How to build triceps if you are not a genetic mutant
Looking at mass arm training through the prism of dry mathematics, it can be noted that triceps for increasing the visual volume of the arms is much more important than biceps. The triceps muscle is 60% of the mass of the arm, it responds well to training and recovers quickly. But despite this, large triceps in ordinary visitors to the gym are a rarity. Let's try to figure out what mistakes in triceps training interfere with its growth, and how to fix them. The most interesting about training and sports nutrition on my telegram channel https://t.me/bestbodyblog
Introduction
In this article, I will not also touch on the topic of hands or talk about the need for sufficient rest. The importance of these fundamentals is decisive for muscle growth, and there is no point in discussing them. Today I want to talk about how to build triceps for an ordinary person who does not have crazy genetics and does not use "magic" pills. So…
Incorrect arm training priority
Working out in the gym is great, but none of us wants to spend all our time in the gym without a trace. We want to get results as soon as possible. From the point of view of the ratio of the effort expended to the final result (the growth of the muscle mass of the arms), the priority development of the triceps is of paramount importance.
Just look at Rolly Winklaar's huge arms to understand that their incredible volume is based primarily on huge triceps. Increased attention to the development of this muscle group provides hands with a volume of 60 cm to most of the stars of modern bodybuilding. Triceps assists in all pressing movements without exception. The increase in his muscle mass and strength immediately affects the increase in working weights in exercises for the chest and shoulders.
There are three most common triceps training schemes in which it is pumped:
- after biceps
- after a large muscle group (chest, back)
- or after the shoulders
This is a completely logical, but completely wrong approach to building big hands. For if our goal is a rapid increase in the volume of the triceps, we need to pump it differently. Depending on the level of development of the triceps muscle, I suggest using two schemes for its training:
Start swinging your arms not with biceps, but with triceps
This style of work is called the principle of priority. The main resource that we have in training is energy, and with every minute spent in the gym, it becomes less and less. Starting training arms for mass with triceps exercises, you can increase the working weight in each of them, directing all energy reserves to its growth.
Set aside a separate day for training triceps
Such a scheme of work is called. It requires a serious level of training and is a real shock for this muscle group. More often 1-2 times a month to pump triceps in this way, I do not advise. But even one specialized training is almost a 100% guarantee of growth in arm mass. And in order to enhance the effect of it even more, you need to exclude any load on the triceps (direct and indirect) for 7-10 days, thereby bringing it to a state of mild training.
This method of pumping hands to mass can be used for all muscle groups without exception, both for small and large ones. And every time he is guaranteed to give a result.
Triceps mass training on the principle of priority is a guarantee of its growth
Conclusion: the most common mistake in mass arm training- This is work on the triceps according to the residual principle. Using the principle of priority or the method of specialization helps to gain triceps muscle mass in a short period.
The triceps exercise no one does right
Triceps is good because there are a huge number of exercises for it. There are only a dozen varieties of French bench press. But most of them are present only in the arsenal of professional bodybuilders, and the average visitor to the gym gets by with a more modest assortment. Everyone knows that the best exercises for triceps are:
- narrow grip barbell press
- push-ups on bars
- french bench press
It really is. The best arm exercises for mass are simple, basic, multi-joint movements that involve not just a single muscle bundle, but the entire array of the arm at once.
But research conducted by Bret Contreras in 2010 on the topic of determining the best exercises from a scientific point of view, called the most effective, a completely different movement: the extension of the arms to the bottom with a rope handle on the block. True, under one important condition: the hands must not only be unbent to the bottom, but at the same time, they should be spread to the side as much as possible, turning the hands around their axis.
This movement of the hand is called pronation, and it is analogous to another super technique for gaining muscle mass in the arms - supination, used in biceps exercises. But just don’t think that since this triceps exercise is performed on a block, and not with free weights, you need to perform it in a “walking style”.
Conclusion: performing extensions on the block with pronation allows you to achieve peak contraction of the triceps, which is the strongest stimulus for the triceps to grow muscle mass.
Lack of Reverse Grip Triceps Exercises
There is a lot of information about exercises for each individual triceps bundle. But as science says, it is impossible to load a single muscle segment in isolation as if it were triceps, biceps or another muscle group.
When pumping triceps, three of its muscle bundles will have to be included in the work at once, however, a large load will still fall on one of them. During the reverse grip extension, this occurs with the outer (lateral) head of the triceps, forming its so-called horseshoe shape.
This exercise for hands on the mass is mandatory for all professional bodybuilders. They understand that a large, but shapeless triceps visually loses to a smaller, but better designed one. In addition, reverse grip triceps extensions help to separate the triceps from the brachialis and biceps, making the arms look more massive, elaborate and detailed. What reverse grip exercises can you do in the gym?
Reverse arm extension
Why curved? Because the grip strength in this case will be higher than when working with a straight neck. And to further enhance grip with the handle, you can use the usual wrist straps. This will allow you to use more weight in the exercise without worrying about losing control of it.
One-arm extension on the block with a reverse grip
This is a more difficult version of the triceps exercise, but it allows for a more complete contraction of the triceps due to a slight lengthening of the trajectory. And one-hand extensions on the block with a reverse grip make it possible to perform the exercise with greater mental concentration.
Frenchbench pressreverse grip
A very rare and dangerous triceps exercise in the gym. Its essence is that the bar is held not with the usual straight, but with a reverse grip and does not fall to the forehead, but behind the head. It can be done standing, sitting and lying down. Common sense dictates that you perform this variation of the French press only with the support of a reliable training partner.
However, despite all its complexity, it does its job perfectly, because it allows you to use free weight and perfectly stretches the triceps in length.
