15 Minutes To Max Back And Chest Hypertrophy

How  much hypertrophy can you pack into a chest and back home workout just 15 minutes long? A lot if you do this push-pull plan!

Push And Pull

For those unfamiliar with the terms “push” and “pull” let’s have a short explanation:

• “Push” means exercises where you move the resistance away from you: push-ups and all forms of presses
• “Pull” means moving the resistance toward you (pull-ups, curls, rows etc.)

The idea is that switching forth and back between those kinds of motion gets the muscle toward more hypertrophy.

For the back and chest I put together a short push-pull workout you can do in fifteen minutes and consists of just four exercises.

Inclined Dumbbell Presses

We start with inclined presses because in our regular workouts most of us do the flat press first. When you instead do the inclined variation, your body has something new to think about. No worries; you don’t need a workout bench. A sturdy board suffices.

Dumbbell Rows

Let’s get your back into the picture with the first pull exercise. Dumbbell rows are a compound that train many muscles of the upper back.

Regular Dumbbell Presses

Not starting with it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the regular press. In addition to the novelty of doing inclined presses first, doing flat presses second has your chest pre-exhausted. This can further enhance hypertrophy.

Suspended Rows

To finish this many guys go for barbell rows as the final exercise, either regular or underhand. But we want maximum hypertrophy so we again do something different. Grab a towel and a backpack!

The Final Tricks

To make this the most effective also follow these tricks:

• Doing this in the regular 6 to 12 reps scheme for 3 sets would be another instance of stuff you usually do. Instead start with a weight where you can do 10 reps, do your set and then, without a break, go to the second exercise, again using a weight where you can do 10 reps.
• After the first two exercises have a 1 minute break, then do the second exercise pair back-to-back. When you’ve done the second pair, start over with the first pair and repeat the cycle until 15 minutes are up.
• When necessary drop some weight to stay with 10 reps per set.

I promise: you won’t believe how intensive this is! But don’t overdo this workout! It’s meant to be something fresh once in a while!