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.

Life lessons from the Gym, pt 2

Going to the gym is a lifestyle for many. Time spent there brings people together. Under the iron we learn intrinsic lessons. These lessons carry on into life outside the gym.

One of these lessons is that we are each stronger than we think we are.

- Are stronger than we think we are

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the nationwide standard for men aged 20 to 49 should be between 13 and 28 pushups, and for women in the same age range, it should be between 11 and 20 (https://kiss951.com/2021/09/03/most-americans-cant-do-more-than-10-pushups/). 

This is more than just moving your body or moving weights with your body. Handling weights at regular intervals teaches you how to dig deep for another rep. You heart friends telling their training partner to get another couple of reps in each set. You may have been the one under the bar looking for what was needed to get that final rep. The bar moves ever so slowly. Muscles ache and quiver. The person under the weight is breathing faster and heavier to provide needed oxygen to those muscles.

This lesson carries over outside of the gym. The consistent facing of a physical challenge teaches you that, somewhere deep inside, is that something you need to go another step or repetition further. Outside the gym that lesson helps you to realize how capable you really are. It shows you that your fortitude runs deeper than you had ever imagined. This is key to completing tasks which seem insurmountable. This is key in facing life’s challenges. This is key when confronting our own demons.

We handle stress and pain better than we previously thought

Lifting weights, jogging, whatever our physical training teaches us, through experience, that we can handle pain. We face physical pain after many workouts. This is the result of lactic acid building up in the fatigued muscles. The muscles themselves have undergone trauma. Yet, the day after, life goes on. We have to participate in life regardless of the residual pain. The body reacts by rebuilding and becoming stronger. We take that basic lesson and apply it to other areas of our life to see that adversity makes us stronger.

There is another pain threshold we face and learn from. Success comes with hard work. By digging deeper into our fortitude and finding strength for a few more reps, or running a few steps faster, we learn to persevere. 

- Stronger sense of self

These previous two lessons help us see ourselves in a different light. We have gained insight into being more capable than we had thought. This now found understanding begins to fill a wellspring of confidence. Physically, our posture changes. We stand up straighter and taller. We step out with inner strength as if nothing in our path will dissuade or impede us.

We have learned that we adapt to stresses in our lives, that these stresses make us better. We put our body and mind through the crucible of fitness training. As a result our confidence grows. We know better what we can handle. We know better that challenges will always be present. We know that we can overcome. As Leonardo da Vinci had put into his codex, every obstacle is destroyed through rigor.

These lessons from the gym translate into other aspects of our lives. They transform us deeply. Keep training and keep growing.

Training Splits

Lifting weights has a multitude of benefits. Stronger bones, reducing loss of muscle tissue in older demographics, and improved mood are just a few of these benefits. Training schedules come in nearly the same variety as trainees. 

Cycling or changing up your lifting routine is important as the body is highly adaptive. Training is actually breaking down of muscle fibers and, as a result, traumatic to your body at that moment. Recovery, ilwhich is talked about later in here, is vital to growing stronger. During recovery our bodies repair the broken muscle fibers, this is how we grow stronger, faster, or bigger & more powerful. 

We adapt to the stresses of a routine. In this way muscle growth stagnates. Changing how you train every three to four months keeps the body guessing and from becoming stagnant in the routine. 

Why split training? Why not just workout daily? Recovery is when we get stronger and bigger, not during the workout, as stated. Splits allow for us to rebuild and recover after we tear ourselves apart in the gym. I am going to go over three splits with you. The three-day, four-day, and six-day splits. Each day of the split is a road map to your strength and health.

THREE-DAY SPLIT

The first and most common split is to work the full body three times a week. This allows for varied intensity at each session. For instance, one can lift with moderate intensity on Monday, do a light effort on Wednesday, and then go for broke and do heavy intensity on Friday. This allows for two days of recovery. The moderate intensity keeps your training schedule and growth going. The light day allows you to train and keep things moving, too. The high intensity day gives you two days to recover before you train again.