Barbell bench presslying with a narrow reverse grip
Also an unusual exercise that can be safely included in triceps training for mass. The working weight in this version of the bench press is slightly less than in the classic variation, but on the other hand, the outer triceps bundle is loaded much more strongly. It can be done with a regular barbell, but doing it in the Smith machine can load the triceps more.
Conclusion: performing exercises with a reverse grip helps both in gaining muscle mass in the triceps and in giving it the coveted horseshoe shape.
Narrow stance triceps workout
This may seem like a trifle, but when it comes to gaining muscle mass in the arms in a natural way, there can be no trifles. The effectiveness of triceps training depends on the working weight used in the exercises. And although you can gain a lot of hands by working with relatively small weights, the problem does not disappear from this.
- Grip. Too narrow a stance when performing a barbell press with a narrow grip, a French press, and even extension on a block, overload the wrist joint. The more weight in triceps exercises used, the higher the chances of injury. Even the slightest discomfort in the wrists puts an end to all pressing movements. According to the same research on finding the best triceps exercises, the second most effective is the straightening of the arms on the block with the usual average comfort grip. This positioning of the hands avoids injury to the wrists and makes it possible to pump triceps with a lot of weight. to perform bench presses on the triceps, it reduces the load on the wrist joint to a safe level.
- Elbows. The loss of control over the elbows during triceps exercises, firstly, relieves the load from it, and secondly, overloads the elbow joint. Most often, the elbows “start to dance” while working with an inadequately selected weight. The weight on the bar is an important, but not the main aspect of the effectiveness of any arm mass exercise. It is much more important to direct the load exclusively to the triceps, and not spray it on other muscle groups. To cope with this task allows total control over the position of the elbows during triceps exercises.
Conclusion: the correct technique for performing exercises when training triceps for mass avoids joint injuries and significantly increases the chances of increasing muscle volume.
Low Intensity Triceps Workout
If we analyze the hand training programs for mass used by professionals, we can draw an unambiguous conclusion: it occurs against the background of a progression of weights. In order for the hands (and not only) to grow, the working weight in the exercises must be constantly increased. The idea is good, but only for a competitive athlete who constantly uses pharmacological support.
Using more and more weights in every workout for the average person is a road to injury. I know it for sure. The injury I received while doing the arm extension from behind the head with a heavy dumbbell radically changed my view of gaining muscle mass in the arms.
The key to muscle growth is an ever-increasing load, here I agree with the adherents of the "chemical" bodybuilding. But in my opinion, the progression of the load should not consist in an increase in the number of plates on the bar, but in completely different parameters.
But since we are talking about pumping a triceps, consisting of three beams, the ideal method of training it would be trisets (performing three exercises in a row without rest). If you wish, you can use any combination of triceps exercises that come to mind, and they will all be correct. Two conditions will allow you to swing your arms to the mass using trisets more effectively.
Condition 1. The difficulty of triceps exercises decreases with each stage. That is, the most difficult and difficult exercise is performed first, the second is a lighter, stretching and isolated movement on the block that closes the cycle. For example, like this:
- Close grip bench press 7-8 reps
- French bench press 8-10 reps
- Extension of arms on a block with a rope handle 10-12 times
Condition 2. Triset exercises can be selected in such a way that each of them is directed to a different muscle bundle. For example, so
- Push-ups from the bench with weight (internal bundle of triceps) 10-12 times
- Seated French Barbell Press (long triceps) 8-10 reps
- Extension of the arms on the block with a reverse grip (external bundle of triceps) 7-8 times
Conclusion: a constant progression of weights is the easiest, but most traumatic way to pump your arms to the mass. The principles of intensifying the training process allow you to increase the load on the muscles and minimize the risk of injury.
Insufficient trajectory of triceps exercises in the gym
At first glance, it seems that there is little in common between training triceps and biceps. But, in fact, doing exercises for them has two very important similarities.
- Peak muscle contraction. For each muscle group, you need to find a movement that includes the maximum number of muscle fibers in the work. For triceps, this is an exercise performed with pronation of the hands (extension of the arms on the upper block), and for biceps, these are exercises with supination of the hands (various options for lifting dumbbells).
- Maximum range of motion. Any lengthening of the trajectory in exercises is the strongest stimulus, both for the growth of muscle mass and for the improvement of muscle shape. For biceps, these are barbell lifts on the Scott bench and dumbbell lifts on an incline bench. But for triceps, these are various extensions with a barbell and some other exercises.
The idea behind lengthening the triceps path is that the various variations of the French press are exercises for the long head of the triceps. The larger it is, the greater the total mass of the triceps. But there are two exercises that help stretch the triceps much more than all the others:
French incline bench press
The whole point of this triceps exercise is to tilt the bench down. This position of the bench will deprive the triceps of the “dead” zone of movement, the load in the stretched muscles of the arms will now be permanent. And to further lengthen the trajectory and further stretch the triceps, you can lower the barbell or dumbbells not to the forehead, but behind the head. The reverse incline French press is the best exercise for the long head of the triceps.
Barbell push-ups
According to its biomechanics, this movement completely repeats the previous exercise. Only, in the first variant, the bar moves, and in this case, the body itself serves as a burden. This is a rather difficult exercise that requires high concentration and constant immobility of the body.
But the lower point of the trajectory will allow you to stretch the triceps like no other. You can adjust the load level by changing the height of the neck placement. The lower it is located, the more difficult it is to perform the exercise. With a little modification, this exercise can be done at home. I talked about how to swing hands without iron in an article.
Conclusion: lengthening the trajectory of movement, along with peak contraction, are the two most important conditions for increasing muscle arms.
And in conclusion of the story, I propose to listen to what Rich Piana thinks about pumping triceps. He, as always, has his own opinion on this matter.
download triceps:
I hope my article will be useful and help in the struggle to create large in mass and ideal in shape arm muscles. May the force be with you. And mass!
