Chest and tricep workout plan

A chest and tricep workout for three days a week, with the shoulders and biceps included.

Who it is for

Each day opens with a chest press, adds two or three shoulder exercises and closes with a triceps exercise and a curl, in 27 to 34 minutes. A dumbbell tab runs the same idea at home with a floor press and incline push-ups.

• You like a push day and want it laid out three times a week
• You are starting out and want five or six exercises a session, not ten
• You lift at home with dumbbells and no bench: the floor press stands in
• You want arms that look balanced, so a curl is on every day too

How to lay out the week

Monday, Wednesday and Friday is the simplest week. Day A is the full one, six exercises in about 34 minutes: the machine chest press and the machine shoulder press, then the rear shoulder, the side shoulder, a pushdown and a curl. Day B swaps the machines for a dumbbell bench press and keeps the rest light, with face pulls and a cable lateral raise. Day C presses on an incline machine for the upper chest and uses an overhead cable extension, which works the long head of the triceps. Weeks one and two use only A and B, alternating across three sessions; day C comes in from week three.

How to add weight

The chest presses are the lifts to watch. On 10-12 reps, three sets of 12 means one plate more and back to 10. Pushdowns run 10-15, so you add weight there less often but still steadily. Lateral raises and face pulls move in reps, from 12 to 15 over a few weeks, then the next dumbbell or pin. On the dumbbell tab, incline push-ups get harder as the surface gets lower, from a kitchen counter to a table, then a chair. When the floor press reaches 12 with your heaviest pair, lower it over 3 seconds.

If you use Claude or ChatGPT, you can connect it to AIm later: it reads the same log.

Warm-up

1. Two minutes on a bike or easy rowing.
2. Ten slow push-ups against a wall and ten arm circles each way.
3. Fifteen light pushdowns, then a half-weight set of the first press.

Mistakes to avoid

• Snapping the elbows straight at the top of every press. Press smoothly and stop just short of locking out.
• Elbows drifting away from your sides on the pushdown. Keep them still and move only the forearms.
• Bouncing the dumbbells off the bottom of the bench press to get the last reps.
• Doing dips or extra pushdowns on rest days. The triceps work on every press here and need the day off.

Chest, shoulder and tricep workout

This is really a chest, shoulder and tricep plan, because every press also loads the front of the shoulder. On top of that, each day has a lateral raise for the side of the shoulder and a face pull or reverse pec deck for the back. So the shoulders are covered from three sides without a shoulder day, and the triceps get both the pressing and their own sets.

Chest and triceps with dumbbells

No bench is needed for the dumbbell tab. Day A uses the floor press, a standing shoulder press and kickbacks. Day B swaps the floor press for incline push-ups, and day C brings in an overhead dumbbell extension for the long head of the triceps. A pair of adjustable dumbbells and a mat cover all three days.