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Tricep Exercise

How many of you love doing a great tricep exercise? Triceps are the back part of either arm. I have heard many of my clients call their triceps anything but a muscle. Unfortunately, the neglected tricep seems to turn to jelly. But that doesn't have to be the case for you.

Triceps are a small- but very important- part of your arm. They help support and stabilize the shoulder and bicep. We often focus so much on building stronger biceps that we fail to realize the importance of building the supporting tricep muscle.

Imbalances in the body are quite often the cause of injuries. Try out each tricep exercise until your find one that feels best to you. Remember varying your program is a good thing :)

Triceps should be worked as part of your upper body or arm strength training day.



Try Each Tricep Exercise


Overhead Extensions

Start- Hold a free weight between your right thumb and pointer finger. Cup your opposite hand under your right hand. Lift the weight so that your elbows are bent and it is behind your head.

Go For It- Begin to straighten out your arms by lifting the weight up to the sky. Pause for one second, and begin lowering the free weight back to your starting position.

Tips and Techniques-

- Exhale as you push the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight to the start position of this tricep exercise.

- Keep your elbows very close to your head. We don't want any chicken wings!

- Want to add some oomph to this tricep exercise? When you reach the top, kick the bottom part of the dumbbell up to the sky. This is called a kick-up.

- Remember that you are only concentrating on the muscle of your top hand. Switch hands half way through the set OR do another set with the opposite hand. We want balanced body parts.


Tricep Dips

Start- Using a flat bench, sit down and place your hands by your sides. Your knees are bent.

Go For It- Lift your bottom off of the bench and slowly lower to the ground by bending your elbows. Lift back up by straightening out the elbows.

Tips and Techniques-

- Exhale as you push back up to the start and inhale as you lower your bottom to the ground.

- Keep your elbows very close to your sides throughout this tricep exercise.

- More oomph? The further your feet are from the bench, the more difficult this exercise becomes. You can even go real extreme by placing your feet on a chair or stability ball.

- Don't allow the legs to do any of the work. We want to work those tricep muscles!


Tricep Kickbacks

Start- Begin by standing, feet under your hips and knees slightly bent. Bend at the hips until your back is parallel with the ground. Keep your gaze on the ground. You are holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your sides and elbows bent to a 90 degree angle.

Go For It- Begin to straighten out your arms by lifting the weight up to the sky. Pause for one second, and begin lowering the free weight back to your starting position.

Tips and Techniques-

- Exhale as you push the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight to the start position.

- Keep your elbows very close to your side.

- Try to keep your back as flat as possible and your eyes looking at the ground. This keeps your spine in a neutral position.

- When you have finished the set, slowly lift back up to standing as you inhale.


Tricep Skullcrushers

Start- Begin by laying your upper body on the stability ball. Hold one dumbbell between your right thumb and pointer finger, palms facing up. Slide your left hand under the right hand for support. The dumbbell is behind your head and elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle. Your knees are hip width apart and your hips are lifted up to the sky.

Go For It- Begin to straighten out your arms by lifting the weight up to the sky. Pause for one second, and begin lowering the free weight back to your starting position.

Tips and Techniques-

- Exhale as you push the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight to the start position.

- Keep your elbows close together.

- Try to keep your hips lifted throughout the tricep exercise. This will help support you and work the glutes/hamstrings.

- Remember to use the opposite hand as your guiding hand as well. So if you do 12 reps with your right hand on top, be sure to do 12 reps with your left hand on top!

- Try to not move your shoulder joints at all. The only joint that should be moving is your elbow. This makes sure the triceps are working and not your chest muscles.




Elbows In

Start- Start at a regular push up position or on all fours as the picture above shows. Rotate your arms so that the inside of your elbows are facing the same direction as your fingers.

Go For It- Begin to lower the body (if doing regular pushups) or just the upper body (if doing this on all fours) just above the ground. Keep your elbows tucked into your sides. Pause here. Press back to start.

Tips and Techniques-

- Inhale as you lower your body weight to the floor. Exhale as you press back to start.

- Keep your elbows tucked in to your sides. This ensures that those tricep muscles are actually doing the work.

- This is a great tricep exercise for those with a foundation of strength already in place.

- Draw an imaginary line that connects the top of your two middle fingers. As you lower your body to the floor, try placing your nose on that imaginary line.

Whatever tricep exercise you choose to do, just remember to only work that particular muscle. Don't use momentum to lift the weight. Doing a regular tricep exercise weight routine mixed with cardio will help firm up those "jiggly wigglies" in no time.

They may be a small part of your body, but triceps are powerful muscles that demand your attention. Switch your tricep exercise regularly.



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