Best Push Day Workout

Regarding training, there’s nothing quite like having a big chest. However, there’s more to having a big chest than just bench pressing. That’s why programming a Push Day will help you build that barrel chest when you start your fitness journey. This workout will be simple; you’ll only need a set of dumbbells. 

Pushing Muscles

Our muscles can be categorized into two buckets: pushing and pulling. The muscles on the front of our body are primarily pushing muscles, and the ones on the back are pulling muscles. With our workout being an upper-body push workout, let's break down each muscle we’ll be training.

Pectoralis

The pectoralis (pec) or chest muscles are a dominant pushing muscle. Its job is to bring our upper arm from behind our body to in front of our body with a slight wrap around the rib cage. There are two portions of our pec, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. 

Pec Major

The Pec Major is the portion of our chest muscle that we see and gives us the big chest look. There are two portions of the Pec Major, the sternal head and the clavicular head. The sternal head is the largest portion of the pec and starts on our sternum or breastbone. This portion is primarily worked by doing flat bench presses and flies. The clavicular head is much smaller and runs alongside our clavicle or collarbone. This portion of the Pec Major is worked when we do incline presses and flies. 

Pec Minor

The Pec Minor runs underneath the Pec Major and is responsible for bringing our shoulders forward in a pressing or fly movement. The Pec minor works alongside the Pec Major in these movements and doesn’t need to be singled out. 

Deltoids

The deltoids, or our shoulder muscles, are another Pushing Muscle located at the top of our arm above the biceps and triceps. Their main job is to move the upper arm above our head. With that, there are three portions of the deltoid, two of which assist in the pushing motion. 

Front Head

The front head, or portion, is the muscle on the front of your shoulder right next to the pec. Its main job is to help you lift your arm forward, like when you raise your hand in class or reach out to grab something in front of you. It also helps a little when you move your arm across your body or turn it inward. It is also the main muscle used in overhead presses. 

Side Head

The side head, or portion, is the part of your shoulder muscle on the outside of your arm.  Its main job is to help you lift your arm out to the side, like when you’re pretending to be an airplane or doing jumping jacks. It helps make your shoulders look wider and stronger. It is the main muscle used in side raises. 

Rear Head

The rear head of the deltoid, or portion, is the part of your shoulder muscle on the back of your shoulder. Its main job is to help you move your arm backward, like when you reach behind you to grab something or swing your arm when you run. It also helps you turn your arm outward and keep good posture. This portion of the deltoid is best trained with your back muscles on a Pull Day.

Triceps

The last muscle that is used in a push day is the Triceps. The triceps are located on the back of the arm and are responsible for extending the arm at the elbow. It assists the pecs in bench presses and the deltoids in shoulder presses. There are three heads to the triceps, but to isolate the triceps, you only need to perform two movement paths to fully train them. As per the name, the Triceps has three heads: The long head, the lateral head, and the medial head. 

The Long Head

The long head of the triceps is located on the portion of your arm that touches your torso. The long head of the triceps gets the most attention when we extend our elbow with our arm above our head. This puts the long head in its most stretched position. 

The Lateral Head

The Lateral head of the triceps is located on the outside portion of the arm. The lateral head of the triceps gets the most attention with exercises where your elbows stay close to your body and your upper arms are more out in front of you, not overhead or flared out. This can be done by doing a lying triceps extension. 

The Medial Head

The Medial Head of the Triceps is located behind the long head and the lateral head. The medial head gets the most attention when the arms are tucked closely to the body. This is primarily done when performing a close-grip bench press with a barbell or a hex press with dumbbells. 

The Workout Movements

For each pushing muscle, we are going to perform 3 movements. This will give your body enough resistance and time under tension to not only grow in size but strength. 

Pecs

For our pecs, we will be performing two Bench Pressing movements and one fly movement. 

Flat Bench Press

The flat bench press can be performed on a bench or the floor. We want to make sure our elbows are slightly tucked in, but not so much that your upper arm is touching your torso, but not so wide that your arm and torso create a 90-degree angle. If you’re performing a floor press, lie on the ground with your knees bent so that your feet and back are flat on the ground. 

Incline Bench Press

If you have a bench, set it up so that the back is at about a 45-degree angle. From there, you’ll follow the same setup as your flat bench. When performing the movement, the path you want to follow will lead your hands to be just above your head when you’ve completed the rep. If you don’t have a bench, consider the PowerBench 2.0 as an addition to your home gym. Both the back and seat pads adjust so you stay comfortable and secure in your movements. 

Alternative

Suppose you don’t have a bench to perform an incline bench press. In that case, you’ll want to set yourself up similar to a floor press, but instead of having both your feet and back flat on the ground, use your glutes to push your back off the ground so that your back is no longer touching the gound and you’re in a glute bridge position. From there, follow the same setup with your dumbbells and perform a floor decline press. It is important to note that you will have to decrease the weight that you are pressing so that your body stays stable. 

Dumbbell Fly

The dumbbell fly can be performed on a flat bench, an inclined bench, or on the floor. With the fly, start with your arms fully extended, from there add a slight bend to your elbow, and then allow your arms to go back and away from your chest. Then bring the dumbbells back together. 

Shoulders

For our shoulders, we will be performing a press, a raise, and finally an upright row. 

Shoulder Press

If you have a bench, set the back up at either 60 or 75 degrees. From there, use your legs to assist in bringing your dumbbells to your shoulders. Before performing your first rep, have your elbows slightly in front of your body and not directly out to the side. This will help protect your shoulders. Press upwards until your arms are fully extended. If you don't have a bench, do this seated on the floor or use a chair. 

Lateral Raise

While standing and holding your dumbbells in your hands, place your hands between the front and side of your thighs. This will put your shoulders in the proper position. With a slight bend in your elbow, move your arms out and up from your body. Your elbow should be leading this movement, meaning your hands are not above your elbow or shoulder. Think about having walls on either side of your body, and when you’re performing the movement, you’re pushing those walls away from your body. 

Upright Row

The final shoulder movement will be an upright row. Hold two dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing you, then pull them straight up toward your chest, leading with your elbows and keeping them higher than your wrists. Stop around chest height, then slowly lower the weights back down with control.

Triceps

Our final 3 movements will be for our triceps. You will be performing an overhead triceps extension, a skull crusher, and finally a hex press. 

Overhead Triceps Extension

Hold one or two dumbbells and lift them straight over your head, keeping your arms close to your ears. Bend your elbows to lower the weight behind your head, like you're trying to touch your upper back with the dumbbell. Then straighten your arms to push the weight back up, squeezing your triceps at the top.

Skull Crushers

Lie flat on a bench or the floor, while holding your dumbbells straight up over your chest. Slowly bend your elbows to lower the weight toward your forehead, like you're doing a slow-motion head bonk, hence the name "skull crusher". Stop just above your head, then straighten your arms back up to the starting position, focusing on squeezing your triceps. Keep in mind that you don’t want your upper arm to move during this movement. 

Hex Press

Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and press them together so the flat sides touch, right over your chest. Keep the dumbbells squeezed together as you press them straight up, then lower them back down in a controlled motion.

Push Day Workout With a Bench

Push Day Workout Without a Bench

Optimal Set Weight

When setting up each set, increase the weights so that you hit failure at the directed number of reps for that set. This act of hitting failure will ensure that you are getting both stronger and building muscle. Before performing this workout, check out this warm-up and cool-down blog so you’re getting the most out of your training session. 

This workout is just one of many you can perform with just a set of dumbbells. If you’re looking for more workouts, check out our YouTube Channel, PowerBlock Fitness.