This split has you training benchpress, squat, and rowing as well as the accessory or support muscles. This includes, but is not limited to:

Squat or Deadlift (I’ve been coached to not do these on the same day)

Benchpress 

Bent or Seated rowing

Dumbbell press

Pectoral flies

Triceps extensions

Tricep push down 

Standing curls

Decline dumbbell curls 

Abdominals 

This split can be worked with a wide range of sets and repetitions. You can set it up as 3x10, 5x5, or tailored to your needs and desires. It works the major compound movements as well as isolating the supporting muscles. By integrating dumbbells, like the dumbbell press, you can increase the range of motion for a worked group. The dumbbell press pairs well after benchpress. By working deeper in your natural range you will find it easier to benchpress out of the bottom of the range of motion.

FOUR-DAY SPLIT

Another common split is a four-day routine. It breaks training into push and pull days. This, as I have done, schedules two push days and two pull days each week. It could also be a lower body one day and upper body the next. Get creative and see what you can arrange with this split as there are many routines you can write or find to fill this need.

The exercises may vary, but they generally focus on big compound movements first, then the smaller support exercises. Monday and Thursday would be push days. These would start with squats and benchpress. I’ve also kept shoulder press on these days. Then, the routine brings in the support muscles. This way you also get to hit deltoids, chest, and triceps as individually targeted muscles.

Pull day is set up similarly to push day, but for pulling exercises. Start off with deadlift. Then, do bent and upright rows. Add shrugs and movements to isolate lats and biceps and you have a full routine. 

When I did this split, it looked like

MON/THURS

Squat

Leg curls

Leg extension

Calf raise

Benchpress 

Shoulder press

Dumbbell flies for pecs

Lateral raises

Skull crushers 

TUES/FRI

Deadlift

Bent row with underhand grip (focus on lats)

Bent row overhand wide grip (focus on rhomboids and mid traps)

Upright row (deltoids and traps)

Lateral raises (also deltoids and traps)

Shrugs

Curls

Decline dumbbell curls

This provides for a solid level of effort and enables you to have adequate rest time between sessions. 

SIX-DAY SPLIT

Then, there is a six-day split. Like the four-day routine the body is fully worked out twice each week. This schedule allows for a greater focus on core lifts and the supporting muscles than the other two splits. One of the benefits of this schedule is that you do not need to spend two or three hours, or more, in the gym at each session. For instance, my workouts are 45 minutes to an hour. Overall, with six days in the gym, I am spending less time in the gym each week than with the other two splits. 

This split is designed to work each body part twice each week. It can be done with varying techniques and/or intensity levels. Each day is easily tailored to fit your schedule. The primary format for this is squat and legs, back, and then chest each on different days. 

MONDAY, THURSDAY — squat and legs or deadlift and legs

TUESDAY, FRIDAY — rowing, upper back, shoulders, and biceps.

WEDNESDAY, SATURDAY — benchpress, chest, shoulders, and triceps

Abdominals are not specifically listed, though I do work abs four days out of the six. This split allows two to three days recovery for each body section worked. Pick your preferred ab routine. 

For each specific day put in support or isolation exercises. These will specifically target the muscles that you worked in the compound movement. For clarification, let’s look at Monday and Thursday since those will be leg day. 

Squat or Deadlift (alternating these in the week enables you to have experience with the deadlift and allows a high intensity leg day on Monday with a moderate intensity on Thursday, or reverse that as you like)

Stiff legged deadlift

Bulgarian split squats

Leg curl

Leg extension

Calf press/raise

RECOVERY

Alternating muscle groups is by design. This workout begins with one or two compound exercises. Then, it progresses by isolating the muscles already worked for targeted training. This works by over exerting the targeted muscle group through thorough training. It hits from the larger compound movements and specifically focuses on the other muscles within said compound movement. Simply put, it works the whole and the parts synergistically. The two to three days off between body parts allows for a full recovery. 

The intensity levels used can vary based on your personal recovery capacity. This capacity is impacted by many factors. Some of these factors include your age, diet, other stress factors in your life, and sleep. When you go into the gym these factors will impact how much you can give in training. What I do is the first three days of the cycle are worked with maximum intensity. I try to achieve all sets and proscribed reps so that I can increase the weight. The second three days are done with moderate intensity. This is to work through the soreness and keep the body moving. This aids recovery. When I do not achieve the next weight increase, I log how many more repetitions I completed as opposed to the last session. 

