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
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Straight Bar Triceps Pushdown | 4 | 15-20 |
| Overhead rope extension | 4 | 15-20 |
| Lying EZ Bar Extension | 4 | 12-15 |
| Overhead DB Extension | 3 | 15-20 |
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.
