May 12, 2022 Admin Home page » Training nuances
How to pump up the outer part of the triceps. List of the most important exercises. Tips and tricks for quality training. Educational video.
Everyone who comes to the gym dreams primarily of big arms, forgetting that it is not the biceps that make the arms massive, since it occupies only 30-35% of the muscles of all arms, 60% is given to the triceps. Therefore, it is triceps exercises that give massiveness to the arms, forming powerful athletic muscles out of them.
The triceps itself includes 3 muscle sections, long, medial, lateral, today we’ll talk about the latter, which is responsible for its appearance. Some sources claim that each of the three bundles can be trained in isolation. In fact, in triceps training, all 3 areas are included in the work at the same time, but there are small tricks that allow one or another area to be included in the work to a large extent.
Crossover extension
Perform 1-2 warm-up approaches and 3 working approaches for 10-12 repetitions.
It is necessary to take the rope handle, the body is slightly tilted forward. The starting position involves keeping the elbows slightly apart, but along the body, extending the arms, not allowing the elbows to move back and forth, they are in a motionless position from the beginning to the end of the exercise.
Having completed the extension, remain in this position for 1 second, allowing the load in the triceps to reach its peak, and raising your arms up, do not allow your forearms to go up too much, otherwise the load in the triceps is lost.
One-arm extension in crossover
It is necessary to perform 1-2 warm-up and 3 working sets of 10-12 repetitions.
Included in the list of isolated triceps exercises. Take the position of the body slightly tilted forward, take the D-shaped handle with a reverse grip (palm facing up) and extend the elbow. The weight, unlike a cable handle, will be less, but the triceps will feel a good load.
At the lowest point, also pause for a second, which will immediately give a burning sensation in the triceps and an understanding of the maximum load for the lateral area. The handle should not be raised above the elbow, which will allow you to maintain the load on the triceps throughout the entire exercise.
You can try to do it while sitting, which will eliminate the help of your back.
A little anatomy
Sculpted arm muscles are the dream of the vast majority of men. Accordingly, many people focus on performing a set of triceps and biceps exercises. But to understand how to train correctly, you need to have an idea of the structural features of the body. In particular, today it is worth understanding the anatomy of the triceps.
The triceps is the triceps brachialis muscle. It is located on the back of the shoulder and occupies about 65-75% of the total volume of the upper limb.
The triceps allows us to extend the arm at the elbow and move backwards. It is formed from 3 bundles (heads):
- Lateral. Located on the back outside of the shoulder. Together with the length, it forms the characteristic shape of a horseshoe. It comes into operation after the medial one.
- Medial. Located in the upper shoulder area at the back. Despite its small size, it takes on the maximum load during extension at the very beginning of the movement.
- Long. Located closest to the back in the back of the shoulder. Athletes mainly concentrate on working out this zone. To set the appropriate load, it is necessary to move it as far as possible from the blade. For example, lift your arm up.
The lateral, medial and long heads are connected together and secured by a tendon to the ulna. The beams operate together; it is not possible to work them in an isolated mode. But with the right approach, you can load any area to a greater or lesser extent.
French press with dumbbells
After 1-2 warm-up approaches, perform 3 working sets for 6-8 repetitions.
You need to lie down on a gymnastics bench, lift the dumbbells in front of you with a neutral grip, while inhaling, lower the dumbbells to the sides of your head, elbows pointing up, and as you exhale, return the dumbbells up. Elbows should not diverge to the sides or move back and forth.
To increase the load on the triceps, you can start by moving your elbows slightly behind your head, which will allow you to keep your triceps slightly tilted, putting more stress on the triceps.
Bent over arm extension
Also do 1-2 warm-up and 3 working sets of 10-12 repetitions.
A small working weight is enough to feel a burning sensation in the triceps. To do this, take a dumbbell in your hand, lean on a comfortable base with one hand, and tilt your body parallel to the floor. Raise the elbow pressed to the body upward so that the triceps are parallel to the floor.
