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The
triceps is a la rger
muscle mass than the biceps, and it needs more training.
Like the biceps, the triceps have to look good from
many angles. But unlike the biceps, the triceps need
to make your arm look big, massive, and impressive
when your arms are not flexed as well. When somebody
says, "Wow, look at the size of that guy's arms!"
you can be sure it is the triceps that are creating
that effect. They are visible 90 percent of the time
you walk that sidewalk or hallway with your T-shirt
rolled over your upper arms.
The
triceps need to be developed in such a way that they
look good when seen from the side, front, rear and
most of all when the arms are raised over the head
or held straight out by the sides.
Here
are some exercises, which will help you in building
and toning your triceps:
Areas
of Emphasis: To work the triceps through a full
range of motion.
The Technique:
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Hook
a short bar to an overhead cable and pulley.
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Stand
close to the bar and grasp it with an overhand grip,
hands about 10 inches apart. Keep your elbows tucked
in close to your body and stationary. Keep your
whole body steady - don't lean forward to press
down with your body weight.
-
Press
the bar down as far as possible, locking out your
arms and feeling the triceps contract fully. Release
and let the bar come up as far as possible without
moving your elbows.
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For
variety, you can vary your grip, the type of bar
you use, how close you stand to the bar, or the
width between your hands; or you can do a three-quarter
movement, going from all the way up to three-quarters
of the way down in order to work the lower triceps
more directly.
Areas
of Emphasis: To isolate the triceps and develop
the horseshoe shape of the muscle. This exercise is
especially good for weak point training, because by
using a cable you can work each arm separately in
isolation.
The Technique:
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Using
an overhead cable and pulley, take hold of the handle
with a reverse grip, palm up.
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Keeping
your elbow fixed and unmoving, straighten your arm
until it is locked out and extended straight down.
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Flex
the triceps in this position for extra contraction.
Still not moving the elbow, let your hand come up
as far as possible until the forearm touches the
biceps, feeling a complete stretch in the triceps.
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Repeat
with the other arm.
Areas
of Emphasis: To develop the inside and rear heads
of the triceps. This exercise gives you extra stretch
to hit the inside of the triceps more directly.
The Technique:
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Grasp
a barbell with an overhand grip, hands close together.
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Sit
on a bench and raise the bar straight up overhead,
arms locked out. Keeping your elbows stationary
and close to your head, lower the weight down in
an arc behind your head until your triceps are as
stretched as possible.
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Only
the forearms should move in this exercise. From
this position, using only your triceps, press the
weight back up overhead to full extension.
-
Lock
your arms out and flex your triceps. You might prefer
doing this exercise using an E-Z curl bar, or on
an incline bench.
Areas
of Emphasis: To develop the full sweep of the
triceps. Doing this movement gives your triceps a
full look to complement the biceps. Performing Triceps
Presses standing instead of seated changes the angle
at which the triceps are forced to work and, in addition,
allows you to do a cheating movement and thus to use
more weight. This exercise can also be done with a
cable and rope through a floor-level pulley, which
hits the outer arm of the triceps.
The Technique:
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Grip
a straight or E-Z curl bar with an overhand grip,
hands about 10 inches apart. Stand upright and hold
the bar extended straight overhead.
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Keeping
your elbows stationary and close to your head, lower
the weight down behind your head as far as possible,
then press it back up to the starting position through
a semicircular arc.
Areas
of Emphasis: To work the triceps all the way from
the elbow down to the lats.
The Technique:
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Lie
along a bench, your head just off the end with knees
bent and feet flat on the bench.
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Take
hold of a barbell (preferably an E-Z curl bar) with
an overhand grip, hands about 10 inches apart.
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Press
the weight up until your arms are locked out, but
not straight up over your face. Instead, the weight
should be back behind the top of your head, with
your triceps doing the work of holding it there.
Keeping your elbows stationary, lower the weight
down toward your forehead, then press it back up
to the starting position, stopping short of the
vertical to keep the triceps under constant tension.
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Keep
control of the weight at all times in this movement
to avoid banging yourself on the head with the bar.
Areas
of Emphasis: To develop the upper triceps.
The Technique:
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Stand
with knees bent, one foot in front of the other,
putting your hand on the leading knee or a low bench
for balance. Take a dumbbell in the opposite hand,
bend your arm and raise your elbow back and up to
about shoulder height, elbow close to your side
and letting the dumbbell hang straight down below
it.
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Keeping
your elbow stationary, press the weight back until
your forearm is about parallel to the floor. Hold
here for a moment and give the triceps an extra
flex, then slowly come back to the starting position.
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For
added triceps development, twist your hand slightly
as you lift the weight, bringing the thumb up, and
twist back the other way as you come down.
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Finish
the set and then repeat the movement using the other
arm.
Make sure that only your forearm moves in this exercise,
not the upper arm. This exercise can also be done
with cable pulleys.
| One-arm
Tricep Extensions |
Areas
of Emphasis: To work the entire triceps and to
separate the three triceps heads.
The Technique:
-
Sitting
on a bench, take a dumbbell in one hand and hold
it extended overhead. Keeping your elbow stationary
and close to your head, lower the dumbbell down
in an arc behind your head (not behind the shoulder)
as far as you can.
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Feel
the triceps stretch to their fullest, then press
the weight back up to the starting position.
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It
is essential to do this as strictly as possible
(looking in the mirror helps you to check your form).
Repeat the movement with the other arm. Be sure
to go back and forth from one hand to the other
without stopping to rest in between.
Areas
of Emphasis: To develop the thickness of the triceps,
especially around the elbow. Dips are often thought
of as only a chest exercise, but they can be done
in such a way as to hit the triceps really hard as
well.
The Technique:
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Taking
hold of the parallel bars or alternately place your
palms on the edge of an exercise bench, raise yourself
up and lock out your arms.
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As
you bend your elbows and lower yourself between
the bars, try to stay as upright as possible-the
more you lean back, the more you work the triceps;
the more you bend forward, the more you work the
pectorals.
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From
the bottom of the movement, press yourself back
up until your arms are locked out, and then give
an extra flex of the triceps to increase the contraction.
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You
can also increase the effort involved in this exercise
by using a weight hooked around your waist and by
coming up only about three-quarters of the way rather
than locking out the movement and taking the tension
off the triceps.
courtesy:
www.galaxyofhealth.com
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