The triceps brachii muscle functions as an extensor of the upper limb and responds well to even the slightest load. It is easily hypertrophied and recovers quite quickly. Moreover, you can load the triceps either by straightening the elbow joint directly, performing isolated exercises, or using various classic presses, using the deltoid region of the shoulder in parallel. This muscle group occupies 2/3 of the arm volume and plays a significant role in many basic movements. Many professional athletes pay enough attention to small muscles like the triceps, which helps them progress in their main activity.
Today we will look at the six most effective triceps exercises that both men and women can perform at home.
- Triceps exercises for men
- Triceps exercises for women
- Triceps stretch
Narrow push-ups (diamond)
A classic exercise that equally loads all triceps heads. In the diamond version, the emphasis is shifted to the long head of the muscle.
- Take a position lying on straightened arms.
- Place the brushes at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other.
- As you inhale, lower your body down, bending your elbows.
- As you exhale, push yourself off the floor.
When performing the exercise, bending your elbows, try to keep your hands as close to your body as possible.
Perform 4 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
I've never met a bodybuilder in the gym who has any idea how the hell triceps work. No one. Sometimes you can find an article written by one of these "champions" in which he says that the triceps pulldown trains the long head, or similar nonsense, but these fools usually contradict themselves because they follow the advice of some clowns at the gym . Google “triceps anatomy” and most of the pictures that come up will be completely unrealistic. Forget about them. Now I will tell you how triceps work. This information is worth its weight in gold - read carefully.
First of all (and this is obvious) the triceps have three heads. This is how the word triceps is translated from Latin (tri means “three”, as in the word “triangle”, and ser or cap. Let’s take a look at them.
The lateral head is located on the outer side of the triceps - it is the outer side of the “horseshoe” of a well-pumped arm. Because this head does not cross the shoulder joint, it acts as a powerful accessory muscle in straightening the arms and driving the muscles of the torso (specifically, when the shoulder portion of the arms moves away from the body when straightening the arms). When the shoulder girdle and arm work together when pushing, you perform classic pressing movements. Such movements include, for example:
- push-ups of all types;
- close grip push-ups;
- handstand push-ups;
- vertical dips;
- bridge stand.
The long head is located at the back of the triceps - it is the largest head and looks like a shark's belly hanging under your arm. The long head crosses the shoulder and elbow, so in addition to being involved in straightening the arm, it is also involved in lowering the shoulder portion of the arm down toward the torso (during push-ups. Yes, push-ups train the triceps). According to the laws of kinesiology, the muscles crossing two joints work more efficiently on one side, while on the other side they must be in a stretched position, therefore, in order to engage the long head through the elbow lever, the shoulder parts of the arms must be located at a level higher and at a distance from the torso and maximally securely fixed in one position. Examples of exercises:
- tiger paw push-ups;
- tiger paw push-ups in handstand;
- triceps press using your own weight.
Good old fashioned bodyweight triceps presses - master level! This triceps exercise can be made easier by performing it with both hands using different grips, adjusting the height of the bar, performing it from a kneeling position, or changing the angle of the torso.
The middle head is located on the inside of the triceps - it is a small short muscle bag in the elbow area. It's located near the elbow and is involved in keeping your arms in a straight position (although you don't have to have your arms perfectly straight to activate this little muscle - in fact, bending your arms slightly will be even better, since holding your arms fully in a straight position puts more strain on usually shifts from the triceps to the skeletal apparatus).
The key to developing this muscle lies not so much in the exercise itself, but in its difficulty. If you are trying to straighten your arms completely, it means that your middle head is working. So choose difficult triceps presses, such as:
- handstand push-ups;
- one-arm push-ups;
- dips;
- “straight bridge” stand;
- Korean dips.
In reality, all muscle heads collectively work as best as possible. Using them together requires a heavy load. This means a lot of heavy presses using your body weight as much as possible—one-arm push-ups, handstand push-ups, big tree dips. Perform these exercises intensely, and you are unlikely to need anything else. Of course, the standard gym girl exercises that include pulleys and bent-over back extensions are a waste of your time if you want to really develop your triceps. Pump them up mercilessly with INTENSE exercises or get out!