Attention! When bending your elbow, do not let the dumbbell go behind your elbow, but when lifting it up, straighten your elbow completely.
This is the only way to feel the maximum effectiveness of the entire exercise.
The proposed 4 exercises for the triceps will not be enough to develop a truly powerful lateral head; it is necessary to include the following basic exercises in the training program...
Exercises for home
Training the triceps muscle is useful not only for bodybuilders, but also for girls who want to have a beautiful figure. Women have a genetic predisposition to accumulate fat deposits in the upper arms and armpits.
At home, you can do many of the same exercises that you do in the gym. Do push-ups from the support, use different options for pumping the triceps with dumbbells. The key to rapid progress is adherence to the correct technique and regular training.
Close grip press
1-2 warm-up and 3 work for 6-8 repetitions.
One of the most powerful basic exercises that really engages the triceps. The grip between the palms should be about 30 cm; if the width is smaller, it will break your wrists and keeping the barbell suspended will become problematic if the pectoral muscle is more involved in the work.
So, when performing, pay special attention to the position of the elbows, which should be pressed as close as possible to the body. As you inhale, we lower it and, without using a push from the chest, we powerfully lift it up.
At the same time, the lower back does not come off the bench, the legs are firmly on the floor, all attention is on the triceps.
The triceps are bulkier than the biceps and need to be trained from very different angles. Like biceps, triceps should look good from any perspective. But unlike biceps, triceps are essential to making your arms look massive and impressive even when relaxed.
When someone says, “Wow, look how big his arms are!”, you can bet that the effect is coming from the triceps. When you're on stage, your triceps remain visible 90% of the time, no matter what poses you strike.
Triceps: The triceps muscle that works in opposition to the biceps. Passes from the outside from under the deltoid muscle to the connection with the elbow ligaments.
Due to the long head of the triceps, the arm moves backward and brings the arm towards the body. The entire muscle takes part in the extension of the forearm.
As mentioned above, the triceps consists of three heads, which form the so-called triceps horseshoe. Bodybuilding literature and articles often describe exercises that target one of the triceps heads so that only that head can be selectively trained. In fact, almost all triceps exercises involve all three of its heads, and the mass fraction of one or another head is determined by the genetic data of the athlete.
Any triceps workout should include exercises that will load all three bundles approximately equally. In this way and only in this way, the triceps will receive a full load and good stimulation for growth.
In order for a triceps workout to be truly effective, you should determine which of the triceps bundles specifically is lagging (this is most often the side bundle) in order to fully load it.
Below we present the basic exercises for training the triceps.
01. Close grip bench press
The bench press with a narrow grip works well on the middle of the pectoral muscles and the long head of the triceps, and by changing the angle of the bench you can change the load on different areas of these muscles. You can perform the close-grip bench press with free weights, as well as in a Smith machine.
Working in the Smith machine in this case is even preferable, since the exercise does not belong to the category of “mass-gaining” and, accordingly, does not require the inclusion of many stabilizer muscles, which, when working in the Smith machine, “net” in all variants, both pectoral and deltoid presses. This happens due to a well-established trajectory of movement, which is provided by the biomechanical nuances of the design of the simulator.
Lie down on a bench in a bench press rack. The back of the head, back and buttocks are pressed tightly to the surface of the bench. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you); The distance between the hands should be less than the width of the shoulders. Remove the barbell from the racks and press it into straight arms. The bar should be above your neck. Then press the weight upward in a straight line with a powerful force, ending the repetition just above the point of contact. Moving the projectile along a vertical line will reduce the load on the pectoral and deltoid muscles.
02. French press
This exercise is used in bodybuilding and powerlifting to develop triceps. Muscles involved: If the barbell is lowered towards the forehead, then the medial and lateral heads of the triceps are more involved; if the barbell is lowered behind the head, then mainly the long head of the triceps is involved.
The massiveness of your arms directly depends on this exercise, provided that the technique is impeccable.
