Welcome to another installation of the 30 minute series routines. This is the 30 minute chest routine which will run you through an effective chest workout designed to get you in and out of the gym in 30 minutes.
How?
Choosing effective exercises and progression scheme gives you the ability to train a targeted muscle group and make fast progress.
How many times have you or someone you know go to the gym and exercise as hard as possible for an hour or more just to be disappointed in progress a month later?
If that sounds familiar, this 30 minute series is just for you.
Check out the other routines in this 30 minute series:
- 30 Minute Series: Arm Routine
- 30 Minute Series: Shoulder Routine
- 30 Minute Series: Leg Routine
- 30 Minute Series: Back Routine
You can use these individual routines to work each body part when you have the time or you can substitute these into your already existing workout routine instead. Once I complete the full series, I will be posting a much larger routine based off of all of these individual routines to give you more options to reach your goals.
What about cardio?
Hours upon hours of cardio will not get you where you want to be.
There are two ways you can go about doing cardio in the gym:
- High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – HIIT training is great for fat loss and improves your anaerobic capacity; this helps with your strength and power. An easy to follow sample HIIT circuit would be to run/sprint for 30 seconds, rest for 1 minute and repeat for 15 minutes. That’s right, 15 minutes of cardio and leave.
- Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) – This is the cardio that most people do at the gym; slodge around for hour(s) on the treadmill walking. Do LISS in a 20 minute interval. Push yourself harder than you normally would and get that heart rate up.
Both are great and any activity is highly recommended. The trick to these workouts is to be the most effective with your work and get out of the gym to enjoy life and recover.
30 Minute Series: Chest Routine
This chest routine will require using some free weights as well as machines. Many women tell me how much stronger they feel after using free weights compared to machines after a few weeks. This is because your body has to work hard to perform the exercise which helps tone your body much faster than machines only.
| 30 Minute Series: Chest | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 3 | 8 |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Flys | 3 | 12 |
| Decline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 8 |
| Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press* | 2 | 12 |
| Chest Machine of Choice** | 3 | 20 |
| Push Ups | 3 | AMAP |
Workout Tips
- Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press – Do everything similar to a regular dumbbell bench press except press with 1 arm at a time; alternating arms.
- Chest Machine of Choice – For most people, there are many exercises that you’ve never done or you aren’t comfortable with yet. I wanted to give you some comfort in this routine so I’m giving you the choice to use your favorite chest machine.
- AMAP – As Many As Possible. Use this to “finish off” your workout and really push yourself to do more each time you attempt them.
- Strive for progression – Every time you step into the gym, strive to lift heavier or more weight. I promise you won’t get “bulky”
- Get in and get out – Just like the title says, this routine shouldn’t more than ~30 minutes or 45-50 with cardio. The goal is to get in and get out; you will thank me later.
