Chest and Tricep Workout: Best Exercise Combos for Size & Strength

Your chest and triceps work together on almost every pressing move you make, so training them on the same day is one of the smartest ways to build a bigger, stronger upper body. The problem is that it’s easy to throw a bunch of exercises together without much thought, then wonder why your pressing stops improving. If your chest and tricep workout feels busy but you’re not seeing much progress, the answer usually isn’t more effort.

That’s why we’ll cover the best workouts, the order to do them in, and the sets, reps, and rest that turn a chest and tricep workout into real size and strength. You’ll also see why the pairing works, the best supersets we program, a dumbbell-only version, and how to structure your whole day.

Why Train Chest and Triceps Together?

The chest (pectoralis major) and the triceps (triceps brachii) are both “push” muscles, so every press and dip already trains them, saving time and letting you get more total work done in one session.

That’s why chest and triceps fit naturally together on a classic push day in a Push/Pull/Legs split. Your triceps also make up about two-thirds of your upper arm, so training them well can add the arm size most lifters are after (TeachMeAnatomy).

It’s also worth looking at your triceps if your pressing has stalled. They’re a main mover during lockout, so if your triceps are the weak link, they can limit your bench press before your chest is truly done.

What Exercises Are Worked in a Chest and Tricep Workout?

A complete chest and tricep workout uses a heavy compound press, an incline press for the upper chest, a chest isolation move like a fly, and two triceps isolation moves that hit the long and lateral heads. Those five jobs cover the whole muscle group.

Here’s how each piece maps to the muscle it trains:

The Best Chest and Tricep Supersets

The fastest way to build both muscles is to pair a chest move with a triceps move back-to-back, with little rest, so one muscle recovers while the other works. In fact, a recent meta-analysis found that supersets cut training time without reducing muscle growth (Iversen et al., 2024).

Here are the combos we program most often, and why each one works:

1) Bench Press + Rope Pushdown

You start with the flat barbell bench press, your heaviest chest and triceps builder, then move straight to a rope pushdown. The bench overloads the pectoralis major and triceps together under real weight. The pushdown then finishes the lateral head while your chest recovers.

2) Incline Dumbbell Bench Press + Overhead Extension

The incline dumbbell bench press targets the upper chest that flat pressing misses. Pairing it with an overhead triceps extension hits the long head, which only fully stretches when your arms go overhead.

3) Dip + Close-Grip Push-Up

The dip is one of the best bodyweight moves for the lower chest and triceps at once. Following it with close-grip push-ups drains whatever is left in the triceps. This workout needs almost no equipment, so it’s ideal for working out at home or in a hotel gym.

4) Medium Cable Fly + Cable Pushdown

Ending on a cable fly and cable pushdown keeps constant tension on the chest and triceps through the full range. This is a finisher for a deep pump. Keep the weight moderate and the reps high.

Full Chest and Tricep Workout (Sample Session)

Here’s the full push day workout we’d program for an intermediate lifter, and beginners can drop to two working sets per move.

The order runs from the heaviest compound first while you’re fresh, with isolation work and supersets toward the end. You lift the barbell bench when your nervous system is sharp, then spend the smaller moves on the energy you have left.

The rest periods follow the same logic, with longer rests for the heavy bench work and shorter rests as the exercises get lighter. That’s consistent with the American College of Sports Medicine broader approach to matching training variables to your goal. These specific rest times are simply practical choices for this workout.

Dumbbell-Only Chest and Tricep Workout

You can build the same muscles at home with a handful of dumbbell exercises. The key is swapping the barbell and cables for dumbbell versions that hit the same muscle groups.

Here are the swaps we use:

• Flat or floor dumbbell press in place of the barbell bench press.
• Incline dumbbell press for the upper chest.
• Dumbbell fly for chest isolation.
• Dumbbell overhead extension for the triceps long head.
• Dumbbell kickback or close-grip dumbbell press for the lateral head.

This is exactly where Gymverse can help you: it builds a full chest and tricep workout around the exact equipment you own, even if that’s one set of dumbbells, and swaps in bodyweight moves when you have none.

How to Structure Your Chest and Tricep Day

The honest answer to “how do I structure it” comes down to volume, order, and frequency. Get these three right to have an amazing pump.

• Volume: aim for about 10-20 hard sets across chest and triceps per session, and roughly 10+ weekly sets per muscle to grow (Schoenfeld et al., 2017).
• Order: heavy compound presses first, isolation and supersets last, so fatigue doesn’t wreck your top sets.
• Frequency: training push muscles about twice a week lets you spread your weekly volume across two quality sessions—which works better than cramming it into one for most lifters—and fits neatly into a Push/Pull/Legs split (Schoenfeld et al., 2019).

Do You Need Help Creating Your Workout?

Gymverse is the easiest way to run this workout without guessing. You get a plan built by professional trainers, HD form videos filmed from multiple angles, smart weights and reps that climb as you progress, and the freedom to swap any exercise for another that hits the same muscle.

Start your free 7-day trial and get a plan built around your goals. Find the app on both iOS and Android.

Common Chest and Tricep Workout Mistakes

There are a few small habits that can quietly stall your progress. Here are the ones we see most:

• Starting with isolation moves, so you’re too tired for heavy presses.
• Flaring the elbows on every press, which stresses the shoulder instead of the chest.
• Skipping the triceps long head by never training overhead.
• Using the same weight for months instead of adding load as you get stronger.

Conclusion

Your chest and triceps belong on the same push day because they already share the work on every press and dip you do. So your next step is simple. Build a chest and tricep workout using the sample session above, then repeat it twice a week and add weight as it gets easier. And if you need help creating and tracking your workout, we built Gymverse to handle that structure for you, so the only thing left on your plate is showing up to press.