The triceps are an important muscle group when it comes to the look of your arms. Well-developed triceps also make your biceps look larger by giving them a bigger peak. The triceps give you an amazing look to your arms when developed properly. You will see great arm growth if you work your triceps extremely hard. Today we examine how to build your triceps.

• How to Build Triceps Muscle Size and Strength. This article provides 5 bodyweight tips to get better, stronger triceps. This approach can and should be combined with the other approaches in this article to produce awesome triceps.
• Titanic Triceps. This article provides some great descriptions of the best triceps exercises and also offers a great sample triceps workout for you to try out.
• How to Build Giant-sized Horseshoe Triceps. This article describes the anatomy of the triceps muscle and explains how to get size and shape in that area. 
• How to Build and Train Massive Triceps: Skullcrushers. This video describes the proper way to use skullcrushers to build massive triceps.

My own tips for building massive triceps involves the usual. Make sure you get a good squeeze on the muscle. with triceps, you want to go beyond the burn. The burn is merely lactic acid. Push beyond that, but be aware of the difference between burn and pain. Never train in pain.

As you push beyond the discomfort you will find that you lift more and more weight. Take your time on each repetition and make it count. The results you get will speak for themselves.

If you have any great tips for training the triceps we'd love to hear about them. You can add a comment below and share your favorite triceps training article or video or your own personal tip. Let's get a discussion going about the triceps training protocol.

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• How to Use One Arm and Increase Intensity
• Progressive Overload Principle to the Max
• Dumbbell Bench Press for Explosive Chest Growth
• The Role of Time Under Tension

When you train you want to do so with intensity. One technique for increasing the intensity of your training is to manipulate your rest periods. The longer the rest period the lower the intensity. The shorter the rest period the higher the intensity.

There are many excellent ways to manipulate rest periods. The following are some examples of ways you can manipulate your rest periods for intensity.

Supersets for Shorter Rest Periods

A superset is generally thought to involve 2 exercises that utilize antagonistic body parts (ie. chest and back) done back to back with no rest between exercises. For the sake of this discussion, a superset is merely two exercises performed one after another with no rest between them.

By using supersets you are taking the rest period between exercises down to zero. You can then simply manipulate the time between supersets. Keeping that rest period down to 30 seconds will really up the intensity of your training. It is important to note that you will not be able to lift as much when following this protocol. Your heart will race as you progress through your workout, causing a cardio effect as well.

Giant Sets for Shorter Rest Periods

For the sake of this discussion, a giant set is 3 or more exercises performed in succession with no rest between exercises. You will perform your exercises and then rest 30 seconds between each giant set. You will focus on getting your heart rate racing. You will perform each exercise with proper form. This is a very intense technique. It is one I love to use on my legs. A typical giant set workout for legs would include 2 giant sets as follows:

• Giant Set #1 – 4 sets of each group. No rest between exercises.

• Hack Squat
• Leg Press
• Leg Extensions
• Lunges
• Rest 30 seconds
• Repeat

• Leg Press (feet low)
• Leg Press (feet wide)
• Leg extensions
• Lying leg curls
• Rest 30 seconds
• Repeat

This technique will really cause an increase in intensity.

Complexes for Shorter Rest Periods

A complex is where you take 3 or more exercises and perform them in succession, but not only do you not rest between exercises, you don't rest between sets either. Essentially it is a giant set with no rest between sets. This one will make you feel like you are running a marathon. This is one awesome intensity boost.

Share with us your tips for manipulating rest periods for intensity by leaving a comment below.

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• The Role of Time Under Tension
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• How to Use One Arm and Increase Intensity
• How to Use Intensity in Weight Training

Circuit training is generally done in a gym with a plethora of equipment, but circuit training without weights is something that is easily accomplished if you plan things out correctly. By using body weight exercises you can substitute those in for weighted alternatives. The proper body weight exercises are capable of increasing your strength, size and improving your body composition.

Planning

If you want to be successful at this type of circuit training, you must plan ahead. You are going to need three to four circuits that contain between 6 and 10 exercises each. You will need to arrange the exercises in such a way that you get a complete body workout. Your goals will determine the type of exercises you need to include. Want to get in better shape — include any combination of push ups, squats and lunges. Want to build more muscle — add in chin-ups, jumping squats and one-armed push ups. You will want to do each exercise for a set duration or a high number of repetitions.

Equipment

You are going to have to work hard to get variety into your routine when using just body weight exercises. Take a look around your home and find household items that you can incorporate into your routine. Simply use the items you have available to you. Utilize the stairs to introduce a cardio element to your workout by jogging up and down the stairs between sets. Mount a chin-up bar in a door jam for use during your training.

Vary the Workouts

You've all heard the P90X term “muscle confusion[ts_optinbox color=”blue”] [/ts_optinbox].” It is simply saying that you need variety in your training in order to see maximum results. Be sure you change things up on a regular basis. Insure that this happens regularly.

Workout Length

Start with a 5 minute warm up and then train for 30 minutes. End the training session with a 5 minute cool down. Make sure that you include stretching both before and after your training session.

Track Your Progress

I am a strong advocate of tracking your results. Before you start take your weight, body fat percentage and circumference measurements. Each week redo those measurements. Make adjustments as you go along depending upon the results you are attaining. You are going to see incredible progress if you stick to these procedures.

Tell us your experience with body weight training by leaving a comment below.

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When we think of training, most of us will say it is hard to fit a workout in. These tips for how to maximize your workouts should help. I have used all of them at one point or another and can tell you that when done with focus you can really maximize your time in the gym.

• Keep your workouts to 45 minutes in length. Many people think that the longer you spend in the gym the better, but that is not true. Research has shown that shorter training sessions are better.At the one hour mark the level of cortisol in your body will rise. This is not desireable. Keep your training sessions short and intense.
• Switch to high intensity training. As my regular readers are aware, I am a big fan of Arthur Jones' HIT training, but that is not the piont of this tip. Here I am referring to keeping yout rest periods shorter. You should be out of breath as you train. This will add a cardio element to your training and that will help maximize the time you spend in the gym
• Make sure to have adequate protein intake. Intense weight sessions require a higher level of protein intake. Be sure you are getting enough protein in your diet and you will see the benefits when in the gym.
• Stay hydrated. Make sure you drink enough water. Studies have shown that even a slight amount of dehydration will decrease your level of performance in the gym.
• Squeeze your muscles as you lift. Make sure that you are getting a good squeeze both up and down. This will increase the benefit of the exercise.
• Use HIT training. This time I am referring to High Intensity Training from Arthur Jones. This method just works. You do one warm up set for a body part and then do 1 set of each exercise to failure. You generally train full body in this method. You take the one set of each exercise to total failure. Be sure to track your weight and repetitions and each session try to increase one or both variables.

If you want to maximize your workouts give these tips a try. If you have a tip that is not included here, please feel free to comment below.

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