Barbell push day workout: 6 exercises, sets and reps

Barbell push day workout

6 exercises 19 sets about 45 min a barbell, plates, a rack and a bench

Everything that pushes: chest, shoulders and triceps. It opens with a heavy press for the chest, follows with one overhead, and ends with direct work for the side of the shoulder and the triceps.

A barbell, a rack and a bench is the classic garage setup. It is short on isolation work, so this session leans on big lifts and makes up the difference in load.

Start this workout free Creates your account with these 6 exercises already loaded. Free to log, no card.

The workout

Bench Press4 × 8Pinch your shoulder blades together, lower the bar to mid-chest and press up and slightly back.2 min rest
Overhead Press3 × 8Squeeze your glutes and brace. Press the bar straight up, moving your head through once it clears your forehead.2 min rest
Incline Bench Press3 × 10Bench at 30 to 45 degrees. Bring the bar down to your upper chest with elbows about 45 degrees from your sides.90 s rest
Upright Row3 × 15Take a grip wider than your shoulders and pull the bar to lower-chest height, elbows leading. Stop there.60 s rest
Skull Crusher3 × 12Lying on the bench, lower the bar towards your forehead by bending only at the elbows, then extend.60 s rest
Close-Grip Bench Press3 × 12Hands shoulder-width apart, elbows tucked close to your ribs all the way down and up.60 s rest

Muscles worked

Front

Back

Shoulders11
Triceps11
Chest8.5
Traps4.5
Biceps1.5
Abs1.5

Sets per muscle. A muscle that only assists in an exercise counts half.

How to run it

Before the first exercise, do two lighter sets of it: one at about half your working weight and one at three quarters. Rest for the time shown next to each exercise; the heavy lifts at the top need more than the smaller ones at the end.

Aim to finish each set with one or two reps left in you. If every set reaches its target easily, the session is too light. Barbells reward small jumps: add 2.5 kg (5 lb) in total once every set reaches the target, and stay there until it does again.

It is the first day of a push, pull, legs rotation. Run the three days once a week, or twice through with a rest day in the middle if you train six days.

If something is taken

Bench Press→Push-Up

Keep the same number of sets. In the app you can swap an exercise for one session without changing the program.

In myreplog

It is already set up. These 6 exercises arrive in your account as a program, with the sets and reps above.
Tap, do not type. Set your weights the first time, then mark each set done as you finish it.
Records count themselves. From your second session, a lift that beats your best is marked as a personal record on the spot.
See what you trained. The session ends with this muscle map, drawn from the sets you actually did.

Logging is free for good. The first 14 days also include Pro, where a coach reviews each session and suggests the weights for the next one. No card needed.

Questions

How long does this push day workout take?

About 45 minutes. That is 19 working sets with the rests listed next to each exercise, plus five minutes to warm up.

What muscles does it work?

Mostly the shoulders, triceps and chest. The traps, biceps and abs assist. The map on this page shades each muscle by the number of sets that reach it.

What equipment do I need?

A barbell, plates, a rack and a bench.

What muscles does a push day work?

The chest, the shoulders and the triceps: every muscle that straightens the arm or pushes a weight away from the body. The back and biceps are left for pull day.

Should push day start with chest or shoulders?

Start with the one you want to bring up. This session starts with a chest press because it is the heaviest lift of the day, and puts the overhead press second while the shoulders are still fresh.