Lie down on a horizontal bench so that your head looks slightly over the edge. This is done so that the bar can be easily pulled back by bending your elbows. And the head in this position will not interfere with this.
Straighten your arms up, perpendicular to the floor, and ask your partner to hand you the barbell. It is advisable to use a barbell with an EZ bar, but if you do not have one, you can perform the exercise with a traditional barbell with a straight bar.
Fully straighten your arms with the barbell and tilt them back 45 degrees from the vertical - this is the starting position. Keeping your upper arms steady, slowly lower the barbell to your head. While moving, try to keep your elbows close to each other. Raising the elbows is an incorrect execution.
Inhale slowly when flexing the shoulder joint, exhale sharply when extending. The flexion stage should be several times longer than the extension phase. Completely exclude all possible cheating options. 03. Extension of arms with a barbell from behind the head
The vertical position of the arms promotes the greatest contraction of the long head of the triceps, allowing it to be included in the work as much as possible. Supination due to the curved bar helps to better distribute the load between the three heads of the triceps.
Sit on an incline bench and ask your partner to pass the apparatus to you with your arms extended above your head. If you don't have a partner, grab the barbell from the floor and lift it to your chest on your own. Sit on a bench, lift the weight above your head and fully straighten your elbows. Inhale, bend your elbows, lowering the bar behind your head. At the end of the movement, return to the starting position and exhale.
For safety reasons, do not arch your lower back too much.
Movements should be strictly from the elbow. To increase the load on your triceps, pause for a second at the bottom and slowly lift the weight back to the starting position. 04. Extension of arms with a dumbbell from behind the head
Extension of the arm with a dumbbell allows you to specifically work on the triceps that are lagging behind in development for the proportionality of the arms. In addition, this exercise perfectly works the upper part of each of the three heads of the triceps, which leads to thickening of the top and middle of the triceps muscle. Often, arm extensions are performed with the goal of separating (separating) all three heads of the triceps from each other and separating them from the deltoids.
Sit on a bench and place your feet firmly on the floor. It is better to do this exercise on a Scott bench, resting your back on the adjustable platform, to reduce the load on your lower back, adjust its height just above your lower back. Take the dumbbell in your right hand and straighten your back.
Straighten your arm straight up from the dumbbells. Bend your elbow and place the dumbbell behind your head.
Take a deep breath and hold your breath. Fixing the top of your arm in a stationary position, tighten your triceps and, straightening your arm, lift the dumbbell. Movement occurs only in the elbow joint; all other parts of the body are motionless.
During this exercise, it is very important to keep the shoulder part of the arm motionless; only the forearm moves.
Do not lean your torso forward or backward, otherwise you may simply lose your balance and fall off the bench. In addition, rounding the back puts unnecessary stress on the cartilage discs of the spine. Do not bend or straighten your wrist, and avoid movements of the shoulder joint. 05. Lying dumbbell extension
This exercise allows you to control the work of the triceps and evenly distributes the load on all three heads of the triceps muscle, giving them a distinct, prominent shape.
Lie down on a bench and place your feet on the floor. The pelvis, shoulders and head are pressed against the bench. The back is straight. Do not arch your back at the waist. Hold dumbbells in both hands and lift them above your chest. Hands strictly vertically up. Palms facing each other. Take a deep breath and, holding your breath and fixing the top of your arms (from elbow to shoulder) in a stationary position, tighten your triceps and lower the dumbbells, bending your elbows. At the end of the movement, returning to the starting position, exhale.
Choose the weight for this exercise very carefully. Excessive weight plus unstable form will lead to elbow injury. Additionally, if you already have elbow problems, this exercise will put too much stress on it, so you may want to look for a replacement, such as the close-grip bench press. 06. Extension of arms on the upper block while standing
This exercise uses all the triceps bundles, but to a greater extent the lateral (outer side) bundle. The main purpose of its use in bodybuilding is to give relief and clearly detail the contours of the triceps muscle, visually separating its bundles from each other.
The exercise should not be considered as strictly isolated; it can and should be used with heavy weights, both using strict technique and using certain cheating.