Marvin Eder, a guy from the Bronx, was a world champion in the uneven bars. He was doing parallel bars while two guys were hanging on his legs. The total load on the muscles was 197 kg. He didn't need isolation exercises!
For those of you who are eager to do a couple of additional arm exercises (besides the big tree), you should try one of the long head exercises above. No more is required. The triceps get plenty of work in a well-organized bodyweight program—even abdominal exercises like the corner rack can put significant stress on the triceps, so don't overdo it as many bodybuilders do. Follow the main program and add additional exercises only where necessary.
Posted by Wade Paul
Reverse bench/sofa push-ups
At home, the bench can be replaced with a sofa/chairs, which will perfectly replace the bars.
- Place one or two chairs behind you and one in front.
- Sit down and place your hands on the chair(s) behind you, bending your elbows.
- Place your feet on the chair in front of you.
- As you exhale, push yourself away from the support.
- As you inhale, return to the starting position.
Just like in the first exercise, try to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.
Lower yourself smoothly without throwing yourself down.
Perform 4 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
Parallel bars exercise
This exercise is considered one of the most effective due to the fact that during its implementation many muscle groups are active. Technique:
- You need to place your hands on the uneven bars at shoulder distance.
- The body must always be strictly perpendicular to the floor.
- You cannot bend over or spread your arms too wide, as this will make the exercise useless.
- You need to lower your body on your hands until a 90-degree angle is formed at the elbow.
If you want to do this particular exercise at home, then you need to take 3 stools. They must be placed at the extreme points of an isosceles triangle. Two of them will replace the bars themselves, and the third will serve as a support for the legs and will allow you to lower the body in accordance with the technique of performing the exercise.
It is important to place both hands and feet in the center of the stool. It is recommended to place your feet on the stool on your toes.
Elbow push-ups (“Cricket”)
An excellent exercise that develops explosive triceps strength and strengthens the tendons of the elbow joint.
- Take a classic plank position on your elbows.
- As you exhale, straighten your arms, straightening your elbows.
- As you inhale, gently return yourself to your elbows.
Return yourself to your elbows as slowly and gently as possible.
Avoid hitting your elbows on the floor.
The negative phase of the exercise (lowering) should be 2-3 times longer than the ascent.
Perform 4 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
Triceps - effective bodyweight workouts
In this article, the Non-Lazy Sloth will tell you how to make your triceps brachii muscle expressive and strong using only bodyweight exercises
. Of course, bodyweight exercises cannot have the same results for the muscular system of the arms as strength exercises, but this does not mean that with their help it is impossible to achieve any serious results. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to go to the gym or even work out with weights, so it may turn out that exercises using your own weight become the only opportunity to build muscle mass. There is reason for optimism in this, since it is not only possible to build muscle with your own weight, but some achieve significant results in this. Next, we will share experienced tips on how to pump up your triceps at home.
There is a myth that you can build muscle mass in your arms through a training regimen that involves doing exercises that exclude the muscles in the rest of your body. This is a misconception, since the arm muscles, which occupy on average 10% of the total muscle mass, can only receive high-quality development together with adjacent muscles, for which basic exercises will be needed. In the case of triceps, these muscles mainly include the biceps, deltoids and pectoral muscles. By doing comprehensive pumping of this muscle group, you can effectively develop your triceps brachii muscle.
However, isolated triceps training will also be beneficial, since narrowly targeted muscle exercises will help consolidate the effect of basic training and improve the definition of the muscle area. When starting classes and determining your training program, it is important not to forget that the best effect will be achieved by a set of triceps exercises
, which includes a combination of basic and advanced exercises. It should also be taken into account that in the vast majority of cases, triceps exercises involve the abdominal muscles in a static mode.
