Join Pat Chadwick as he shows you a killer upper body workout that targets the chest and triceps. Be warned that this routine will give you will be maximizing time under tension on your muscles, giving you a nice pump. You will be making huge gains in the muscle development of the chest and tricep region. 

The chest and triceps is a famous duo in the fitness world, just like the “back and biceps”. Both muscles are responsible for the push motion when they are contracted to force resistance away from the body. Therefore, it makes sense to work on these in a workout to maximize muscular activation, in order to stimulate hypertrophy.

Research suggests that consistent resistance training will enhance the skeletal muscle size and strength in both men and women, irrespective of age. Resistance training prompts increased muscle protein turnover and has a dual effect on resting metabolic rate.

What Muscles are Worked by this Upper Workout?

This workout targets the upper body muscles as the majority of these exercises are compound movements, with the primary muscle worked are the pectoralis major, triceps, and serratus anterior. The secondary muscles worked are the abdomanls, obliques, rhomboid, glutes, quadriceps. 

What Level is this Workout?

This workout is for all fitness levels, from beginners to advanced as Pat Chadwick shows you regression exercises for this workout. Remember to go at your own pace, don't rush it. Rest when you need to, just don't give up!

Diamond Push-Ups

Diamond push-ups is a push-up variation that puts emphasis on the triceps. This is due to a smaller grip base that is located at the center of your chest. You can find out more about the benefits and variations in this diamond push-up tutorial. To perform this, you will:

1. Begin on all fours with your hands in a diamond shape where your index fingers and your thumbs are connected. Place this at the center of your chest with your shoulders stacked directly on top of your wrists. Extend your feet back to be in a plank. Brace your core.
2. Inhale as you lower down by bending the elbows. Lower down until your triceps are parallel to the ground. Keep your elbows close to your torso, at an approximately 45 degrees angle.
3. Exhale as you push up and return to the starting position. Lock your arms out fully before repeating the next rep. 
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Tricep Extension

This is another triceps killer that defines the back of your upper arms. The position will be similar to the push-up position, but with greater isolation on the triceps. You can learn more about tricep extensions and its variations in this tricep dips tutorial. To perform this, you will:

1. Begin in an extended elbow plank position where you are resting on your forearm, with your elbows being 2 inches or more above your shoulders. Your feet are together. Engage your glutes and core to ensure your body is in a straight line.
2. Exhale as you press your hands into the ground and contract your triceps to extend your arms out fully. Engage your glutes and core to keep your body straight.
3. Inhale as you return back to the starting position. 
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Decline Push-Ups

The decline push-up is a progression to the traditional push-ups as your feet will be placed on an elevated surface. This puts more load on the upper body especially on the chest, shoulders, and triceps as your body is at a downward angle. Find out more about this exercise’s benefits and variations in this decline push-up tutorial. To perform this you will:

1. Place your feet on an elevated surface such as a chair, bench, or plyometric box. Your arms are shoulder-width apart with your shoulders being stacked directly on top of your wrists. Keep your core and glutes tight to ensure that your body is in a straight line.
2. Inhale as you lower down by bending the elbows. Lower down until your triceps are parallel to the ground. Keep your core tight and your elbows close to your torso.
3. Exhale as you push back up by extending the elbows to return to the starting position. Lock your arms out fully before repeating the next rep.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Cross Tricep Extensions

This is a push-up variation that isolates the triceps and targets the chest to a lesser degree. It also works the shoulders and core. To perform this, you will:

1. Begin in an elbow plank position where you are resting on both of your forearms. Your right arm is facing across your body towards your left elbow, in vice versa for the left arm. Your shoulders are stacked directly on top of your elbows. Brace your core and glutes to ensure your body is in a straight line. 
2. Exhale as you push into your palms and flex your triceps to extend your arms out fully. Keep your core tight.
3. Inhale as you lower down to the starting position.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds. Rest when you need to, just don’t give up!

Push-Ups + Isometric Hold

This is a standard push-up that incorporates a 2-second isometric hold at the bottom phase on the push-up. This will increase time under tension on your muscles which contributes to muscular hypertrophy and muscular endurance. To perform this, you will:

1. Begin in a push-up position where your shoulders are stacked directly on top of your wrists, and your arms are in a shoulder-width position. Your legs are together and fully extended. Keep your core tight to maintain a rigid body.
2. Inhale as you lower your body down by bending the elbows. Lower until your triceps are parallel to the ground. Hold at the bottom position for 2 seconds.
3. Exhale as you push up and return to the starting position. Lock your arms out fully before repeating the next rep. 
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds

Skull Crushers

The skull crusher is a challenging exercise that targets the triceps. All you will need is an elevated surface. To perform this you will:

1. Place your hands on an elevated surface such as a bench, chair, or barbell on a squat rack. Your arms are fully extended and your body is at an inclined slope. Your legs are together and your body is in a straight line. 
2. Inhale as you bend your elbows to lower your torso towards the ground. Lower until your head passes the line between your hands. Brace your core to keep your body straight. 
3. Exhale as you extend your elbows and return back to the starting position. Lock your arms out fully before repeating the next rep.
4. Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.

Archer Push-Ups

Finally, we arrive at the last exercise which is the archer push-ups. This is a unilateral exercise which means that you are working on one side of the body at a single time. This will correct any imbalances in the push-up by reducing the overreliance on the dominant arm. You can learn more about this exercise in this archer push-ups tutorial. To perform this, you will:

1. Begin in a wide push-up position where your arms are wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Inhale as you lower down towards your right side by bending the right elbow, whilst keeping your left arm straight. Keep your core tight.
3. Exhale as you push up and return to the starting position. 
4. Repeat this movement for 22 seconds before repeating on the left side.

So there you have it! - A 10 minute follow-along ab routine that will set your core on fire. Thank you for following along in this workout series! Want to learn more? Why not check out our follow-along guide to chest and triceps workout to widen your knowledge of calisthenics's beautiful strength, and take your fitness abilities to another level.

About the Author

My name is Pat Chadwick, I am a calisthenics coach with over 4 years of experience in helping people from all backgrounds to achieve their calisthenics goals. My goal is to become the number one calisthenics coach in the world as it is my passion to help people change their lives through inspiring bodyweight movements. I believe everyone deserves the right to feel good about their health, body, and be delighted inside and out.