Challenge your upper body “PUSH” muscles with this SHOULDERS, CHEST AND TRICEP WORKOUT at home! Seven dumbbell arm exercises paired with cardio tabata intervals for an efficient upper body HIIT workout.
Shoulder press, chest fly and tricep kickbacks… today is ALL about the ARMS!
We’re targeting all the arm muscles that work in a “pushing” motion — AKA the chest, shoulders and triceps! Add in some cardio tabata intervals to raise your heart rate and you’ve got an efficient, 35-minute upper body HIIT workout (with some sneaky abs built in too)!
Push Workout FAQs
Should You Train Shoulders, Chest And Triceps Together?
YES! Shoulders, chest and triceps are three separate muscles that you use for ‘pushing movements’ so it’s ideal to pair them together in a workout.
Why Pair Upper Body Strength And Cardio?
Studies show that people who include both weight training and cardio exercises (like HIIT) in their weekly exercise routine have the best overall results in terms of weight loss, strength and cardio endurance. I personally like to pair cardio with an upper body strength day because you get the muscle building benefits of strength training AND the calorie burning benefits of HIIT training.
35-Minute Push Workout (SplitStrong 35, Day 2)
Knock out THREE upper arm muscles in ONE training day!
Seven upper body strength training exercises combined with heart-pumping cardio tabata intervals!
This upper body HIIT workout checks both the strength and cardio training boxes.
Workout Equipment:
A medium-to-heavy set of dumbbells.
I recommend 8-25 lbs depending on your fitness level. I’m using 15 and 20 lb dumbbells in this workout video. The last 2-3 reps of each exercise should feel challenging to complete; that means you chose the right weights.
Shop My Dumbbells
I’m using 15 and 20 lb dumbbells in this push workout.
3 Circuits (each circuit is dedicated to one muscle group — chest, shoulders, triceps)
2-3 Dumbbell Strength Exercises and 2 Cardio Tabata Exercises Per Circuit
Timed Intervals (for the strength exercises: 40 seconds of work per exercise, 20 seconds rest; for the cardio exercises: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)
Repeat Each Strength Circuit x2 Sets and Each Cardio Tabata Circuit x3 Sets
Workout Includes 5-Minute Mobility Warm-Up and 5-Minute Cool Down Stretching
Workout Outline
CIRCUIT ONE: Chest STRENGTH
1. Dumbbell Chest Press
2. Dumbbell Chest Fly
3. Standing Chest Fly
CARDIO TABATA
1. Lateral Shuffle Dumbbell Rotation Press (“Basketball Pass”)
2. Plank Walk Out and Push Up
CIRCUIT TWO: Shoulders STRENGTH 1. Alternating Arnold Press
2. Lateral Raise and Front Raise
CARDIO TABATA
1. Dumbbell Press Jacks
2. 4 Mountain Climbers and 1 Plank Walk
CIRCUIT THREE: Triceps STRENGTH 1. Skull Crushers
2. Single Arm Tricep Kickback
CARDIO TABATA
1. Plank Army Crawl
2. Sit Up and 2 Jabs
Targets: The chest muscles (pecs or pectoralis major), deltoids (shoulders) and triceps.
*Note, if you’re not comfortable lying on your back you can always use an incline bench to make this an incline dumbbell chest press.
How To Do A Dumbbell Chest Press Or Dumbbell Bench Press
Lie flat on your back (on the ground, on a bench, incline bench, or on a stability ball) with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. Overhand grip on dumbbells.
Exhale as you push the dumbbells overhead, straightening your arms and finishing with weights directly over shoulders. Make sure your wrists are strong and in line with shoulders.
With control lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
Dumbbell Chest Fly
Targets: Chest muscles (pecs) and shoulder muscles.
The chest fly exercise can help reduce upper back pain, increase range of motion, and reduce tightness in the upper body.
How To Do A Dumbbell Chest Fly
Lie flat on your back (on the ground, on a bench, incline bench, or on a stability ball) with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in towards each other. Arms straight overhead, wrists stacked on top of shoulders.
Inhale as you slowly open your arms, lowering the dumbbells in a wide arc until they reach shoulder level (or the ground). Your elbows should remain soft and not over-extended.
Exhale as you pull the dumbbells back to starting position. Keeping your chest puffed out and your elbows slightly bent.
Standing Chest Fly
Targets: Chest, shoulders, triceps, abs and core.
How To Do A Standing Chest Fly
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides; palms facing out away from the body. Shoulder blades pulled down towards your hips.
Squeeze your chest as you lift your right hand across your body (45-degree angle crossover); parallel to your left shoulder. Think “right pinky finger to left shoulder.” Palm up towards the ceiling.
Keep a soft bend in your elbow as you lower the dumbbell back to starting position with control.
Repeat on the left hand.
Alternating Arnold Press
Targets: All three heads of the deltoids, also known as your shoulder muscles. Core and low back are also engaged.
How To Do An Alternating Arnold Press
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
Hold one dumbbell in each hand, weights in front of your face, palms facing you, elbows at shoulder height.
Keep a slight bend in your knees and engage your core (to protect your low back).
Press the right dumbbell overhead, rotating your palm as you press so that at the top of the movement, your palm is facing forward (out away from your body).
Then reverse the movement, rotating your palm to face as you bring the dumbbell back to the starting position.
Repeat on the left arm.
Lateral Raise And Front Raise
Targets: The shoulder muscles — primarily the lateral head of the deltoid, but also engages the anterior and posterior heads (or rear delts). And the abs and core work to stabilize the body during this shoulder exercise.
How To Do A Lateral Shoulder Raise And Front Shoulder Raise
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, slight bend in your knees, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your hips. Palms facing in towards each other.
With slight bend in the elbows, lift the dumbbells in an arc shape out to your side. Lift just to shoulder height.
With control, return to starting position, palms facing in towards each other.
Then, rotate your palms to face in towards your body. Raise the dumbbells straight in front of you, coming only to shoulder height. With control, lower back to starting position.
Repeat this alternating lateral shoulder raise to front shoulder raise pattern.
Skull Crushers
Targets: The back of the arm, AKA the tricep muscles! Working the long head and lateral heads of the tricep mucles from the elbow up to the latissimus dorsi of the back muscle.
How To Do Skull Crushers Or Lying Triceps Extension
Lie flat on the ground or on a bench or stability ball.
With one dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms so the dumbbells are directly overhead. Wrists stacked over shoulders.
Bending at the elbows slowly lower the dumbbells towards your head (just bending at the elbows).
Then push the dumbbells back overhead to return to the starting position.
Single Arm Tricep Kickback
Targets: A true tricep isolation exercise working the lateral, medial and long head of the tricep brachii.
How To Do A Single Arm Tricep Kickback
Start with feet hip-distance apart, slightly bend the knees and hinge forward at the hips. Option to stagger the feet to support the lower back.
Hold one dumbbell in your right hand at your side (palm facing your body). Right arm bent at a 90-degree angle.
‘Kickback,’ extending the right elbow so your right arm forms a straight line as you push the dumbbell back past your hips.
With control, slowly return the dumbbell to the starting position (by your right hip).
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2 comments
I found nourish move love at the beginning of the pandemic. I’ve always loved exercising but this brought it to another level for me. I wanted to gain lean muscle and had never really tried strength training. I LOVE these workouts! They are so fun and I’ve never felt more strong and better about myself. I wake up excited to get my workout in. Thank you for your dynamic personality, awesome and fun workouts and overall hard work!
Emily! I’m so glad you are loving the workouts and putting them to good use! Keep up the great work and keep coming back for more! -Lindsey
Push Workout
Push Workout
I found nourish move love at the beginning of the pandemic. I’ve always loved exercising but this brought it to another level for me. I wanted to gain lean muscle and had never really tried strength training. I LOVE these workouts! They are so fun and I’ve never felt more strong and better about myself. I wake up excited to get my workout in. Thank you for your dynamic personality, awesome and fun workouts and overall hard work!
Emily! I’m so glad you are loving the workouts and putting them to good use! Keep up the great work and keep coming back for more! -Lindsey