To prevent catabolic processes from occurring in the muscles, arm strength exercises should not be done more than 2-3 times a week. The frequency of your workouts should also depend on how intense your bodyweight program is. You should always remember that for high-quality growth of muscle mass, it is necessary to alternate the period of muscle activity with a period of rest sufficient for restoration and construction processes in muscle fibers.
French press
Yes, the French press can be performed without special equipment. For this we again need a chair or stool. When performing this exercise, the lateral head of the triceps takes on more of the load.
- Lie down on your back. You can lie on the floor or on the bed, so that there is space behind your head.
- Hold a chair or stool with your arms straight in front of you - grab the base of the legs.
- As you inhale, smoothly lower the projectile down behind your head, bending your elbows.
- As you exhale, return the projectile to its original position, straightening your arms at the elbow joint.
Perform 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions.
Army press
This exercise is sometimes called the Arnold press. In addition to the triceps, the deltoid muscles of the shoulder are also stressed. To perform this type of bench press at home, we again need a chair or stool, which will place more emphasis on the triceps due to the width of the working grip.
- Sit on a chair (preferably with a backrest).
- Grab another chair or stool by the frame on both sides.
- With your elbows bent, place the projectile in front of you.
- As you exhale, press the barbell up.
Lower the projectile frame just below eye level.
At the top of the press, do not fully straighten your arms at the elbow joints.
While performing the exercise, always keep your forearm in one plane - perpendicular to the floor/ceiling.
Perform 4 sets of 12 reps.
Triceps - exercises and training features[edit | edit code]
Yuzhakov Anton BEST EXERCISES FOR BICEPS AND TRICEPS
The best triceps exercises
Triceps muscle highlighted in color
Triceps
(lat.
musculus triceps brachii
) - triceps brachii muscle, produces elbow extension, is located on the back side of the humerus, consists of three bundles or heads - long (caput longum), lateral (caput laterale) and medial (caput mediale).
The mass fraction of the triceps is approximately 2/3 of the shoulder muscles, so its size plays a vital role in the formation of beautiful arms. By focusing on the biceps and forgetting about the triceps muscle, athletes contribute to the development of inharmoniously developed arms.
Anatomy and function[edit | edit code]
Main article:
Triceps brachii, Arm muscles.
M.triceps brachii
- a highly developed muscle, occupies the entire back surface of the shoulder; According to the name, it has three heads. The lateral and medial heads begin on the humerus, and the long one begins on the scapula.
Main function:
extends the forearm at the elbow joint; the long head also acts on the shoulder joint, participating in extension and adduction of the shoulder to the body.
California press
In simple terms, this is a close grip bench press. Since everyone is training at home these days, we will once again use an indoor chair or stool instead of a barbell. And considering that the latter are many times lighter than even an empty bar, we suggest combining the Californian bench press with the French one. This will increase the load and load all the triceps heads to the maximum.
- Take a supine position.
- Grasp the projectile by the base of the legs near the frame.
- Lower the projectile by touching the floor with your elbows.
- As you exhale, press up.
- As you inhale, lower the weight behind your head, bending your elbows (French press).
- As you exhale, straighten your arms.
- As you inhale, lower the projectile again, touching your elbows to the floor.
Perform the negative phase of the press twice as slow as the positive phase.
Perform the French press movements in a regular model.
Try to touch the floor as softly as possible and immediately perform the press (without pausing at the bottom point).
Perform 4 sets of 10 repetitions (5 - California press; 5 - French).
Push-ups from elbows to knees (“Cricket”)
- Take a classic plank position on your elbows.
- Shift your support from your toes to your knees.
- As you exhale, straighten your arms, straightening your elbows.
- As you inhale, gently return yourself to your elbows.
Return yourself to your elbows as slowly and gently as possible.
Avoid hitting your elbows on the floor.
The negative phase of the exercise (lowering) should be 2-3 times longer than the ascent.
Perform 4 sets of 12-15 repetitions.
Wall push-ups
You can do push-ups not only from the floor, but also from the wall. Moreover, when using a vertical support, you can perform the exercise with one hand, which will increase the intensity and load the target group more.
