Chest and Triceps

How are you feeling after that back and bicep workout the other day? A little sore I am guessing? That is completely normal and means you are on the right track! Allow me to explain  what this soreness means. When muscles are overloaded during weight lifting, little tears are made in the muscle itself.3 This “microtrauma” may sound harmful but is in fact the natural response of your muscles when they experience work.3 The muscle repairs these tears when you're resting, and this helps muscles grow in size and strength.3 This means that you should not work these muscles again for two to three days to make sure they recover.

With that said, today we will be working our chest and triceps. Just like the back and biceps, these muscles work together, except these are your push muscles. You will need that same minute and a half to two minutes’ rest in between every set since these muscles do work together.

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The chest exercises we are going to focus on today include:1

• Bench press
• Reverse grip cable press
• Dumbbell flyes

The tricep exercises we are going to focus on today include:2

• Tricep push down
• Tricep kickbacks
• Tricep dips

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When performing these exercises, they  should be done just like the back and bicep workout. You will take one chest exercise, bench press, and complete this for a set of 12 reps. Following the exercise, you will take your minute and half to two minute rest, then do your tricep exercise, tricep push down, for a set of 12 reps. Repeat this for 4 sets, first a set of 12, 10, 10, and then 8 reps. After completing these 4 sets, you will then move on to the next chest and tricep exercises.

As another reminder, form is everything! If you are not sure about a certain exercise, always start off with light weight and master the form. Once you have the form down, you can then add on whatever weight is appropriate for your set.

Enjoy your chest and tricep day! Always remember to stretch the muscles you worked after your workout!

References:

1Chest Exercises & Chest Workouts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/1/muscle/chest

2Tricep Exercises & Tricep Workouts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/10/muscle/triceps

3WeightWatchers.com - Visitor. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1