Tracking reps in my log and showing also how many more I completed each session motivates and encourages me. I can see when, where, and how I’m growing stronger. Tracking progress is vital to success.

Keep cycling and keep your body growing. Train hard and train smart.

Squats and Knees

Training the legs is sometimes a daunting thing. I’ve seen people balk at the squat rack in powerlifting competitions, but not at the bench press. Even at the local gym, it seems that there is often more of a line at the bench stations than there is at the squat rack. Read that again and take note how I wrote that. At my gym there are two flat free weight bench press areas and one power-tower for squatting. There are also hybrid machines for other benching work, but one leg press machine. It seems that people shy away from training their legs, to a degree.

Here, let’s think about the types of muscle that are getting trained. Whether you are doing squats for power, strength, endurance, or for the sheer squatting joy you will train either Type I or Type II muscle fibers.

Since I am now more of a power athlete, I will begin Type II. Type II muscle fibers are used for power and strength events. As a result, they fatigue more quickly than their type I counterparts. The type II are the fast twitch muscles. The Type II fibers support powerful, quick movements including sprinting, powerlifting, and weightlifting. Weightlifting in this sense is Olympic-style weightlifting which includes snatch and the clean and jerk

Both powerlifting and Olympic lifting are styles in which the lifter is moving the maximum amount of weight from point A to point B. The difference is that in Olympic Weightlifting the liter uses explosive movements to accelerate the weights from one point to another. Meanwhile, the Powerlifter uses brute strength to move the weight from one point to another. Then, there are the hybrid anomalies of the Strongman Competition and the CrossFit Games, both of which are beasts unto themselves. Both require training regimens unique to those fields. Honestly, they look like a world of fun, but not enough of a draw to me to try it out. Maybe next year.

Type I muscle fibers are used in endurance events. Think 12 to 15 repetition sets and swimming for 25 to 30 minutes minimum or running/jogging for 45 minutes to start. These are endurance training events. My endurance competition events were cross country running, 5ks in high school and 10ks in college, and swimming the 400 meter in high school. Again, I was built lean and thin. At 6’2” tall I weighed 135 to 140 pounds. To say I was thin was an understatement. After lifting for several years, I am now 245 pounds. Between age and infantry I’ve lost an inch in height, but that’s my problem.

The chart below will detail the muscle fibers in greater fidelity.

 Muscle Fiber Type Comparison Chart

Characteristic	Slow-Twitch Type I	Fast-Twitch Type IIA	Fast-Twitch Type IIX or IIB
Activities	Marathons, distance running, swimming, cycling, power walking, endurance training	Powerlifting, sprinting, jumping, strength and agility training	Powerlifting, sprinting, jumping, strength and agility training
Muscle Fiber Size	Small	Large	Large
Force Production	Low	High	Very High
Resistance to Fatigue	Slow	Quick	Very Quick
Contraction Speed	Slow	Quick	Very Quick
Mitochondria	High	Medium	Low
Capillaries	High	Medium	Low
Myoglobin	High	Medium	Low
ATPase Level	Low	Medium	High
Oxidative Capacity	High	Medium	Low

https://blog.nasm.org/fitness/fast-twitch-vs-slow-twitch

 This seems like a ton of information to boil down to ask one question. That question being, is squatting deep safe for the knees? Let’s start with where the concept of deep squatting being harmful to the knees came from. Let me first answer the question, no. Deep squats, ass-to-the-grass, ass-to-ankles, or however you want to describe it, squats are not bad for the knees

Now, let’s look at the history of where that myth came from, then we will look at how the anatomy of the knee protects and strengthens itself through squatting.

I am 50 years old and have been squatting on and off, to depth, since I was 23. That is when I really got into lifting weights and started to see the benefits from lifting. My knees are still good. I run and swim and still squat after 27 years of squatting and deadlifting deep. As I always say, talk to your doctor first. If your medical professional has a reason for you to not squat or not lift weights or to do something else before you lift, then follow your doctor’s orders.

