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Despite the
relatively small mass of lateral triceps muscles even when
well-developed, the lateral triceps has the potential, by virtue of its
location and shape, to be one of the most impressive muscles in the
upper body. When developed, it changes the contour and sweep of the arm,
accentuating the appearance of width, strength and muscularity of the
entire body. The sweep of forearms around flared lateral triceps heads
to building deltoids speaks to the essence of bodybuilding aesthetics.
The lateral
head of the triceps brachii originates on the back of the humerus (upper
arm bone) from the middle of the bone to almost the very top. It
inserts, along with the medial and long (inner) heads, on the olecranon
process of the ulna bone of the forearm. The lateral triceps head, also
called the outer head, develops easily in a few genetically gifted
neuromuscular connection. For most of us, though, getting that lateral
head to grow is a bear. It takes more than just lifting more weight, it
takes working for feel and the ability to control - and thus maximize
the involvement of - the lateral head triceps muscle.
In general,
the medial and lateral heads are involved in the early and middle parts
of the range of motion in elbow extension. The lateral head triceps
muscles also generally takes a higher percentage of the load when the
elbows are flared out to the sides rather than held against the body.
Likewise, nuances of wrist position, including greater pronation and
allowing the wrists to extend back at the end (peak position) of a rep,
facilitate a maximal contraction of the entire lateral triceps muscle.
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