The technique for performing lat pulldowns for triceps is as follows. Stand up straight. Grasp the handle of the upper block and lean slightly towards the machine. Shoulders should be relaxed, elbows pressed to the body. Slowly lower the handle in an arc towards your hips until your arms are fully straightened.
Bend your arm as much as possible and straighten it down as much as possible. The elbow is motionless during this movement.
The main mistake is the movement of the elbow. With this kind of work, the back is involved, the triceps are not trained. 07. Bent over arm extension with dumbbell
Bent-over dumbbell curls are commonly used in bodybuilding to achieve symmetry in triceps development, honing not only symmetry but also form. In this exercise, the angle of impact on the triceps is significantly different from other exercises; this arm extension is a very powerful tool that greatly accelerates the growth of the triceps muscle. When you hold your arm straight, there is a strong static load on the triceps, at this moment even the deepest muscle fibers are involved in the work, which is necessary for good detail and separation of the triceps.
Stand with your side to the bench, bend over and rest your left palm and left knee on it. Move your right leg back slightly so that your torso assumes a horizontal position. The supporting arm is straight and perpendicular to the bench. Alternatively, some people prefer not to rest their knees on the bench and simply place their feet in a “spread” position (the left foot is one step forward in relation to the right).
Bend your elbow at an angle of 90 degrees and press it to your torso. Straighten your arm.
Common mistakes should be avoided. First, the torso must remain fully erect. A position in which the shoulders are higher than the pelvis leads to a reduction in the range of motion, which reduces the effectiveness of the entire exercise. Secondly, the elbow should not rise higher than the back, for the same reason. Thirdly, any movement of the torso not only reduces the load on the triceps, but can also lead to curvature of the spine.
Some bodybuilders perform this exercise with both arms at the same time. This option is very effective, but requires a lot of physical strength, because you have no external support, and the stability of the body is ensured solely by the muscles of the hips and lower back. In addition, it will be very difficult for you to fully straighten your arms, that is, the movement may not reach its full amplitude. 08. Dips
Dips are an excellent compound exercise that targets all three heads (long, lateral and medial) of the triceps. Technically, dips are one of the best exercises in terms of overall fitness, which maximally utilizes muscle coordination mechanisms.
As you inhale, we slowly lower down, gradually increasing the amplitude with each repetition (try to keep your body straight and not tilt forward, so as not to involve the chest muscles in the work).
Push-ups with a completely vertical body are technically difficult because... It is more natural for our body to move with a slight forward bend. Therefore, increased attention to the technique of your work will be required.
Push-ups are performed slowly, perhaps so that the negative phase exceeds the positive phase in time.
You can do push-ups on parallel bars with additional weights attached to an athletic belt using a simple metal hook. Weights allow you to reduce the number of repetitions in order to create maximum growth-stimulating effects on the muscles. Select a weight that allows you to perform 8-10 repetitions. However, be careful, especially when exiting a bottom position. After a few weeks you will begin to progress quite quickly. 09. Push-ups
Push-ups are a basic, multi-joint exercise performed on the floor. The main muscles involved are the pectorals and triceps. The anterior deltas, forearms, small muscles of the hand, lower back muscles, abs and quadriceps are indirectly loaded.
The triceps (especially its long head) is powerfully stimulated by push-ups with a narrow emphasis. The outer head of the triceps originates on the back of the humerus, but does not cross the shoulder joint. The inner head of the triceps begins in the middle of the humerus and is mostly covered by the other two heads - part of it can be seen just above the elbow. The long head of the triceps begins on the scapula below the shoulder joint and, on the way down, merging with the other heads, crosses the elbow joint, attaching to the ulna of the forearm. The long head receives the greatest load because it simultaneously extends both the shoulder joint and the elbow. The external and internal heads of the triceps help in extension of the elbow joint.
We take a lying position, placing our feet very close to each other. To increase the load on the triceps, you can place your legs on an elevation - a chair, armchair or bed.
