August 27 - Chest

Goal / main win: restart chest training with clean upper-chest and flat-press volume, then finish with focused triceps work.

Main win: 3 incline dumbbell sets + 3 flat-dumbbell sets + 3 controlled pec-fly sets.

Rules today

• Dumbbells only for incline today. Do not use the assisted barbell machine.
• This is a rebuild session after a month without a logged chest workout, not a max day.
• Leave 1–2 clean reps in reserve. Stop before shoulder-dump reps or grinders.
• Rest about 2 minutes on presses and 60–90 seconds on flys and triceps.
• Add reps before load. Clean, repeatable volume matters more than matching July immediately.
• Set the bench to a low or moderate incline, about 30–45°. Record dumbbell weight per hand.

Warm-up

• 3–5 minutes easy treadmill or bike.
• 10 slow arm circles each direction and 10 scapular push-ups.
• Do 1–2 light incline dumbbell ramp sets before the working sets. Do not log them.

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Incline Dumbbell Chest Press: Upper-Chest Priority

Dumbbell setup: set the bench around 30–45°. Tuck your shoulder blades, keep elbows around 45°, and lower each dumbbell under control. Press smoothly without shrugging or banging the dumbbells together.

Last performed: 30 × 10, 30 × 10, 35 × 10 on May 04 - Chest. Weights are per dumbbell.

Target today: match 30 × 10, 30 × 10, 35 × 10 with clean form. The final 35 × 10 is the win today.

Progress goal: rebuild the previous 30/30/35 dumbbell progression before adding weight after the training gap.

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Flat Dumbbell Chest Press: Clean Volume After Incline

How: tuck shoulder blades, keep elbows around 45°, lower under control, and press smoothly without banging the dumbbells together.

Target today: 3 sets × 8–10. Start with 35s. Use 40s only if 35 moves cleanly after incline.

Progress goal: beat the previous fatigued 35 × 10 by making all three sets controlled and repeatable. Do not compare this with fresh flat-press numbers.

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Machine Pec Fly: Controlled Chest Squeeze

How: shoulders down, slight elbow bend, controlled stretch, then squeeze the chest for one second. Stop before the front delts take over.

Target today: 3 sets × 10–12. Start at 85 and increase only if the stretch and shoulder position stay clean.

Progress goal: complete three uninterrupted sets with consistent form before rebuilding toward 100–110.

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Overhead Cable Triceps Extension: Optional Long-Head Work

Why optional: presses already train triceps. Complete the main chest work first.

Setup: cable set to the bottom. Face away from the stack, rope behind your head, elbows high-ish and mostly fixed. Extend overhead without arching your lower back.

Target today: 2 sets × 10–15 at 35–40. Add a third set only if elbows feel good and energy is high.

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Single-Arm Triceps Cable Pulldown: Optional Finisher

Setup: use a single handle with the cable set high. Keep your upper arm pinned beside your torso, extend to a clean lockout, and control the return. Complete the listed reps on each arm.

Last performed: 20 × 20, 20 × 10, 15 × 10 per side on June 22 - Chest.

Target today: 3 sets × 10–12 per side at 15–20. Do not chase another 20-rep set. Use strict reps with no shoulder roll or torso swing.

If short on time

1. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press: 3 working sets 2. Flat Dumbbell Chest Press: 3 working sets 3. Machine Pec Fly: 2 controlled sets

Cut triceps first. Protect the three chest movements.

Sources: July 28 - Chest · Incline dumbbell reference: May 04 - Chest · Single-arm triceps reference: June 22 - Chest · Progress reference: August 2026 - Workout Stats