Chest Training – Key Rules & Sample Workouts

Start with Page 1 if you need Basic Anatomy, Chest Exercises, Articles and Videos.

Key Rules For Chest Training

  • Up to 120 reps of Chest work per week
  • Start heavy, even doing a heavy single for CNS activation before your main set of bench press
  • Try to split 50/50 between Upper chest and Mid/Lower chest work
  • If you’re training chest, remember your triceps are involved in those movements so if chest is after triceps you won’t be able to hit chest as hard
  • For bench press, triceps are active in the top part of the lift so for chest you don’t need to lock the arms
  • Simeon Panda uses pyramid sets for his main lifts – work up to your heavy sets while reducing reps, then come back down
  • Focus should be on low to mid rep ranges, so 4-6 or 8-12.
  • For sets of 4-6, use 2-3 minutes rest.
  • For sets of 8-12, use 75-90 secs
  • Don’t cheat on your form. If a weight is too heavy, check your ego and switch to a lighter weight.

Sample Workouts

  • Try and start with several heavy compound movements, then finish with a pump exercise like bodyweight dips
  • Scroll back to the top to make sure the exercises you choose hit both Heads (Clavicular, Sternocostal)

Workout 1:

Barbell Incline Bench Press – 3 sets of 4-6 reps (3 mins rest)

Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 8 reps (2 mins rest)

Dumbbell Flyes – 3 sets of 8 reps (2 mins rest)

Push Ups – 3 sets of 12 reps (60 seconds rest)

Workout 2:

BB Bench Press – 3 sets of 4-6 reps (3 mins rest)

Incline BB Bench Press – 3 sets of 4-6 reps (3 mins rest)

Decline BB Bench Press  – 3 sets of 4-6 reps (3 mins rest)

Dips (chest) – 3 sets of 8-12 reps (60 secs rest)

Workout 3:

BB Bench Press – 4 sets of 5 reps  (1.5-3 mins rest)

DB Incline Press – 4 sets of 8-12 reps (90 secs rest)

BB Incline Bench Press– 4 sets of 6-8 reps (90 secs rest)

Weighted Dips (chest) – 4 sets of 8 reps (2 mins rest)

Flat DB Bench Press – 4 sets of 10 reps (60 secs rest)

Workout 4:

Incline DB Press (30-45 degree) – 4 sets of 8 reps (2 mins)

Chest Press Machine – 4 sets of 8 reps (2 mins)

DB Flyes – 3 sets of 8 reps (2 mins)

Low Cable Crossover – 3 sets of 8 reps (2 mins)

Dips (chest) – 4 sets of 8 reps (2 mins)

Workout 5 (Lazar Angelov):

BB Bench Press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps (3 mins rest)

Incline DB Bench Press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps (3 mins rest)

Decline BB Bench Press (8-10 reps), Dips (failure), Push-ups (failure) – 3 sets

Cable Crossover Flyes – 4 sets of 8-10 reps (90 secs rest)

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About Fraser_9to5 254 Articles
Site owner. I'm a graduate in Sports Science and have an MSc in Sports Biomechanics. I set up 9to5strength in 2015 as a resource for people interested in strength training, nutrition and fitness. I consider myself a fitness blogger and enjoy creating YouTube videos and trying out workout programs.