Triceps Training

Triceps Muscle Group

Triceps muscles are an integral part of the upper arm, responsible for extending the elbow joint and providing stability to the shoulder joint. A well-trained triceps not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the arms, but also plays a vital role in overall upper body strength and functionality. 

The triceps are the three thick muscles behind your upper arm. These are responsible for extending your forearm, pushing away from your body. These muscles are ⅗ of the bull in your sleeve. Targeted training is vital. 

Yes, triceps get used in other pushing motions, but targeting them is what we need to do to fill out our sleeves. There are nearly 50 different exercises that isolate or include triceps. This piece will look at isolating them as opposed to using the muscle group as part of a compound movement. I believe that, by isolating muscles after a compound exercise, one can get better and fuller development. 

There are various exercises that can be incorporated into a training routine to target the triceps muscles effectively. Some isolate the muscle group while others incorporate them into a compound movement.

Here is a short list of triceps isolation exercises::

Lying Triceps Extension or Skull Crushers — lay on your back on a bench with the weight at arms length above your chest, lower the weight towards or slightly behind your head, control the weight so as not to bounce at the bottom, extend your arms to bring the weight back to its starting point.

Overhead Extensions — via bar or cable; start with the weight or handle at arms length above your head, bend at the elbow to lower the weight behind your head, pause at the bottom to stretch the muscles some, with control contract the triceps to extend the weight to its starting point.

Push Downs — to include various attachments and grips; this has multiple handles to choose from which include a rope, V-Bar, and a straight bar; you can vary your grip with overhand or underhand; with your elbows locked at your sides push the handle down until you fully contract your muscles, hold for a few seconds before allowing the weight to slowly return to the starting point at which your forearms are above parallel to the ground

Dumbbell Kickback — bend over and support your body with one hand on a bench; take a dumbbell in your hand, lock your elbow at your side; contract your triceps to lift the weight until your arms is straight and parallel to the ground; moving from the elbow lower the weight until your arm is at a 90 degree angle. 

These exercises isolate the muscle group and do not, for the most part, rely on other muscles to complete the movement. What does a solid tricep workout look like? 

Presumably, you have already completed your compound exercises. You may have done incline bench, flat bench, and shoulder press. By now, your triceps are likely feeling smoked. This is when you isolate the triceps. You select any of the above exercises and complete your sets and reps.

For me, this example is what I do for triceps:

Bench Press

Shoulder Press

Tricep Push Downs

The way I have engineered these begins with drop sets for bench and shoulder press. I do four drops right now giving me five total sets for each compound pressing movement. Then, I isolate my triceps with a straight three by 10 for the pushdowns. I do these with a straight bar as I feel the movement more fully with this handle. You may prefer a rope or v-bar. Try them all to see what works best for you. 

At other times, I have included close-grip bench press and dips as part of a Push Day routine. That is not the case at this time. My training cycle does not have the room for that. 

I want to take a moment and dispel a myth. You can NOT isolate one head of the triceps completely. There are ways to put a larger proportion of the load on a part of the triceps, but the muscle group contracts as a unit. Why do people say that you can isolate one head of the muscle group? Likely, it is to sell articles or drive traffic. Physiology shows that the muscle group contracts together. 

It is important to note that while training triceps, proper form and technique must be maintained to avoid injury and ensure maximum muscle recruitment. Progressive overload, where the weight or resistance is gradually increased, is also crucial for muscle growth and strength development. Additionally, incorporating tricep isolation exercises into a comprehensive upper body training program can help to improve overall muscle balance and prevent any muscle imbalances or weaknesses. With consistent and proper training, the triceps muscles can become stronger, more defined, and contribute to an overall well-developed upper body. Look up all the exercises that are available to target your triceps and try what looks challenging and interesting. Keep them in your memory so you can vary your training and avoid boredom and monotony. 

In the comments, share your favorite triceps blasting routine.

Calisthenics to Weight Lifting

 With spring just around the corner I felt this reader had an excellent question for fitness training. One reader asked how to transition from calisthenics to weightlifting. Let’s consider a few things before jumping into that.

Exercise, be it body weight or external weights as resistance, is an excellent ectivity for your body. It improves flexibility, muscle tone, cardiovascular health, morale and mental outlook among many other benefits. 

