Tips: Triceps
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1. Work All Three Heads
Your triceps have three heads: long (upper inside), medial (lower inside) and lateral (outside). The angle of your arms changes the emphasis, stressing the heads differently. What occurs most often is overemphasize of lateral heads and underemphasize of the long and medial heads.
• When your arms are straight by your sides with an overhand or a neutral grip (palms facing each other), the lateral heads are worked most, as during pushdowns.
• When your arms are straight by your sides with an underhand grip, the medial heads are hit most.
• When your elbows are moved in front of your body or overhead, the long heads are targeted.
• Be sure to use all three during each workout.
No exercise order is incorrect, but some are less efficient. Changing the order can shock your tri’s. Do exercises which involve the heaviest weights first in your routine because that’s when you’re strongest.
• Do compound exercises such as dips or close-grip bench presses first.
• Next do two-arm, free-weight extensions.
• Finish with one-arm or cable exercises.
• Make sure to change the routine orders often.
3. Don't Overuse Machines or Cables
Overusing machines or cables can lead to overtraining of certain heads of the triceps, and thus under using the others.
• Use compound exercises (one that also involves the chest and shoulders) in each tri workout. (e.g. close-grip bench presses, upright dips and bench dips with your hands behind your back)
• Use EZ-curl bar or dumbbell extension in each tri workout. (e.g. include lying EZ-curl bar triceps extensions, two-arm dumbbell overhead extensions and one-arm dumbbell overhead extensions)
• Use both underhand and overhand exercises.
4. Maintain Form
Do not let you elbows move backwards, forwards or sideways, nor lean over the bar in pushdowns. Using poor form has clear implications on your training quality.
• Lock your elbows in place for all reps until you reach failure.
• Do not use your weight in exercises such as press downs by leaning over the bar.
5. Don't Overtrain
With your triceps also helping out during chest and shoulders, it is easy to allow them to get over trained. Therefore it is not ideal to work all three on consecutive days.
• Consider doing fewer sets if you have recently worked out chest or shoulders.
• Make sure to rest or separate chest, shoulders and triceps.
6. Change Your Rep Amounts
Make sure to change your rep count from low to high to medium reps through different workouts to shock your shoulders.
7. Dedicate a Day To Arms
Triceps, like biceps, aren't the biggest of muscles and so it doesn't take too much to target them.
Performing triceps on an arms day as opposed to with other muscles (back, chest, shoulders) will allow you to fully work them without them being tired from other muscle group exercises.