Am I built like a fireplug? No, I was an endurance athlete in high school, my first four years in the military, and into college. I weighed no more than 145 until my mid-20s. That was when I finally peaked 180 thanks to deep squats and deadlifts. I say this as illustrative points, that the big compound lifts can add size and strength and not do damage. So, where did deep squats get their bad rap?

According to Dr. Aaron Horschig at Squat University (https//:squatuniversity.com) it all started in the 1950s with Dr. Karl Klein. He was looking into why his football players were coming in with serious knee injuries. This was a worthwhile question that needed answering. Injured players, knees going bad, find a common cause, fix the problem. It all makes sense, in a way. Unfortunately, he used self-made equipment that was inaccurate. It seems that he may have had a preconceived notion about things and found “evidence” to support that notion. His published articles eventually got picked up by mainstream publications including one issue of 1962 Sports Illustrated.

Then, the American Medical Association looked at his results. Eventually, even the Marine Corps took an exercise called the “squat jumper” off their training schedule for recruits and their physical training program (https://squatuniversity.com/2016/01/22/debunking-squat-myths-are-deep-squats-bad-for-the-knees/). By the mid-1960s, others were coming onboard with Dr Klein’s theory, such as Dr John Pulskamp. By the 1970s, full depth squats were all but removed from institutionalized regimens.

Unless you already have injured knees, squatting deep does not injure your knees. Let’s look at the anatomy and stresses throughout the squat. The sheering forces inside the knee are felt by the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL). These ligaments limit forward and backward movement of the upper and lower leg bones as well as hold the knee together internally (ibid). The stresses on these ligaments are greatest, according to research, when the knee is flexed up to 20 to 25 degrees (https://barbend.com/deep-squats-bad-for-knees/). This is found at the top of the squat range. If you see someone doing ¼ squats note that this is the range of the greatest stress on the ACL/PCL. The deeper you go after this range, the more support you get from the other muscles and ligaments that surround the knee. At the same time, your hamstrings and quadriceps also balance the push-pull forces experienced in your knees. Thus, supporting the ACL/PCL in their job of limiting the shearing forces on and within the knee.

The meniscus is between the bottom of the femur and the top of the patella. The compressive forces, those that are felt when we stand upright with our legs straight or nearly straight, are cushioned by the meniscus. The only time that the meniscus is under stress is when we stand straight legged under this type of weight stress. Think of it as weight being piled on top of your head. The pressure from it increasing on the crown of your head every few moments. That is the sort of stress that is being applied to the meniscus.

While deep in the squat, at beyond 90 degrees, science has shown the ligaments inside the knee are under decreasing stress. At the bottom, the ACL comes under the least amount of stress at this point. The PCL is under its highest stresses just above parallel. Even these points of stress, the levels are a small percentage of the maximum. It is in the 15% to 20% of maximum range. Well within the safe stress range.

Those scientists who have replicated Dr. Klein’s studies, even using replicated equipment, have been unable to replicate the results Dr. Klein had. What sports scientists have found is that, through training, ligaments and muscles attached to and surrounding the knee have become stronger through proper and consistent training. Even at the 20% of maximum stress range, the ligaments are at a higher performance rating after being consistently trained for a period of time. In short, they tendons are stronger at the point of higher weights than at the beginner times of lower weights. This results in better support to the knee. Furthermore, scientists have been unable to find compression damage from increased forces against the meniscus, as alluded to earlier.

Squat depth for optimal training should be as far below parallel as possible. This will be dictated by each person’s anatomical differences. Think about a baby learning to walk and when they see something on the ground, they are interested in. Pow! That baby squats down, butt to heals, perfectly. That is the form we should strive for. Of course, there may be legitimate reasons which prevent us from getting there, ego is not a legitimate reason. Lower the weight on the bar to lower your body into the proper squat. I have had to do this time and time again, always to my benefit.

If you’re still unsure, find a strength coach or trainer to teach you and help you out as you learn how to squat properly. I have also written another article on how to squat, which you can read here.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://squatuniversity.com/2016/01/22/debunking-squat-myths-are-deep-squats-bad-for-the-knees/

https://barbend.com/deep-squats-bad-for-knees/

https://www.physio-network.com/is-it-safe-to-squat-deep-what-does-the-evidence-say/

https://themusclephd.com/are-squats-bad-for-your-knees/