Calisthenics is an exercise protocol of using one’s own weight as the resistance for the exercises. This has many benefits. One being that you can take your routine almost anywhere to complete it. I used a local playground as the tools needed for my calisthenics routine for years. Pull-ups, dips, squats, jumping, dips and more were all done using the equipment at the playground. It is also near a running track so I also added cardio. 

I was able to maintain my weight at 220 to 230 pounds during these years. I train to be larger than average. Your goals may differ. Still, if there is a park or playground with monkey bars you have all you need. 

Think about how the military trains its personnel. Everyone begins calisthenics in boot camp. While on active duty many units do daily physical training or PT. This PT is mainly body weight based or employs equipment that all participants have. 

Consider weight lifting for a moment. In this one uses weights external ti the body to increase load and tension on the muscles. One can work every part of their body with weights. The difference in outcomes for lifting comes down to your goals and the necessary training methods. 

Calisthenics will certainly improve your fitness levels as well as strength and stamina. Using your body and simple equipment you can hone your body into an exercise machine. When in the military I’d do sets of pushups yo surpass 100, sit-ups and crunches, squats and lunges for legs, and then running for overall cardio. Calisthenics were more than adequate for fitness. 

Weightlifting can take you past the point at which calisthenics stops. You can continue to overload your muscles with greater amounts of weight as your strength grows. 

Now, transitioning between the two. All it takes is a gym membership or some equipment at home to make the switch. How to start is a point to understand.

When I switched I focused on the core lifts which are called compound exercises. A compound exercise uses multiple joints and multiple muscles to perform. These include benchpress, squat, deadlift, bent or seated row, lat pull down or pull-ups, upright row, and shoulder press. There are more, but this should make it clear. 

By building a routine around compound movements you can efficiently work your entire body in a shorter period of time. For instance, a basic full body routine would include squats, bench press, bent row, and either upright row or shoulder press. These exercises done properly will work your entire body including your core. 

This type of routine is typically started at three sets of 10 repetitions each set. A set is the number of repetitions completed. Three sets is conventionally considered enough to fully work the targeted muscle group.

After achieving some level of experience with weights there are intensity techniques you can add to make the workout more effective. You can add sets or change the repetition numbers to achieve different goals. 

Optimally, you can combine the two training styles and tailor your routine to include both calisthenics and weights. Many consider this optimal. At my gym it is a regular thing for somebody to do pull-ups and pushups as part of their lifting routine. Another excellent body weight exercise seen is dips. This is considered the squat for the upper body. Years ago, I would benchpress, isolate my triceps, and then do dips. The results were outstanding. My physical power and stamina were beyond my contemporaries. 

As to which exercise style is better comes down to your goals and how you best like to train. I am not going to tell you that weights are better as I’ve used both techniques. Each method fills and filled a specific need at that time.

Selecting the load you use is entirely based on you. Use a weight that makes you do just less than the number of repetitions you are aiming for. Keep at it until you can perform the number of repetitions you have selected. That is, try to pick a weight that will allow you to get close to three sets of 10 reps. When you can complete 10 reps across all sets then increase the weight by 10%. 

A balanced routine is one that will work your body completely and keep push muscles worked as equally well as pull muscles. Such a program or routine will ideally include the following five areas: 

Aerobic Futness

Strength Training

Core Exercises

Balance Training

Flexibility and Stretching

Schedule your workouts so that you have enough time to fully recover before lifting again. Not recovering between sessions can lead to a condition called over training. This is when you are breaking muscle tissue faster than your body can recover and rebuild. Signs of this include:

Increased Muscle Pain

Injuries

Getting Weaker not Stronger

If you find your fitness levels decreasing improve your diet with more protein and carbohydrates or increase the off days between exercising. 

Warming up your muscles is always advised. Take some time to get the blood pumping prior to undertaking the full workload. By doing a target exercise with light weights you increase joint lunrication. This, of course, protects your joints from excess wear and tear. This will also get blood moving through the target muscles. It primes them for the heavy excertion you are planning.

Use proper equipment for your safety and health. Form is the actual movement you perform the exercise in. Many lifts seem simple, almost elementary. There are, however, details that you must be aware of. Going through the proper form for all of the exercises you may use woul be chapters in a book. Thankfully, there are a plethora of quick videos and articles available for free that will give you all the details you need. I have also detailed the squat in the piece linked here (https://famfitfun.blogspot.com/2020/07/squats-and-knees-training-legs-is.html?m=1).

