My Current Chest and Back Training Routine

I’m a firm believer in training a lot in one session. This doesn’t necessarily mean I spend a ton of time in the gym (currently one hour), it just means I like to pack a lot of training into each session. I’m not one to bring my phone with me, stare at the TV (I hate those in gyms!), or chat up someone about nonsense for 15 minutes at a time.

When I tell people I like to train chest and back in the same workout they often look at me with a little confusion. You see, I don’t perform a ton of sets for each body part. I do what I need to do and get out. There are other things I need to attend to like a family and stuff.

As I stated in my leg training post, I’m a big fan of A/B training routines. They spark interest and keep the gains going. So I apply the same to my chest and back training.

Why Chest and Back?

When training I chase the pump. Since I have extensive experience in bodybuilding style training I’m not all that into training exclusively for strength. Bodybuilding to me is about reshaping the body, building muscle and strength, and feeling great. Plus, my joints are probably thanking me for not going too extreme over the years.

Plus, I must admit, I just love bodybuilding-style training. I’ll often perform supersets, giant sets, and other combinations to keep motivation high and keep the workouts interesting and effective. But when you train your chest and back together you get one huge “blood-volumizing” pump in your upper body. Also, when blood floods the chest, for example, it doesn’t have far to go to fill the back up either. It’s a great feeling that keeps me coming back every day.

So, here we go…

My Current Chest and Back Training Routine

A

Incline bench barbell press 3 x 8-12
Flat bench dumbbell press 3 x 8-12
High pulley cable cross-over (slight stretch, but don’t cross or meet the handles at the bottom, slow and controlled) 3 x 10-15

Crossbench dumbbell pullovers (big breaths, great transitional move!) 3 x 10-15 

Close-grip pull up 3 x as many as possible or until you reach at least 10 reps per set.
Bent-over barbell row 3 x 8-12
Wide, neutral-grip pull down 3 x 10-15

B

Incline bench dumbbell press 3 x 10-15
Decline Hammer Strength press 3 x 10-15
Feet-elevated push up 3 x as many as possible with slow and controlled form)

Cross bench dumbbell pullovers 3 x 10-15 

Wide-grip pull-up 3 x as many as possible or until you reach at least 10 reps per set.
T bar row 3 x 10-15
Medium width neutral-grip pull down 3 x 10-15

Good luck and let me know how you do in the comments below.