By bulksupplementsdirect
Are you looking to ramp up your chest and bicep game? Have you wondered how to add mass, size and strength to your chest and bicep workouts?
Well, you have come to the right place!
Your chest and biceps are the two muscle groups that will show people that you have paid your dues in the gym and are serious about muscle building.
But you want to ensure you remain on the muscle-gaining trajectory, so switching things up with your workouts is critical!
But let’s also not forget just how vital the chest and biceps are, right? Your chest will be used in nearly all exercises that require you to push the weight away, and your biceps will be vital in pulling things towards you!
So always expect your chest and biceps to help your shoulders and triceps develop!
In this article, I want to explain why you need to train your chest and biceps together, how to do it for maximum gain and what exercises you need to add to your workouts.
The goal will be to take your muscle mass to the next level so your upper body will explode in strength and size.
My 20 years of experience have allowed me to consolidate the WHY as follows:
Focusing on the chest and biceps can provide aesthetic and functional benefits, save time, provide a balanced workout, and allow for compound movements that simultaneously work for multiple muscle groups.
Incorporating critical exercises for these muscle groups into your workout routine can help you build strength and size in these desired areas.
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Yes, you can train your chest and biceps together. Pairing muscle groups together is a common occurrence across many gyms. But ensuring you pair the right muscle groups together requires understanding how they complement and work together.
I want to list the most common reasons why you should (and can) train the chest and biceps in one workout :
So to recap, training the chest and biceps together effectively and efficiently targets these muscle groups. Incorporating various exercises with proper form and technique can help build strength and size in these desired areas.
Whether or not to do chest and bicep workouts as supersets depends on your training experience and goals.
If you are new to training splits then I strongly recommend you begin with the training program that is outlined later in thsi article.
Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros of doing chest and bicep workouts as supersets:
Cons of doing chest and bicep workouts as supersets:
Superset trainng styles are an excellent intensity training technique and should be used in shorter phases (4 to 6 weeks).
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I want you to focus on the significant compound movements across all your workouts, including the chest and biceps.
This will get you the most significant gains in size and strength, keep you motivated (and give you a reason to buy more clothes!)
Let’s now look at the pool of compound exercises that we can build a workout from
Exercise | Sets | Reps | How to do it |
Barbell Bench Press | 3-4 sets | 6-8 reps | Lie on a bench with a barbell, lower the bar to your chest and push it back up using your chest and arm muscles. |
Incline Barbell Bench Press | 3-4 sets | 8-10 reps | Lie on an incline bench with a barbell, lower the bar to your upper chest and push it back up using your chest and arm muscles. |
Dumbbell Bench Press | 3-4 sets | 8-10 reps | Lie on a bench with dumbbells, lower the dumbbells to your chest and push them back up using your chest and arm muscles. |
Push-Ups | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the ground, lower your body and push back up using your chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. |
Cable Crossover | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Stand between two cable machines with the cables set high, pull the cables down and across your chest, squeezing your chest muscles at the end of the movement. |
Incline Dumbbell Flyes | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Lie on an incline bench with dumbbells, extend your arms out to the side and bring them together in front of your chest, squeezing your chest muscles at the end of the movement. |
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Exercise | Sets | Reps | How to do it |
Standing Barbell Curl | 3-4 sets | 6-8 reps | Stand with a barbell, and curl the bar towards your shoulders using your biceps muscles. |
Dumbbell Hammer Curl | 3-4 sets | 8-10 reps | Stand with dumbbells, and curl the weights with your palms facing inwards to target your biceps and forearms. |
Chin-Ups | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing towards you, and pull your body up until your chin is above the bar using your biceps and upper back muscles. |
Preacher Curl | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Sit on a preacher bench with a barbell or dumbbell, and curl the weight towards your shoulders, targeting your biceps muscles. |
Cable Bicep Curl | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Stand with cables, and curl the cables up towards your shoulders, targeting your biceps muscles with constant tension. |
Close-Grip Pull-Ups | 2-3 sets | 10-12 reps | Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing towards you, and pull your body up with your hands close together, targeting your biceps and upper back muscles. |
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I want to show you a workout routine for the chest and biceps that has given my clients significant size and strength over the past 20 years.
I have seen my trainees gain over 1 inch to biceps in as little as 12 weeks and seen strength and size gains in chest muscles equalling 1.5 inches to the chest and 15% strength gains in the bench press and dumbell bench presses.
