Chest And Back Superset Workout
The feeling of the pump during your workout is addictive, and when it comes to pumps nothing beats the one you'll experience from a good chest and back superset workout.
Now, when it comes to supersetting major muscle groups together this is generally a counterproductive way to train, particularly if strength is your end-goal.
That is not the case when it comes to chest and back supersets.
As these are two opposing muscle groups you'll find that combining a chest exercise and a back exercise into one set does not diminish your strength, hell... some guys report their stronger and are able to lift more due to the immense pump.
Don't just take my word for it though, give the exercises and workout below a try and see how strong your chest pressing movements feel after you've started to get a bit of a back pump.
Keys To An Intense Chest And Back Superset Workout
To maintain intensity and get the most out of your workout here are a few quick tips...
- Rest no more than 1 minute between sets
- The only rest time between your chest and back exercise should be the time to move to the bench/equipment
- Have your weights/machines adjusted and ready so there's no downtime messing around with cable attachments/weight adjustments
- Perform the supersets in the prescribed order, with big compound lifts first before eventually moving to isolation towards the end of the workout
Putting It All Together (The Workout)
Superset 1 - Flat Barbell Bench Press with Wide Grip Pull-Ups
We'll be kicking off our chest and back superset workout with the biggest strength and size builder for the chest, the flat barbell bench press along with the king of all back exercises - the pull-up.
I opt for a wide grip on the pull-up to really focus on building up the width and taper of the back.
If you're unable to perform bodyweight pull-ups opt to use the assisted pull-up machine or use a resistance band to assist with your bodyweight pull-ups. The lat pulldown machine is not a good substitute.
As this is without a doubt the most important superset of the workout I recommend performing 5 sets, aiming for 8 reps per set.
In terms of weight for your barbell bench press you might be surprised that you're actually able to lift heavier than normal due to the assistance from your back pump.
You can find my exercise guide for the flat barbell bench press here.
You can find my exercise guide for pull-ups here.
Superset 2 - Incline Dumbbell Press with Bent Over Rows
Our second superset will hammer your upper-chest and again focus on building width and thickness in your upper/middle back with bent over barbell rows.
When performing your bent over barbell rows reset the bar to the ground on each repetition (this is known as a 'Pendlay row').
I recommend performing 4 sets, aiming for 8 reps per set.
You can find my exercise guide for the incline press here.
You can find my exercise guide for bent over (Pendlay rows) here.
Superset 3 - Chest Dips with Seated Cable Row
Now that we've got our heavy pressing movements out of the way to pack on size and strength in our chest it's time to hit some chest dips.
To place emphasis on the chest ensure you're leaning slightly forward for the duration of each repetition of your dips and use a slightly wider grip than if you were to perform triceps dips.
With your seated cable row ensure you're squeezing your shoulder blades together for a count of one second at the end of each repetition before slowly allowing the weight to drag you back in (place some emphasis on the negative portion of each repetition, don't be one of those guys that neglects the negative as this time under tension is important for hypertrophy and muscle growth).
I recommend performing 4 sets, aiming for 8 reps per set.
You can find my exercise guide for chest dips here.
You can find my exercise guide for the seated cable row here.
Superset 4 - Incline Dumbbell Flyes with One Arm Dumbbell Row
By the time you reach our fourth and final superset your chest and back will be insanely pumped.
As your muscles are going to be pretty damn fatigued from all of the earlier heavy lifting we're going to be performing these last two exercises in a slightly higher rep range while focusing on perfect form - aiming for 12 reps per set (in the case of the one arm dumbbell row that's 12 reps per arm)
You can find my exercise guide for incline dumbbell flyes here.
You can find my exercise guide for one arm dumbbell rows here.
My Killer Chest And Back Superset Workout in Review
1 minute rest between sets.
No rest between each chest and back exercise.
- Flat barbell bench press SS wide grip pull-ups - 5 sets - 8 reps per set
- Incline dumbbell press SS bent over rows - 4 sets - 8 reps per set
- Chest dips SS seated cable row - 4 sets - 8 reps per set
- Incline dumbbell flyes SS one arm dumbbell row - 4 sets - 12 reps per set
