Chest and Bicep day is my favorite.
My trainer says this means I’m like a guy. Whatever.
A few weeks ago I posted about working out away from home. I am a consultant, which means I travel a fairly often. You guys have seen they way I pack days and days of meals for the road. It takes effort, but it – like most things – becomes habit and gets SO much easier.
Workouts are a little harder. It is a habit, but you never know what the hotel gym situation will be. In my last post, I talked about learning to be flexibly inflexible. My daily workout is a habit – one that I am inflexible about breaking.
Flexibility is also important. Those hotel gyms are 95% of the time pretty sparse. I have to be able to change my planned workout to fit the situation.
The previous hotel workout was a back and tricep day re-created in a gym equip only with free weights, a bench, and a stability ball.but got a few requests for the chest and bicep workout. Ask and you shall receive! 🙂
Simple to do with minimal equipment, the following workout was done in that same small hotel gym.
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For each exercise, do 3 sets of 10-12 reps. If you are lifting heavy, do 4 sets of 6-10 reps. Click the links below for a written explanation of each move.
If you realllly want to shake it up and shock your body, do what I’m doing right now: 5 sets of 12. You. Will. Die. (Please don’t do this if you aren’t already lifting a lot – no need to actually die.) 😉
Chest
Incline Bench Press with a twist
As you press up, twist the wrist so that at the top of the movement the palms are facing away from the body. If this causes discomfort, simply leave the twist out.
…superset with push ups
Biceps
These can also be done over a stability ball.
If you aren’t doing these with heavy weight, try them while standing on one leg for an added challenge.
To change it up, try doing these as alternating curls, or cross-body.
***As usual, here’s the disclaimer: I’m not a certified professional anything. Be smart. Don’t hurt yourself. Don’t expect to have Jamie Eason arms the day after. I work out all the time and I still don’t have her arms. Dammit.**
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Yesterday I did a back and tricep day. Every back exercise was superset with horizontal pull ups. By the end I’d done 240 of them. I’m surprised I’m able to type right now. LOL!
Did anyone try a new supplement after last week’s post?
Have you ever combined Chest and Biceps? I know it’s more traditional to do Back and Bis, but I’m loving this method!
Oh man, did you know I needed this! Chest and biceps are what I have the HARDEST time working out. I’m guessing it’s because they’re my weakest muscles, so I just completely avoid them. Well not completely, but I despise working them;)
The good thing is that they are often the easy to build! A little consistency and they won’t be SO dreaded. 🙂
First, I just have to say that I love your disclaimer. haha. Second, I love working upper body, mainly because I see result there so much faster than my lower body which is just stubborn. I don’t think that I’ve done Chest and Biceps before. Looking forward to this workout!
I have the same problem – my lower refuses to catch up! I’m working on it though…
This is a great post. I love all the images.
240 pull ups?! Hot damn! Chest day is my least favourite, mostly because bench is my weakest lift.
NOT in a row, thankfully. 🙂
I really want to try this workout, so I hope I remember to revisit this soon. Thanks for posting!
Please let me know what you think! It’s a fun way to shake things up.
Definitely have to remember this workout! I don’t think I usually combine chest and biceps though. It would make chest days more bearable for me though – I don’t mind biceps but chest days are my least favourite. That probably has something to do with the fact that I’ve been plateaued on my chest press for god knows how long.
Haha – that’s why I used to like back and bis. I hated back but bis were my “treat.” Trying a new combo may help you bust through that plateau!
i thought it was chest and tris then back and bi’s? Uh oh, i need to get caught up on my workout lingo. Either way, i love BICEPS!!! They hurt so good. I always want bigger guns. No joke. But those preacher curls or 21’s get me EVERY FREAKIN TIME
It’s the push/pull method. I like it because it’s eaier on the joints since you’re not doing ALL pulling or all pushing.
5 sets of 12?! holy cow!!!
Yeah… it’s a little exhausting.
I think you do have Jamie Eason arms! I like having all these workouts that I can do during my lunch break, even though I’m at a full gym and not on the road. Short and sweet!
Far from it, but thank you SO much!
Let me know what you think of this one!
I have mixed the two together…Although, that’s not my usual routing! Sometimes, you just gotta be flexible 🙂
I’ve never done decline presses. The angle almost scares lol
I’ve seen my fair share of hotel gyms too…some are sooooo shady!
I really like it! I fnd I’m able to move more weight this way.
