Chest Hypertrophy Workout - 45min Beginner
Develop a powerful upper body with this chest and triceps focused hypertrophy session. By combining heavy barbell work with high volume handle movements, you will maximize muscle fiber recruitment and metabolic stress. This beginner friendly program ensures you master foundational movement patterns while building significant lean muscle mass.
Ideal for beginner lifters looking to build a classic push-day physique or athletes wanting to improve upper body pressing power. This is perfect for those who want a structured approach to muscle growth with foundational Tonal movements.
Equipment
Workout Plan
Rest 90 seconds between heavy barbell sets. For handle-based accessories and isolations, keep rest between 60 to 75 seconds to maximize the pump.
Barbell Bench Press
Chest, Triceps, Abs
Drive your shoulder blades into the bench and use the Bar's digital weight to stay controlled on the descent.
Standing Chest Press
Chest, Triceps
Keep your elbows slightly tucked and maintain constant tension on the cables as you push forward.
Inline Chest Press
Chest, Triceps, Abs
Lean slightly into the cables and focus on driving the handles upward and together to hit the upper chest.
Standing Decline Chest Press
Chest, Triceps
Push the handles down toward your hips to engage the lower pectorals and finish the workout with a pump.
Standing Overhead Press
Shoulders, Triceps
Press the handles directly toward the ceiling and avoid arching your back by engaging your core.
Skull Crusher
Triceps
Lower the handles toward your forehead with control, keeping your elbows narrow and pointed forward.
Why this order
This workout follows a compound-to-isolation progression, starting with the Barbell Bench Press to overload the primary movers while you are fresh. We then move through various angles of chest presses and flies using handles to maximize muscle fiber recruitment, finishing with targeted triceps work to push those smaller muscles to failure.
Want this personalized for you?
This is a template workout. Connect your Tonal and the AI coach adjusts weights to your strength scores, swaps exercises around injuries, and progresses you week over week.
Start Free with AI CoachFrequently Asked Questions
What weight should I start with for the Barbell Bench Press?
Tonal will suggest a starting weight based on your initial assessment. For this hypertrophy session, choose a weight where you feel you could perform 1 or 2 more reps at the end of every set, but no more.
Can I use Spotter Mode during this workout?
Absolutely. You should enable Spotter Mode specifically for the Barbell Bench Press and Skull Crushers. This allows you to push yourself to near-failure knowing Tonal will automatically reduce the weight if you get stuck.
How often should I perform this specific chest session?
For optimal muscle growth, perform this workout twice per week with at least 48 to 72 hours of rest between sessions to allow the chest and triceps to fully recover and grow.