In order for triceps exercises to be effective and to promote mass building, all three heads of the triceps muscle should be employed. That is why it is worth considering various types of triceps exercises in your training: with dumbbells, without equipment, with lines of the upper lift. Learn the most effective triceps exercises that you can do at home or in the gym, and try an exemplary training plan prepared by Tomasz Piotrowski, a personal trainer and boxer.

Contents:

  1. Anatomy of the triceps
  2. Exercises for triceps with dumbbells
  3. Exercises for triceps in the gym
  4. Triceps exercises without equipment
  5. Reasons Why Triceps Is Not Growing
  6. Triceps training plan

Triceps exercisesshould be a must in your strength and mass training plan, because triceps are the strongest muscle in the arm. Unfortunately, people who start training more often train the biceps due to the prevailing belief that a large biceps is a well-built figure.

The truth is, however, that the triceps of the arm are definitely the bigger muscle. It is also a very important link in the arsenal of boxers, because it, and not the biceps, determines the strength and speed of the strike to some extent.

In this article, we will focus on how the triceps is built and how to train it effectively to keep it strong and clearly visible.

Anatomy of the triceps

The triceps muscle of the upper arm covers the entire back surface of the upper arm. Its starting trailer consists of three heads. Lateral, long and medial head. The beginning of the long head is hidden under the deltoid muscle. Its primary function is to straighten the elbow joint. It is one of the strongest muscles that bend the arm. The most effective way to fully activate it is to exercise with your arms above your head.

The lateral head is attached to the posterior surface of the humerus above the radial nerve groove. In turn the medial head below this furrow. It is also the deepest one and cannot be seen with the naked eye. All three heads merge into one tendon attached to the elbow.

Effective triceps training will beonly performed if we involveall three headsstrongly enough. To do this, perform exercises with the arms above the head, in front of the body and behind the body.

Check: Sample menu for muscle mass

Exercises for triceps with dumbbells

The exercises that work best can be done with dumbbells or with your own body weight.

  • French Press

The first and most popular exercise for triceps is the so-calledFrench Press , which can be done lying down or with your arms overhead.

In the first version, we lie down on a flat bench . We grab the barbell with a weight appropriate for us shoulder-width apart or slightly tighter. We position ourselves in such a way that the hands are perfectly perpendicular to the ground. We pull the shoulder blades down and tighten the abdominal muscles, which are responsible for stabilizing the body during the exercise. It is very important that we keep our wrists straight. They should be an extension of the forearm. In this way, we will avoid unnecessary injuries. We move only in the elbow joint by bending it and leading the bar down until it is just above our forehead. Then straighten the elbows again, returning to the starting position. It is very important to choose the weight that will allow you to perform this exercise technically correctly. Do not widen your elbows while moving.

Above-head French Pressing can be done while standing or sitting . In this case, we can use either a barbell or a dumbbell. When we use the hammer grip, we activate both short heads of the triceps: both medial and lateral. Movement also occurs exclusively in the elbow joint, and our attention should be focused on preventing the elbows from spreading outwards.

Military press - technique, variants and effects of the exercise

Deadlift - correct technique and exercise benefits

  • Straightening the arm back in the torso drop

Another very popular exercise for triceps with dumbbells isextending the arm backwards in the torso drop . Our task is to position ourselves in the same way as for rowing with a one-arm dumbbell. We can use a flat bench for this and lean on it with our knee and hand. We keep the other hand next to the body. We pull the shoulder blades down and tighten all the stabilizing muscles to the maximum. The weight is held with a hammer grip, and the movement is made only in the elbow joint, from a 90-degree bend to full extension, but nothyperextension.

Exercises for triceps in the gym

The lines of the upper lift are very often used to train the triceps muscle of the arm. Here we can do some exercises. Among other things,straightening the arms with an overgrip, undergrip and with a line held by a hammer . We will focus on straightening the arms with the overhand.

This is a very simple exercise, because we are standing in front of the pulley slightly tilted - so that the elbows are close to the body, but we have room for them to be fully extended. Holding the bar with both hands, slowly straighten the elbow joint, and then slowly bend it again. It is important not to start the movement from the shoulders, which is the most common mistake. The wrists should also be a fixed extension of the forearm in this case.

Triceps exercises without equipment

Triceps can be successfully strengthened and enhanced without adding extra weight. An example of an effective exercise for the triceps muscles is the backward pump, i.e.triceps pump . It can be done at home, e.g. by using the edge of a chair.

See also:

How to do the correct push-ups for the chest and biceps?

22 types of push-ups

What are the visual effects of doing push-ups?

The last of the most popular exercises for the triceps muscles, and at the same time the more effective ones, areSwedish push-upsalso called dips or push-ups on bars. This exercise involves the entire triceps muscle of the shoulder, the front of the deltoid muscle, and the very lower part of the chest. We make the movement keeping the narrow position of the elbows, trying to lean forward as little as possible.

Worth knowing

Reasons Why Triceps Is Not Growing

The first and most important reason why the training of the triceps muscles of the arm is ineffective isincorrectly performing the exercises . The technique plays a very important role when training smaller muscle groups. Each change in the plane of movement will shift part of the work to other muscles. As a result, the triceps will not be engaged enough and will not develop.

Another issue will be an overly ambitious approach to training andchoosing too heavy a load . It is worth remembering that high weight alone does not guarantee gains, unless it is supported by technology. However, in the event of a bad movement, it may contribute to catching a serious injury.

Sometimes triceps get too little boost during the week. For this reason,it is worth increasing the number of training sessions in which we practice this onemuscle, up to two a week .

Alsotriceps exercises should not always be done after chest or shoulder training . When we perform exercises for the chest and shoulders, the triceps is an auxiliary muscle, which makes it tired and unable to work fully effectively during exercises intended strictly for this part.

Triceps training plan

It is worth using a ready-made training plan at the beginning, and with time, when we get to know our own body better and learn to read its reactions, I recommend creating your own plan.

As with any other workout, warm up first. All you need is a basic warm-up for the whole body plus two three warm-up series of a triceps exercise that we have planned for the day.

I recommend that you do two training sessions during the week. In the first one we perform the followingtriceps exercises :

ExerciseSerieRepetitions
French press lying down410-12
straightening the arms with the upper lift bar (overhand)410-12
push-ups on the bars48-10

In the second session, after a minimum of 48 hours of break, I recommend that you do exercises such as:

ExerciseSerieRepetitions
barbell press narrowly on a bench slightly positive (15-30 degrees)410-12
French press overhead410-12
straightening the arm in the torso drop410-12

This training plan can be used for a period of6-8 weeksand then change the exercises, number of sets, repetitions or load.

The most important thing is to master the perfect triceps technique, which will be the most important element in the development of the triceps muscles.

About the authorTomasz Piotrowski He is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist. He gained his knowledge from the best experts in the fitness industry in Poland. He has several years of experience working as a dietitian in a private facility in Krakow and experience in working as a personal trainer. He also writes expert articles on he alth, training and supplementation, and works in the supplement industry. He is passionate about fist fencing.

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Category:

Anatomy