Welcome to Week 4 Day 27 of our 4 Week Workout Program.

This is the twenty seventh day of our training program, last one of week 4 (week 4 is almost complete, yay), and today we are going to do chest, triceps and abs.

I love hitting these three body parts twice a week, which is exactly why I work them out twice every single week. The first time of the week we work chest, triceps and abs, I recommend we do compound exercises, and the second time we work these same muscles out, I recommend we do single-joint isolation exercises. I like using this split, because it ensures we work every part of the muscle, allowing us to build them in a s symmetrical and balanced way.

Oh, and don’t be afraid of training while your muscles are still sore! When we train with sore muscles, those sore muscles won’t incur any more damage, in fact, that second workout might actually help us with their recovery. Isn’t that great? Just be sure to stretch before and after every workout and you’ll be golden.

Today we’re going to be doing:

• Barbell Bench Press – Medium Grip
• Incline Dumbbell Press
• Decline Smith Machine
• (Tricep) Dips
• Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
• Abs Circuit
• Optional: Tabata (aka HIIT cardio)

Below you can find the number of sets and each exercise’s description.

BARBELL BENCH PRESS – MEDIUM GRIP

2 warm-up sets, 4 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
2. From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest.
3. After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weight should take about twice as long as raising it.
4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.

DECLINE SMITH MACHINE

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Place a decline bench underneath the Smith machine. Now place the barbell at a height that you can reach when lying down and your arms are almost fully extended. Using a pronated grip that is wider than shoulder width, unlock the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms extended. This will be your starting position.
2. As you inhale, lower the bar under control by allowing the elbows to flex, lightly contacting the torso.
3. After a brief pause, bring the bar back to the starting position by extending the elbows, exhaling as you do so.
4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
5. When the set is complete, lock the bar back in the rack.

INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Lie back on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand atop your thighs. The palms of your hands will be facing each other.
2. Then, using your thighs to help push the dumbbells up, lift the dumbbells one at a time so that you can hold them at shoulder width.
3. Once you have the dumbbells raised to shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position.
4. Be sure to keep full control of the dumbbells at all times. Then breathe out and push the dumbbells up with your chest.
5. Lock your arms at the top, hold for a second, and then start slowly lowering the weight. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weights should take about twice as long as raising them.
6. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
7. When you are done, place the dumbbells back on your thighs and then on the floor. This is the safest manner to release the dumbbells.

(TRICEP) DIPS

4 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. To get into the starting position, hold your body at arm’s length with your arms nearly locked above the bars.
2. Now, inhale and slowly lower yourself downward. Your torso should remain upright and your elbows should stay close to your body. This helps to better focus on tricep involvement. Lower yourself until there is a 90 degree angle formed between the upper arm and forearm.
3. Then, exhale and push your torso back up using your triceps to bring your body back to the starting position.
4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

NOTE: If you are new at this exercise and do not have the strength to perform it, use a dip assist machine if available. These machines use weight to help you push your bodyweight.

CLOSE GRIP BARBELL BENCH PRESS

4 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
2. As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest. Tip: Make sure that – as opposed to a regular bench press – you keep the elbows close to the torso at all times in order to maximize triceps involvement.
3. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your triceps muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.

ABS CIRCUIT

3 rounds
No rest in between rounds

OPTIONAL (but recommended)

4 minutes of Tabata to finish it off strong.

 

IMPORTANT: You’ll notice that I recommend doing a quick 30 second active rest in between each of the sets. This is to keep your heart rate up at all times. I recommend switch up your active rest movements with every exercise you do, just to keep it from getting monotonous and to allow for different muscles to be worked. Some of my favorite active rest movements include: kettle bell swings, air squats, lunges, jumps and running in place. Get creative, but try to not use the muscle groups you are actually using on your lifting exercises, so that those are ready to go when the 30 seconds are up.

 

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Other Workouts You’ll Love:

• 4 Week Workout Program
• Tabata Training

 

Disclaimer: I am a certified personal trainer, however, since I won’t be there with you physically to check on proper form and weight selection, do these workouts at your own risk. You should consult your physician or other health care professional before starting this or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs.