Your First Chest Workout: A Beginner's Guide
This session is for you if you have little or no experience lifting weights and want to start building a stronger chest. We'll walk you through every exercise so you feel confident from your very first rep. Stick with it, and the stronger, more capable version of you is closer than you think.
What the research says
A few studies have looked at how beginners respond to weight training sessions like this one. Here is what they found — no more, no less. One study with beginner weight-training students found that doing weight training twice a week for 12 weeks led to clear improvements in chest press strength for both groups tested, though the difference between the two styles of training was not significant for the chest press. A separate study found that both groups — one training on non-consecutive days and one training on consecutive days — showed significant increases in bench press strength after seven weeks of full-body resistance training, with no significant difference between the two schedules. Another study compared two styles of resistance training in college-aged women over four weeks and found that both produced large improvements in strength compared to a control group that did not train, though only one group reached statistical significance versus the control due to high variability in the other group.
The evidence is modest — studies are small (16 to 21 people) and short (4 to 12 weeks) — but they consistently show beginners can improve chest press strength with regular weight training across different schedules and styles.
A study of 16 beginner weight-training students found that both a flexible and a standard non-linear training program produced improvements in chest press strength over 12 weeks, but the difference between the two groups on the chest press measure was not statistically significant.
View study →A study of 21 recreationally trained men found that both a three-consecutive-day and a three-non-consecutive-day resistance training schedule produced significant increases in bench press strength (p<0.01) after seven weeks, with no significant difference between the two groups.
View study →A study comparing two resistance training methods in college-aged women over four weeks found significant time effects for strength across all tests (p≤0.01), with both training groups showing large percent improvements in strength compared to a non-training control group; however, only the traditional resistance training group reached statistical significance versus the control, as the other group's results had high variability.
View study →The routine
Warmup
Stand with your hands together, arms extended directly in front of you. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, quickly move your arms back as far as possible and back in again, similar to an exaggerated clapping motion. Repeat 5-10 times, increasing speed as you do so.
Main
Lie on the floor with two kettlebells next to your shoulders. Position one in place on your chest and then the other, gripping the kettlebells on the handle with the palms facing forward. Extend both arms, so that the kettlebells are being held above your chest. Lower one kettlebell, bringing it to your chest and turn the wrist in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Raise the kettlebell and repeat on the opposite side.
Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position. From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest. After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weight should take about twice as long as raising it. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Lie back on an incline bench. Using a medium-width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position. As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on you upper chest. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, squeeze your chest, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: it should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Using a flat bench secure a band under the leg of the bench that is nearest to your head. Once the band is secure, grab it by both handles and lie down on the bench. Extend your arms so that you are holding the band handles in front of you at shoulder width. Once at shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position. Bring down the handles slowly until your elbow forms a 90 degree angle. Keep full control at all times. As you breathe out, bring the handles up using your pectoral muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, squeeze your chest, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions of your training program.
Adjust the weight to an appropriate amount and be seated, grasping the handles. Your upper arms should be about 45 degrees to the body, with your head and chest up. The elbows should be bent to about 90 degrees. This will be your starting position. Begin by extending through the elbow, pressing the handles together straight in front of you. Keep your shoulder blades retracted as you execute the movement. After pausing at full extension, return to th starting position, keeping tension on the cables. You can also execute this movement with your back off the pad, at an incline or decline, or alternate hands.
Cooldown
Sit upright on the floor with your partner behind you. Place your hands behind your hand, and push your elbows back as far as you can. Your partner should hold your elbows. This will be your starting position. Gently attempt to pull your elbows forward with your hands still behind your head for 10 or more seconds. Your partner should prevent your elbows from moving. Now, relax your muscles and have your partner gently pull the elbows back as far as it comfortable for you. Be sure to let your partner know when the stretch is adequate to prevent overstretching or injury.
Start off by standing with your legs together, holding a bodybar or a broomstick. Take a slightly wider than shoulder width grip on the pole and hold it in front of you with your palms facing down. Carefully lift the pole up and behind your head.
This guide is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice — if you have any pain, injury, or health condition, check with a doctor before starting a new exercise program.