- Stand near a wall at arm's length.
- Place your feet wider than your shoulders.
- Bring your palms towards each other so that they are on the projection of the sternum (middle of the chest).
- Place one of your hands behind your back with the back of your hand or simply lower it.
- As you inhale, bring your body towards the wall, touching your chest with your hand near the wall and at the same time rising on your toes.
- As you exhale, push yourself off the wall, returning your entire sole to the floor.
Perform 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions with each arm.
Reverse push-ups
- Place one or two chairs behind you and one in front.
- Sit down and place your hands on the chair(s)/sofa behind you, bending your elbows.
- Step forward a little and bend your knees (half squat), placing your weight on your heels.
- As you exhale, push yourself away from the support.
- As you inhale, return to the starting position.
Try to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.
Lower yourself smoothly without throwing yourself down.
Always support your heels.
Perform 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions.
Triceps stretch
After each triceps workout, be sure to do one or two stretches. Below we have given examples of two classic options.
Vertical stretch
- Place one of your hands behind your head, placing your palm on one of your shoulder blades or on your spine.
- With your free hand, grab your elbow and bring your triceps to a comfortable tension for you.
- With each exhalation, try to gradually increase the tension.
Do two minutes on each arm.
Horizontal stretch
- Wrap one of your arms around your opposite shoulder.
- With your free hand, grab your elbow and bring your triceps to a comfortable tension for you.
- With each exhalation, try to gradually increase the tension.
Conclusion
Separate training of muscle groups such as triceps, even once a week, will significantly increase the effectiveness of your training process. We should never forget about small target groups, because the foundation is laid brick by brick and built gradually. Strong triceps will help you with many compound exercises. Even track and field athletes specialize in triceps, which helps them run better. In the future, we will provide you with a selection of effective exercises for other muscle groups.
Editor and proofreader: Farida Seidova
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Training Recommendations
To effectively pump triceps at home, every man must adhere to certain rules for constructing the training process.
Selection of exercises
Training aimed at increasing triceps muscle mass begins with basic multi-joint movements.
Choose 2 suitable ones from those listed above, and try to give your best to them.
Next, isolation exercises are performed. As a rule, 1-2 per lesson is enough.
Training frequency
To increase muscle volume, do no more than 1-2 workouts per week.
If the triceps are worked in a general manner, along with other muscles, then one more targeted triceps session per week is enough.
This is because he also receives a decent indirect load during training for the muscles of the chest and shoulders.
If classes are held in a specialization style, when other muscles besides the triceps are not trained, then you can work it out 2 times a week.
Sets, reps and rest
In each exercise, 3-4 working approaches are performed. In basic, the optimal range of repetitions is 8-12 times, in isolating ones – 10-15.
The triceps recover quite quickly after strength training, so rest pauses between sets are 1.5-2 minutes.
Changing training load
The key to muscle growth over a long period of time is periodization of the load.
That is, periods of maximum intensity alternate with less intense ones. But for progress in any case, an increase in load is necessary.
This is achieved by increasing the number of exercises, approaches, repetitions or reducing rest between approaches.
All these methods of changing the load have clear quantitative limitations. There are specific recommendations for them listed above. And reducing rest pauses between approaches is more suitable when training on terrain.
Another method that works well for training is increasing the weight of the weight.
You can progress using this parameter in home exercises for a long time. And they do this with the help of improvised means.
When doing push-ups on parallel bars, attach a dumbbell or weight to your belt and hang a heavy chain around your neck. You can wear weights on your legs. A heavy shoulder backpack will do.
Another popular method is the use of fitness rubber. With the help of such an expander, the exercise can be made more difficult or easier.
When doing push-ups from the floor with a narrow grip, a heavy backpack or any other object on the back is used as a weight. For example, a water bottle. Just as in the case of parallel bars, fitness rubber is also used here.
For isolation movements, it is ideal to use collapsible dumbbells so that you can adjust the weight. You can make it more difficult to perform with an expander or rubber by increasing its rigidity.