Before you begin any new routine endure that you are capable of withstanding the stresses involved. Talk to your doctor about what you’re planning. It is better to know where your overall health line is than to push your luck.

Fast and Furious or Slow and Steady

 As we settle into a routine we tend to forget some of the details involved in what we are doing.  For me, at least, that includes weightlifting.  Back in my early military days we heard the following mantra ad nauseam. “Complacency kills.” In this case it may kill your progress and results.

When activities become the norm we tend to zip through them.  This should never be the case in weight training.  Always pay the closest attention to the details of what you are doing.  This is an implication of the mind body connection some talk about.  This is paying attention to how your body is moving and the weights you are moving. 

That is not to say that all movements have to be performed with agonizingly slow movements. Though, that is how I am training at the time of this writing. Some sports specific training is explosive and fast while other types of training must, by necessity, be slow and deliberate.  What are the refracts of each?  How does one know if they are training at the right tempo?  The answers to these two fundamental questions is it depends.  It all depends upon your lifting experience and your goals. Let’s clarify that. 

First, tempo here refers to the speed of each stroke of the movement you are doing.  Whether it is a squat, deadlift, bench, tricep cable push down there are three parts of the movement.  From the bottom of the benchpress with the bar touching or nearly touching your chest contracting your muscles to push the weight up to arms length is contracting the muscles, the concentric phase. 

Holding the bar just above your chest for a moment or several seconds is the called isometric tension. In this portion your goal is to control the weight so there is no movement of the bar. That does not mean you rest the bar on your chest in benchpress. Rather, you push against the bar enough to keep it just at the surface of your chest. This can be a fast, momentary pause or a prolonged and several second pause. 

Eccentric is the portion in which you extend the muscles. In this phase you are significantly stronger than the concentric phase. Consider bent row for a moment. The concentric phase brings the bar up to your torso. The isometric is holding the bar against your body. Now, the eccentric is lowering the weight, extending the muscles used in this movement. In bench this phase is lowering the bar to your chest.  

As stated the eccentric phase shows greater strength than the concentric. It is this reason that some lifters will use what are called negatives. These are a lifters attempts to go through the rccentric phase in a slow and controlled motion while their spotter assists in the concentric phase. 

During all phases of your lift muscle fibers are being torn. Be it and explosive movement or a controlled movement there are fibers firing.  A rapid contraction of muscles will fire the fast twitch muscle fibers. There is also an emergency stretch reflex when contracting out of a stretch position this is the emergency stretch reflex. Its purpose is to prevent tearing of the muscle. This is accomplished by firing more muscle fibers than are needed to complete the movement.  Consider decline dumbbell curls. At the bottom of the movement with your arms angled back your biceps are stretched a bit. From a still position at the bottom when you rapidly and deliberately contract your biceps to lift the dumbbell there is a massive number of muscle fibers being used to elevate the weight. 

During recovery these extra fibers used translate into more gains for you. 

TEMPO

We have touched on fast repetitions with the above. Let’s compare and contrast the differences with fast and slow tempos. 

Fats twitch training is generally more sports specific. That is, when I was doing kick boxing I trained with rapid movements. The speed of contraction was the paramount focus. We fight as we train is what the Army always taught. 

The slower tempo, for instance a 4 to 6 second concentric, 2 to 6 seconds isometric, and a slow 4 to 6 second eccentric phase puts your muscles under an extended time under tension (TUT), this slow movement and its extended TUT results in a large number of muscles fibers expended. Recovery will result in more fibers being rebuilt by the body. This translates to more gains in mass. 

CONCLUSION

Granted, most exercises done in moderate speeds will result in muscle gains. A fast tempo results in specific speed and strength. Slow tempos, the longer TUT brings about more muscle mass. 

Can the two be combined in a workout? Absolutely. There is always room for exerting more control over the weights one is moving. As for performance of a lift there are many benefits for size and strength as well as power. 

For speed, for instance in Muay Thai, one will want to use fast and explosive movements. This will train for faster muscles and redactions. 

Combining the two will build functional strength in lifters as well as add some much sought after size. 

For me, I am focusing now on slower reps as I am seeking size. I currently walk at 280 pounds and 6’1” in height. My goal is to hit 300 pounds of body weight. If former Mr Olympia Mike Mentzer is right, the slower movement and increased time under tension will take me over the line. It will add muscular bulk to you, too.