets x 12–20 reps |
Anatomy Of The Chest
The pectoralis major makes up the front of the chest. It consists of three heads: the clavicular, sternocostal, and abdominal heads. Each head has a slightly different location, which means we need to adjust the angle to target them to develop a fuller chest.
Clavicular Head of Pectoralis Major
Muscles located at the top of your chest, running from your armpit to collar bone. Smaller portion of your chest muscle.
Sternal Head of Pectoralis Major
Large muscles located underneath your clavicle head. Makes up most of your chest area
Abdominal Head of Pectoralis Major
Muscles located at the bottom of your pectoral region, just above your abdominal muscles.
The Pectoralis Major Clavicular Head
The pectoralis major clavicular head is beneath the collarbone. It originates from your clavicle, or collarbone, and inserts into your humerus, or upper arm bone. Its primary function is to flex the humerus or bring the arm in front, above, and across the body.
This clavicular head is most active when we press on an incline of 30 degrees. The clavicular head and the anterior deltoid at this angle contribute to the pressing motion. As the angle increases, anterior deltoid activation takes over, making it the primary mover.
The Pectoralis Major Sternocostal Head
The pectoralis major sternocostal head is just below the clavicular head. It originates from the sternum in the middle of the chest and attaches to the humerus. Its main function is to flex the humerus or bring it in front, above, and across the body.
The above chest exercises are all great for targeting the sternocostal head. Each exercise slightly adjusts the angle, which alters muscle activation rates.
The chest machine press shows the sternocostal head’s muscle activation rate at 28.54% of a maximal contraction. This is a measure of how hard the muscle is working compared to a maximal contraction.
The Pectoralis Major Abdominal Head
The pectoralis major abdominal head is below the sternocostal head and above the abdomen. It attaches to the sternum and the humerus. Its principal function is to flex the humerus or bring it in front, above, and across the body.
The abdominal head is predominantly targeted during decline press exercises. A prime example is the chest dip. During dips, the pectoralis major’s muscle activation rate is approximately 100% of maximum contraction. Furthermore, it is also active during the chest machine press. The abdominal head’s muscle activation rate is 25.05% of a maximum contraction during pressing.
Anatomy Of The Triceps
The triceps brachii consists of three heads: the long head, medial head, and lateral head. The above exercises are all excellent for targeting and overloading the triceps, increasing muscle mass, and enhancing physique.
Triceps Lateral Heads
Muscles located on the back of your arm between your shoulder and elbow.
Triceps Medial Heads
Small muscles located at the back of your arms. Deep to the triceps long heads between the shoulder and elbow.
Triceps Long Heads
Large muscles located at the back of your arms between your shoulder and elbow. Most outside portion of the tricep.
Triceps Long Head
The triceps long head occupies the inner side of the back of the arm. It originates from the humerus and inserts into the ulna, or forearm bone. Its principal function is to extend the elbow. Its secondary function is to stabilize the shoulder.
Tricep isolation exercises show high muscle activation rates. During the cable tricep pushdown, the muscle activation rate of the triceps long head is approximately 65% of a maximum contraction.
This is significantly more than during a compound movement, such as the chest machine press. During this press, the muscle activation of the triceps long head is only 13.41% of the maximum contraction.
This indicates how important it is to combine compound and isolation exercises. Adding both to your workout will allow you to overload each muscle, increase volume, and stimulate growth.
Triceps Lateral Head
The triceps lateral head is on the outer side of the back of the arm. It originates from the humerus and is inserted into the ulna. Its main function is to extend (straighten) the elbow.
Like the long head, isolation exercises show the highest muscle activation rate of approximately 75% of maximum contraction.
Triceps Medial Head
The triceps medial head is in the middle of the back of the arm. It attaches to the humerus and inserts into the ulna. It works alongside the lateral head to extend the elbow.
Its role is essential during the above exercises, working with the chest and shoulders during pressing movement.
Benefits Of Tricep And Chest Workouts
Performing your tricep and chest workouts is great for aesthetic appeal and developing functional strength to carry over our daily activities. Below, we discuss three main benefits.
Improves Appearance
Improving our appearance and physique requires building lean muscle. A combination of compound and isolation exercises is needed to provide volume and stimulus for muscle growth.
Compound lifts have a greater capacity to increase resistance, providing greater overload to muscle tissue. In contrast, isolation exercises, with a targeted approach, can increase training volume to specific muscle groups.
The chest and triceps are muscle groups that make up much of our upper body physique. By targeting them with a combination of compound and isolation exercises, we can increase load and volume. This results in greater muscle growth, improving our appearance.
Supports Functional Strength
Developing functional strength requires an overload of multiple planes of movement while targeting multiple muscle groups. This can be done with large compound movements that use multiple joints and muscle groups.
Chest and tricep workouts combine compound and isolation exercises that utilize multiple joints and muscle groups. Often referred to as push muscles, they can be programmed in the same workout.
Increases Training Volume
Chest and tricep workouts are excellent for increasing training volume. Building muscle mass and strength requires increased volume and overload. However, there are a limited number of days each week, making it difficult to fit in adequate recovery.
Fortunately, chest and tricep exercises share similar muscle groups and movement patterns. This means that workouts can be performed together, increasing volume and stimulus for growth while giving you time to recover.
Training Tips For Chest Tricep Workouts
- When you perform your chest press exercise, push through the elbows. This will improve your ability to contract your chest.
- Before you set, firmly plant your feet, inhale, and engage your core muscles. This establishes a stable base, improving lifting ability.
- During tricep isolation exercises, pause and tense your triceps when the arm is straight, or the elbow is extended. This will improve your ability to target the triceps, enhance mind-muscle connection, improving results.
- Take each exercise through a full range of motion. This can improve your hypertrophy, strength, and power.
- Consider adding chest and tricep stretches to your post-workout routine. This will help you maintain flexibility.
Conclusion
Chest and tricep workouts are excellent for altering our physique and enhancing functional strength. Sharing similar movement patterns allows them to be programmed together. This is great for increasing training volume without sacrificing recovery days, which is essential for increasing muscle mass.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Chest exercises require the triceps to perform a pressing motion. Training them together is an effective and time-efficient way to increase volume and stimulus, promoting muscle growth.
You should do eight exercises on your chest and tricep day. This will allow for five compound movements and three isolation exercises. This provides you with a mix of large and small lifts for greater overload.
You should structure your chest and tricep day by programming your compound exercises first, followed by your isolation exercises. Compound lifts require more energy, so place them at the beginning to ensure you have enough for your heavier lifts.
Yes. This can be done with a full-body workout. Alternatively, split programs containing chest and tricep workouts also engage the shoulder. This allows you to hit three muscle groups a day.
Resources
Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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About the Author
Ben Dillon, BHSc, PT Musculoskeletal Therapist & Personal Trainer
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