We place our palms close, so that the index fingers and thumbs form the outline of a heart. The remaining fingers can be spread out, this will only give greater stability.
This universal exercise is suitable for any category and almost any age. Very often, beginners who did not know how to do any exercises began with push-ups, gradually achieving unimaginable results. 10. Push-ups
To perform this exercise, you will need a bench and a wall bars, or a second bench/chair - in general, any object on which you can rest your heels. The exercise involves all three heads of the triceps and is primarily aimed at increasing their mass. It is believed that the greatest part of the load falls on the middle part of the triceps. Refers to basic triceps exercises.
When doing push-ups, do not spread your elbows to the sides; they should move strictly in a vertical plane. Otherwise, part of the load is taken by the pectoral muscles and latissimus muscles. And when working with heavy weights, you also put your shoulder joints at risk of injury.
While performing the exercise, keep your chin parallel to the floor and your gaze should be directed straight ahead. Violating this rule increases the risk of injury.
The main mistake is lifting the pelvis up and forward when moving from below. With this performance, the load on the triceps is removed, since the amplitude of movement decreases.
To further increase the load, place weights on the front of your thighs.
Dips
1-2 warm-up and 3 work for 6-8 repetitions.
For triceps training to be successful, you need to know a number of nuances to reduce the load on the chest and increase the load on the triceps:
♦ elbows close to the body, do not allow them to go to the sides;
♦ keep the body as level as possible without bending forward; to do this, you can bend your knees and, straining your abs, push them forward;
♦ perform full elbow extension;
♦ when lowering, the shoulders should not be lower than the elbows, otherwise, if the deltoid muscles are poorly stretched, it is easy to injure them.
Triceps push-ups
1-2 warm-up and 3 work for 10-12 repetitions.
To do this, you need to place the bench at the back perpendicular to the body. Conveniently placing your palms on the sides of your hips, lower your body, while your shoulders should not fall below your elbows, otherwise, as in the case of parallel bars, if the shoulder muscles are poorly stretched, the risk of injuring the anterior deltoid increases.
To give your triceps a better workout, place a gymnastics bench in front of you and place your feet on it or on the barbell of a Smith machine.
Tips for training triceps
To make triceps exercises powerful, you need to perform a number of important nuances:
♦ don’t chase weight, choose an adequate load in which the exercises are performed technically perfectly, and not haphazardly. In this case, there is little use, and the chances of getting injured are higher;
♦ when performing any exercise, you must perform it concentrated, your arms should not dangle like ropes, the load is felt from the beginning to the end of the exercise;
♦ cheating only as a last resort. You should not bend, twitch, or help with your body; only the triceps work. If it’s really hard, then you need to reduce the weight;
♦ do not ignore the warm-up and cool-down; in the first case, this will give you the opportunity to stretch your muscles well and prepare them for hard work, and in the second, to calm the triceps and return it to its previous length after contracting the muscle fibers under load;
♦ from time to time use drop sets in the last approaches;
♦ if pain is felt during exercise, the weight must be reduced or replaced with something similar. Good pain only the next day or every other day in the muscle fibers, which indicates good muscle load.
Remember the information above and create beautiful hands together with the Bomb Body website, happy training everyone!
How and why do women and men need to pump up their triceps?
Particular attention is paid to the muscle group in various sports. A developed triceps muscle is important for volleyball players, track and field athletes, and weight lifters. Women who want to lose excess weight often face the aesthetic problem of sagging and sagging skin in the forearms.
The triceps is located (photos of athletically built girls demonstrate the attractive state of this area of the body) in a place on the arms that attracts increased attention, especially in the summer season. To eliminate aesthetic defects such as sagging and ptosis, it is necessary to intensively train the triceps muscle.
This muscle is always in the shadow of the more expressive biceps. Full pumping of the muscles of the upper limbs is impossible without performing exercises to develop the triceps. Beginner athletes who do not pay enough attention to strengthening the triceps will not be able to achieve their goal.
