Are you trying to build bigger triceps, but just not getting the job done?
Well, let me cover for you today what I think are the 7 Sins of Tricep Training, so I can
help you jumpstart the results that you're seeing in the gym.
What's up, guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.COM.
Sin #1
And today I want to talk about the 7 Sins of Tricep Training that I think could be holding
you back.
Ok?
The first thing we want to do is start right here at one of the most classic exercises,
it's the closed grip bench press.
Where are we wrong?
We're wrong by sticking with the barbell.
Because frankly we're probably going to kill our wrists in the process of trying to build
bigger triceps because it's just not natural to have our wrists forced into this closed
position, over-exaggerated extension, up in through here, and having to push up and away.
It's just a tough position and it even twists the wrists, as you can see, a little bit into
a pronated position, so a lot of stress.
So, what we do is, we come over here and we do dumbbells.
There's no limit on the dumbbells that you can use.
You can use 100 pound dumbbells if you're that strong and what you're going to do is
keep them in here, wrist is nice and neutral, k?
And just keep your elbows close to your body, press straight up, down slow, press straight
up.
So, you still get the benefits of the closed grip exercise and the tricep focus without
having to kill your wrists in the process.
Sin #2
Alright, so let's move on to our next biggest mistake here I think which is right here again
on a flat bench doing a dumbbell line tricep extension.
Now, I've covered this before, but I think it's worth repeating that the big mistake
here is the angle of the arm when you're doing the exercise.
A lot of guys will start with the exercise straight up over their chest, drop the dumbbells
down, and come up.
The problem is, at this top position, there is no stress at all, no tension, on the triceps.
In order to get tension on the triceps, we have to get a little bit of a stretch on them,
especially the long head by letting the elbows go back about 45 degrees.
You bring them back from here, you come up in that fully extended position there.
Now we have tension on the triceps, again, all the way down, tension.
All the way up, tension.
Now, we've just doubled your efforts again with a slight tweak of the angle of the arm..
Why does that work?
Let me show you real quick.
Again, it's just physics.
If we have the lateral head of the tricep is attached on the humerus let's say from
here to here, ok?
So, if i raise my arm up or down it doesn't really matter, that stays in the same position.
But the long head actually attaches up on the shoulder blade.
So, if you look at point A and point B, when I raise my arm further behind my head, I get
a longer stretch on that muscle because this is not going anywhere and this is getting
further away.
So, remember, sometimes physics and angles play a part in what you're doing and you have
to have a purpose to what you're doing when you're in the gym.
SIN #3
Speaking of a purpose, what is your purpose when you're training your triceps?
I hope the answer is that you're trying to actually train your triceps because far too
often, especially on this next exercise, Tricep Push-Downs.
I see guys doing it and working lats, for crying out loud, lats, abs, everything but
the triceps because of the position of the body and the purpose of what they're trying
to do.
So, you'll see people do push downs like this working a lot of abs as they swing into the
move.
Or, you'll see them kind of keep their arms straight and pull down first and then just
push down at the very end.
Again, this is more of a lat move.
It's just like the straight arm push down.
It's just going to work more of your lats.
So, when I say, 'What's your purpose?', when you're doing a tricep pushdown, you want to
have a purpose to what you're doing.
So if it's to work the triceps, get yourself upright, get your elbows in close to your
sides, k?
Start it with tension on the muscle already, k?
Not all the way up here where there's nothing going on, get some tension, lift the weight
off the stack, push it straight down and back.
Alright, straight down and back You can see the tricep having to do all the work, but
that's what we want.
So make sure you have a purpose with what you're trying to lift, each and every set,
in order to get the most benefit out of every single rep you do.
Sin #4
We mentioned before, angles and having to know your angles a little bit.
Now I don't want to turn this into a geometry lesson.
What I want to do is get you the best results possible, but one of the stand-by exercises
for building bigger triceps, is the Tricep Dip, except depending upon the way you do
it, you can get dramatically different results.
Think about it this way, if I'm doing a dip, I'm basically doing a suspended push-up.
The further I lean myself forward, the more of my chest I'm going to work.
