Introduction
In this workout, we are going to give you a well-structured chest workout, that starts off with a body-weight exercise as a warm-up, and then move on to heavier and more complex, compound movements.
The workout starts from the lower levels of intensity and gradually moves toward heavier weights and lower reps, ending with 3 sets until failure, for the less involved sector of the chest
Workout Priorities
The workout primarily targets the upper chest portion, which, as we have mentioned before, is a commonly lacking muscle for many people.
The goal on the incline exercises is to challenge yourself quite a lot, in terms of intensity. What this means is that once you start the heavier sets of 8-10 repetitions, you have to be very close to failure. So, choose the weight for your reps, and not the reps for your weight!
On the other hand, we have one exercise for the middle and lower portion of the chest- The barbell wide bench press. In this exercise, we reach failure on ALL 3 sets.
The Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
|---|---|---|
| Incline Push-Ups | 2 | 15 |
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 5 | 12,10,10,8,8 |
| Incline Barbell Reverse Grip Bench Press |
2 | 8,8 |
| Barbell Wide Bench Press | 3 | 8,8,6 until failure |
Exercise Map
Incline Push-Ups
Execution
- Set up a deficit pad on the ground
- Grab the pad by the sides and keep your legs straight and slightly apart
- Look down to the ground and support your body on your arms, with the elbows being slightly bent and out of lockout
- Go down slowly, until your chest touches the pad slightly, then push up explosively to the initial position
- Repeat
Incline Barbell Bench Press
Execution
- Lie down on the bench comfortably, with your head rested, butt on the seat and legs placed stably
- Grab the barbell wider than shoulder width and un-rack it, keeping the elbows OUT of a lockout
- Puff up your chest slightly while keeping your head rested and let the bar down slowly, to the upper portion of your chest
- Once the bar touches the chest, push up explosively to the initial position, out of lockout
Note
Avoid resting the bar on your chest completely at the lower portion of the exercise.
Incline Barbell Reverse Grip Bench Press
Execution
- Lie down on the bench
- Grab the barbell with a reverse grip – Supinated wrist. Make sure to also use the thumb! You don’t want to drop the bar on your face/neck
- Un-rack the bar carefully and keep elbows out of lockout
- Let the bar down to the middle portion of your chest slowly
- Push up carefully, contracting the chest
Barbell Wide Bench Press
Execution
- Lie down on the bench comfortably and place your legs stably- butt must remain in contact with the bench
- Grab the bar significantly wider than shoulder width
- Un-rack the bar
- Let the barbell down to the lower portion of your chest slowly, without letting it rest at the bottom
- Push-up explosively, to the initial position out of lockout
Workout Tips
- Reverse Grip:
For the reverse grip exercise, use significantly lower weights, to avoid complications. If it is a new exercise for you, try and get used to the proper execution first, and only then move on to heavier weights.
- Constant Tension:
While mastering the execution of all exercises, try to move the weight through a moderate pace, to allow the working muscles to engage optimally. Do not rest the barbell at the bottom of the exercise and do not lock out the elbows at the top of the exercise.Keep your head rested on the bench, to avoid excessive tension of the neck muscles, that are above the upper chest. All of the above will allow you to actually feel your upper chest working.
- Push Yourself, But Not Too Much:
On the last exercise, we have 3 sets until failure. However, remember to not push yourself to the extremes, but rather complete an easy fail, using the second tip (constant tension) – Do not try and create inertial forces (e.g dropping the bar down and slightly bouncing it off of your chest). Simply, apply constant tension until you cannot continue the set.
- Use A Spotter:
Doing sets until failure can be dangerous if done alone. You may fail at the top, but you may fail at the bottom as well. Have someone spot you, in case you fail to push the barbell up and get trapped under it.
Conclusion
This workout focuses on the upper chest portion and mainly barbell movements, with just one bodyweight exercise at the beginning as a warm up.
We go from lower intensity levels to higher intensity levels, reaching the last exercise, where we go all-out for 3 sets until failure (intense, muscle building principle).
This is a workout for more advanced athletes, as it is more complex (Reverse grips, sets until failure). If you want to see an even more advanced workout, check our Contrast Chest Workout.
