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The first step in training triceps muscles
is to build up the mass and strength of the muscle structure. This means
doing the basic triceps press and extension movements, gradually adding
more and more weight until the area begins to respond. Different kinds
of presses and extensions are designed to develop specific areas of the
triceps muscles. But there are also techniques you can use to maximize
your triceps training. Remember that anytime you straighten your arm
against resistance - whether you are specifically doing triceps training
or not- you will involve the triceps muscles.
In most cases, muscle mass and strength
are enhanced by employing a cheating technique, but you don't need to
cheat in order to put extra stress on the triceps muscles. With all the
effort you expend doing power training with Bench Presses, Dumbbell
Presses, and Shoulder Presses, you are already putting an enormous
strain on the triceps area.
Even though the triceps muscles are
involved in a wide range of different exercises, it is also necessary,
especially as you become more advanced, to isolate the heads and put the
stress on each part directly to make certain you get full development of
the muscle structure. For this, try to use barbells, dumbbells, and
cables to perform triceps extension exercises, each of which tends to
hit a different area of the triceps muscles.
Proportions and bone structure of
individual bodybuilders will make it easier for some to develop good
triceps muscles. When doing Triceps Pressdowns, it is easy for some to
isolate the triceps muscles, while others with different proportions and
muscle attachments will find themselves involving the pectorals or even
the lats instead of just the triceps muscles. You see this a lot when
some bodybuilders try to do Triceps Pressdowns and end up with a good
chest pump. In a case like this, learning to totally isolate the triceps
muscles becomes extremely important, and can be accomplished by doing
One-Arm Triceps Extensions or Barbell Triceps Extensions.
Lying Triceps Extensions work the
muscle from the elbow to the rear deltoid, and are also great for
developing the triceps muscles for straight-arm poses. One-Arm Triceps
Extensions help develop the triceps so that they look good when you are
doing biceps shots, with the fullness of the triceps muscles offsetting
the peak of the biceps muscles. Lying Dumbbell Extensions work the outer
head of the triceps to a greater degree, giving you the shape and
thickness you need for total triceps development.
Your hand position make a difference in
how an exercise affects the triceps. If you hold your hand so that the
thumb is up, palm facing the inside, you work the outside of the triceps
muscles, to a slightly greater degree, as when doing Triceps Pressdowns
holding on to a rope rather than pressing down on a bar or performing
Dumbbell Kickbacks. If you turn your hand so that the palm is facedown,
as in a Triceps Pressdown, you put more stress on the inner part of the
triceps muscles. If you twist your wrist, thumbs in and down, which is
easiest when doing One-Arm Cable Triceps Pressdowns, you really hit the
muscle a little bit differently.
Advanced training also involves
supersetting, hitting the muscle with one exercise after another to
develop size, strength, shape, and endurance. You need to work the upper
and lower long, lateral, and medial heads. Adding on exercises is
important only if you pursue them with the kind of intensity that forces
the triceps muscles to continue to grow, no matter how advanced you
become.
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