I'm running out of a little room here on the wall, but the more I lean forward, it's basically
like doing a push-up.
If I want to work more of my triceps, I have to get as upright as I possibly can be.
So, get up, almost pull your head and chest up and backwards, and go straight like that.
Now we're really working the tricep.
Don't go down too far, there's no need to go that far or you can damage your shoulder.
Straight up, straight down.
Again, a little change in angle can mean a lot of change in the results that you see
when you're training your triceps
Sin #5
One of the next mistakes I think, we make often times when training our arms, is that
we overlook the value of body weight exercises for adding muscle, especially when it comes
to triceps.
There are many ways that you can overload and exercise.
I've shown one before, a bodyweight tricep extension.
So the equivalent, if you don't have dumbbells, of the skull crusher that we showed over there,
would be setting up a bar, a little bit between me and waist height, get up in here, get up
on your toes, drop yourself down, again slow, up and away.
So again it is sort of mirroring that movement, but we're doing it in a whole other way.
And I tell ya', this is a very difficult tricep exercise.
K?
If you try that and you haven't done those before, you'll see what I mean.
Come down here, tricep push-ups.
K?
Elbows in tight to your side, and come up.
Now, one of the things I like to do here is kind of lead with my chest and head, k, upper
chest and head.
Up and up.
It's sort of like the top position of a Hindu push-up because from here on up, is really
focusing on the triceps.
Ok.
So, lead down, and then back up with your head.
And of course we have plank-ups, elbows in tight, push up onto your hands, down slow,
real good negative on that exercise.
Push back up.
Alright, so don't ever underestimate the value of body weight when it comes to adding size
to your arms and doing it in a functional way.
SIN #6
No, this isn't the latest fashion in the AthleanX apparel line.
What I'm trying to show you here with a weighted vest what think is one of the other major
mistakes people make which is not overloading exercises on the triceps especially if you
are going to use bodyweight exercises.
If you're going to keep doing Dips over here and you can 15-20 Dips, you have to bring
that rep range down more in the 10-12 rep range by throwing on a weighted vest, putting
a dumbbell between your ankles, wearing a dip belt, something so that you can get more
of a challenge out of that exercise.
You do your pushups, put his on, again, it becomes instantly harder.
Down, and push up that extra weight for the triceps.
Ok?
So, whether you have a weighted vest or you don't, remember, you can do other things,
too.
You can hold the dumbbell, things like that, but you have to make sure that you're overloading
to give your muscles a reason to grow larger.
SIN #7
Last, but not least, when it comes to tricep training, the biggest sin that guys are making
most often is volume...too much tricep training.
Right?
We all want to get bigger arms and we want to get there fast, but the problem is, the
faster and the more you want to get there, the larger the tendency is to do too much.
And that's why what we want to do is remember that when we train the muscles correctly,
when you train your triceps or when you train the pushing muscles of your body, training
like an athlete to get things to work together, things are going to work together.
And your triceps are going to help out your chest, and your triceps are going to help
out your shoulders.
Right?
So, doing too much is the fastest way to overtrain them and the fastest way to completely halt
any type of tricep results that you were expecting.
So, that's part of the whole deal here, guys.
With the AthleanX training system that I tell you about all the time, it's all about blending
in the proper volume just enough that we can generate results, and then do it in a way
that we utilize angles .
Ok.
Now, again, as a physical therapist, I can't ever depart myself from the physics of training
because it is a science.
We want to make sure that you're using the right types of tricks, the right types of
techniques, the right types of overload, the right types of bodyweight exercise, tying
it all together so that you get results fast, but doing it most importantly in the least
amount of time.
Ok?! 20-30 minute workouts.
We don't want you having to do things too much, too often, and overall to the detriment
of what you're actually try to accomplish.
And if you haven't already, guys, head over to AthleanX.com, grab the 90-day training
program, become part of Team Athlean, and see what it's like to train in a way that
you get results so much faster, ok, in a way that's correct, in a way that's right.
Guys, I can't wait to see you over there.
In the meantime, I'll be back here again next week with some more videos.
Make sure you thumb this one up if you like the tips, and you think it's going to help
you with what you're trying to accomplish.