Delines are my #1 favorite chest exercise! You have to let me know if you ever try it – they aren’t as scary as they seem. 🙂
What do you mean I won’t have arms like Jamie’s after a week?!? Darn it. 🙂
Love some of these moves. Again, it’s always nice to see ideas different than what I’m already doing–I tend to get stuck in ruts with the same exercises over and over. I’ve never tried the prone incline curls–that’s going to be my first addition!
LOL! Maybe if you do the prones… 😉
GOT TO LOVE IT!!! I love the twist press – I don’t do it often enough! Thx for the reminder
I LOVE prone curls & all kinds of hammer curls & well.. lifting in general! 😉
I had a surprise for you with the stability ball & cables today for chest but you probably already do it. :)!
Love your workouts!
I was suprised and how hard the twist got!
I’m trying the stability ball thing today!!! I had them as supersets, so I’m just going to put a little Jody-twist on it. 😉
Yep, I’ve combined chest and biceps. I’ll combine anything LOL. I actually can’t work chest right now and that sort of sucks thinking about it from imbalances. That decline press always made me so nervous.
Kierston said the same thing about the decline! I’ve never been nervous… maybe I should be. LOL!
I am so going to use some of your routines now. I need to get in shape for the wedding now! I have a year and a half…I think I can do it 😉
Easy! You’ll be way ahead of schedule! 🙂
Hmmm. Maybe I’ll add a few of the incline and decline bench presses to my routine, if I can find something to use as an incline in my house. And I’m going to look at your back workout too. I need to strengthen that whole general area now that I’m standing all day and carrying massive pots of cream and water everywhere.
Do you have a stability ball? That can be used as an incline!
I bet your back does hurt! Make sure you have some good shoes, too. 🙂
I love the pictures to go along with the descriptions of exercises. I am still really new to weight training and find it can be hard to know if you are doing an exercise correctly.
Great! Let me know if you have any questions. 🙂
OK maybe you don’t have her arms but only because yours are better!
Carol! You are crazy. Thank you. 🙂
Just looking at these pictures makes me pecs sore! I need a massage! LOL!
Me. Too. 😉
Can I ask a dumb question? I have always done Chest & Tris, and Back & Bis together – but you do them differently. Is there logic to the grouping? If you’ve already done a post about this that I’m forgetting, sorry! 🙂
It’s called a push/pull method. This way, you’re not over exerting the tendons and ligaments from basically doing a continual pulling (back/bis) or pushing (chest/tris). My certification is through the IAFS which was founded by 8X Mr. Olympia Lee Haney (one more than Arnold). He really believes in this method and if you see his pics, you’ll understand that when he talks about building your body, people listen.
That make sense – thank you for the explanation!
I have always wondered that myself! Wow, thanks for the explanation…that makes SO much sense!! 😀
I really want to do reader a Q&A video with Steve (my trainer). If you think of any random Q’s, let me know!!!
Definitely doing this workout! Love it!
Thanks, Brittany! Let me know what you think!
You will be so proud of me because I actually did print out the back and tri workout you posted before. I printed it out, and then I took it out of school….and then I left it in the car. I then tried to pull it up on my phone, but got very confused since I don’t know a lot of the terminology…and then I gave up.
However, this is just all the more reason I need you to come teach me how to do all of these things so I can do them on my own.
Or I’ll just stick with my new yoga obsession and hope that tones me.
Oh no! Did the pics and links not help? Tell me how I can make it easier, becasue I’m sure tohers fell the same way. 🙂
Yoga is good… but it won’t do what weights can. We’ll do a crash course at Blend!!!
Oh my god, YES!!!! Make us all Buff Blend-ers! 😉
Ok, I’ve been fine with reading all of your WIO posts for the last couple of weeks, but this one is KILLING ME!! Chest and bicep days are my FAVORITE! And IF I could actually friggin’ walk right now…which also means I could drive…TO THE GYM…I would SO be doing this tomorrow! Incline presses with a twist? Stability ball pullovers? Prone incline curls??! Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!
By the way, let it be known that even though I totally flaked out the second week into week 2 of the Live Fit Trainer, I forever owe a debt of gratitude to bodybuilding.com’s storehouse of workout videos/pictures! I got SO many new ideas for moves/variations…especially for my biceps! My…biceps…which are currently the ONLY muscle on my body not turning to mush! Guess there’s ONE good thing about these mother effin’ crutches! …I’m not bitter…not in the slightest! 😉
PS, holy shit balls! I can only do like FIVE horizontal pull ups! …ok, more like 4 and a quarter! Lol
You’ll be able to do these again soon though! And MORE with your shiny newly fixed knee. 🙂
Cruches are good for the tris… and the armpits. You know, because we all need strong pitts…