Here is a chest and bicep workout routine that will pack on upper body size and strength:
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Training Tips |
Barbell Bench Press (Chest) | 3 Sets | 6-8 reps | Keep your back flat on the bench, and your feet planted firmly on the ground for stability. Lower the bar slowly and press it up explosively for maximum muscle activation. |
Incline Barbell Bench Press (Chest) | 3 Sets | 8-10 reps | Adjust the incline of the bench to target different areas of your chest. Focus on keeping your shoulder blades squeezed together for proper form. |
Push-Ups (Chest) | 3 Sets | 8-10 reps | Keep your core tight, and your body straighten throughout the movement. Experiment with different hand placements to target different areas of your chest. |
Cable Crossover (Chest) | 3 Sets | 10-12 reps | Focus on squeezing your chest muscles together at the end of each rep. Keep your elbows slightly bent and your shoulders down and back throughout the movement. |
Standing Barbell Curl (Biceps) | 3 Sets | 6-8 reps | Keep your elbows at your sides and your wrists straight for proper form. Avoid swinging the weight and use a controlled, slow tempo. |
Dumbbell Hammer Curl (Biceps) | 3 Sets | 8-10 reps | Keep your elbows close to your sides and wrists straight throughout the movement. Experiment with different grip positions to target different areas of your biceps. |
Preacher Curl (Biceps) | 3 Sets | 8-10 reps | Keep your elbows planted on the preacher’s bench and your shoulders down and back. Avoid swinging the weight and use a slow, controlled tempo. |
Chin-Ups (Biceps) | 3 Sets | 8-10 reps | Focus on pulling your body up with your biceps and upper back muscles. Keep your core tight and your shoulders down and back. |
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I want you to benefit quickly from training your chest and biceps together. To do that, I will share the key takeaways I have learnt over the past 20 years:
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Chest and biceps aren’t the only muscle groups you can pair in workouts. You can construct your workout routine or split it to include other muscle groups:
To recap, incorporating other muscle groups into your workout routine can provide a more well-rounded approach to strength training. Targeting multiple muscle groups in the same workout can improve overall strength and functionality while preventing muscle imbalances and poor posture.
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Before starting any workout routine, it’s important to properly warm up the body to prevent injury and prepare the muscles for exercise. Here are some excellent warm-up exercises to do before starting a chest and bicep workout routine:
Cardiovascular exercise: Performing light cardiovascular exercises such as jogging, cycling or rowing for 5-10 minutes can help increase blood flow and elevate your heart rate, preparing your body for the workout.
Dynamic stretches: Dynamic stretches can help improve flexibility and mobility and prepare the muscles for the upcoming workout. Some dynamic stretches that can be performed include arm circles, shoulder rotations, and lunges.
Lightweight sets: Performing a few light sets with lighter weights before starting the workout can help activate the chest and bicep muscles, preparing them for the upcoming workout.
Resistance band exercises: Using resistance bands for exercises such as pull-parts and rows can help activate the muscles in the upper body and prepare them for the upcoming workout.
Foam rolling: Using a foam roller to massage and release tension in the upper body muscles can help increase blood flow and improve the range of motion, reducing the risk of injury.
You can perform this chest workout and biceps workout regardless of being a beginner or advanced. The things that may change would be weight, intensity and recoverability. But as long as you perform the exercises with the correct form, monitor your progress and adapt accordingly, you will be fine.
You should aim to perform the workout routines once per week and monitor the progress and how the body has adapted.
I recommend always performing cardio exercises as part of your fitness regime. It is suitable for the body, helps the muscles recover and can help burn body fat. Just remember not to do it over. 3 or 4 sessions of 30 mins treadmill or incline walking are more than enough.
You can perform bodyweight exercises to train chest and biceps at home. Exercises such as pushups, chin-ups, and close grip pull-ups are all excellent movements to help grow your chest and biceps.
The chest and bicep routine outlined in this article will yield results in as little as four weeks, but recommended that you follow it for 12 weeks and then adapt and change based on the results you witness.
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I hope this article has given you the information and reason to train your chest and biceps together. If I were to highlight four key points that I’d like you to remember, they would be
(oh, and do keep in touch and check in with us regularly for more fantastic content. For a complete list of our previous blog posts, please go here)
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