The triceps muscle is a very important muscle if you want big arms. It not only gives your arms great shape, but it pushes your biceps up so they also appear larger. The triceps are generally not trained correctly. Today I want to give you some suggestions for maximizing the training of your triceps.  I will give an example workout along with the technique for getting the best growth from your triceps.

Tricep Training Technique

Whenever you train muscles you need to understand how to flex the body part you are training. This is so that you can achieve maximum contraction during the exercise movements. The triceps have a unique way of being flexed. As you can see from the picture of Dennis Wolf (right), the triceps get flexed by straightening the arm and then bending the wrist and rotating the hand back. This is important to pay attention to as we will need it when training the triceps.

As you do any triceps exercise you want to remember 2 things: flex that muscle and tear apart the hands. The first item is simply doing the flex of the muscle as in the pose. It is very important to get a great squeeze on the muscle. The second item will depend upon what piece of equipment you are using. If it is a bar attachment, pretend to tear the bar in two pieces at the bottom of the movement. If it is a rope attachment, pull the two sides apart at the bottom of the movement. If you are holding a single dumbbell with two hands, pretend to tear apart the weight plate at the end of the movement. Both the flex and the tear apart are essential for maximum growth of the triceps. Take all triceps exercises slowly and get a maximum amount of squeeze and tear apart on every repetition.

Triceps Workout

Begin the session with 4 sets of Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns. Begin the movement with your forearms parallell to the ground. Push down slowly and squeeze the muscle. Attempt to tear the bar in two at the bottom. Hold and then come back up. Repeat the process for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Next you move to the Overhead Rope Extension. Put a rope on a pulley and put the pulley at the highest point. Now grab the rope and have each side on either side of your head. Take a step out in front until there is some tension on the cable. Keeping your elbows in close to your ears move just the forearms and squeeze the muscle. Pull the rope apart at the end of the movement. Pause and then repeat the movement.

You will now grab an EZ Bar and do Lying EZ Bar Extensions (also known as French Presses). With your hands in the curved part of the EZ Bar, elbows tucked, slowly lift the bar and squeeze the muscle. At the top you should attempt to tear the bar in two. Pause and then repeat the entire movement.

You will end the workout with Overhead DB Extensions. Grab a dumbbell and sit on a chair with a low back. Lift the dumbbell over your head with two hands. Keeping the elbows tucked slowly raise the dumbbell by extending your arms. As you extend the arms, squeeze the muscle tightly. As you reach the top, pretend to tear the weight plate into two pieces.

The Burn

Triceps are a lot like calves. You are going to feel a burn and your brain will tell you to quit. That's not what you should do. Keep working through the burn. Get all the repetitions in. Do not let that burn fool you into quitting too soon.

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We all have body parts that are lagging behind the others when it comes to growth. It is one of the more common questions I see — “How do I bring up my lagging body parts?” Well, the answer is pretty straightforward, but requires some hard work and dedication to get the job done.

Training Variables

There are several variables that effect training. You can play with these variables to get different results. The 3 most common variables are intensity, frequency and volume. How you modify them will determine the results you get.

Intensity. This variable encompasses the rest period and going to failure aspects of a set. By shortening the rest period between sets you increase the intensity of the sets you do. By going to failure on all sets you boost the intensity of the entire workout. Play with intensity carefully and you will see major changes.

Frequency. This is how many times you train a particular body part. You are going to need to recover in between training sessions, but you are able to train again as soon as recovery is complete. By increasing the frequency of your training you will hit your body parts more often.

Volume. This is the total number of reps and sets done during a workout. A higher volume workout will generally require less intensity and more time in order for full recovery to occur. A lower volume workout can be extremely intense and will require less time for full recovery to occur.

Suggested Manipulations of the Variables

When trying to quickly shock lagging body parts I find that frequency and intensity are the two variables that must be manipulated. Volume can help in the long run, but for the quickest results manipulate frequency and intensity. What I personally suggest is figuring out a way to train your lagging parts more often. Remember, the body doesn't know the difference between a 7 day training cycle or a 10 day training cycle. Don't try to force your training split into a week. Do what you need to do in order to maximize your training results. I have managed to fit my split into a 6 day cycle and during that cycle I manage to train my arms 3 times and my chest twice.  If you are short on time or cannot hit the gym twice in one day, combine the supplemental workouts with the actual workouts.

This combination is possible because the supplemental workout should involve pumping blood into the muscle. Thus, by taking the supplemental workout and combining it with the regular workout you get the same results but in one workout. Here is an example from my own training cycle. I have a regular chest training that looks like this:

Cable Crossovers, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Decline DB Press, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Pec Dec Flyes, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Incline Bench Press, 4 sets, 12-15 reps
Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Press, 4 sets, 8-10 reps

I also have a supplemental chest training that looks like this:

Pec Dec Flyes, 4 sets, 12-15 reps
DB Pullover, 4 sets, 12-15 reps
1 Arm Hammer Press, 2 sets, 5-8 reps
Push ups (feet up), 2 sets, 15 reps

I do these on two separate days. If time is a problem for you (like many people) then you could combine these two workouts as follows:

Cable Crossovers, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Pec Dec Flyes, 4 sets, 12-15 reps (going for the pump so go light)
Decline DB Press, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
DB Pullover, 4 sets, 12-15 reps
Incline Bench Press, 4 sets, 12-15 reps
1 Arm Hammer Press, 2 sets, 5-8 reps (heavy but get a good pump in the muscle)
Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Press, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Pec Dec Flyes, 4 sets, 8-10 reps (a little heavier than the previous 4 sets)
Push ups (feet up), 2 sets, 15 reps

This will obliterate your chest muscles. I personally like keeping these separate because it avoids any over training, but if you're careful you can get this done in one workout. You will need to pay attention to recovery if you do it this way. Just make sure you listen to your body. It will let you know how hard you can push it.

Do you have any tips for bringing up lagging body parts? Let us know in the comments.

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