2023-11-29 16:00:11
When it comes to triceps exercises, there are a plethora of options for working out in the gym or at home!
Yet you can achieve solid results with as few as three moves, as long as they are selected wisely!
You can of course add more for greater results, but these three are foundations that you absolutely must have in your program.
Here we go for this minimalist approach!
Anatomy of a horseshoe
As its name suggests, the triceps is made up of three muscles:
the lateral head: the most visible seen from the side, the long head (inside the arm): which makes up the majority of the volume of the arm, the medial head: the smallest, nevertheless important for the strength and stability of the triceps .
These three muscles which, when well developed, form the famous horseshoe, attach to your elbow and are responsible for extending your arm.
The long head also contributes to shoulder extension, which is why you feel it during a pullover.
Biomechanics dictate that if the shoulder is in a flexed position, we activate the long portion of the triceps more.
In real life, the best thing is to vary the angles and shoulder positions during your exercises and that is exactly what we will see.
Also Read: Top 6 Triceps Exercises Without Equipment: Build Big Arms at Home
1/ Le terrible skull crusher
If you only have to dedicate 3 exercises to your triceps program, you might as well focus on the portion that takes up the most space in the arm, right?
We are talking about the long head of the tricepsthe one on the inside of the arm.
For this, an EZ bar (better for the grips) and a bench will undoubtedly be your best assets.
The skull crusher (or skull smashing in French) is a poyarticular movement (shoulder and elbow joints), so you can use a moderate load (8-20 repetitions).
Execution side:
We load the bar which we place at the top of the bench, we lie down to grasp it with a shoulder-width grip then we bring the bar above the head, arms outstretched, using the back muscles. , We place the shoulder blades in retraction and depression for good shoulder stability, then we place ourselves well at the end of the bench so that the head protrudes slightly, We initiate the first repetition by shifting the bar behind the head to contract the long portion and thus maintain this constant tension throughout the movement. We keep a slight bend in the elbow at the top of each repetition and we lower the load in an arc trajectory (and not in a straight line towards the front as we see too often), We go down as low as our mobility allows, at least until the forearms and biceps come into contact, the elbows remain in place, they do not move apart during the exercise, Finally, we raise the bar by strongly contracting the triceps, the load moves only by the extension of the triceps, the shoulders do not move.
When we reach failure, we don’t stop there, but we continue with a close grip bench press of the families to perfect the work on the medial portion.
Note that you can also do this exercise directly on the floor if you don’t have a weight bench.
2/ Triceps press down
For this second exercise, head to the pulley to which you will hang a straight or EZ bar (more stable than a rope).
Adjust to chest height, grab the bar in pronation, shoulder width apart, then get into the initial position, i.e. forearms in contact with biceps, elbows completely bent.
From there, we step back and lean forward (the hips move back to make room), we don’t want to stay straight as an I.
Contract the triceps hard to move the load downward, by moving the elbows slightly backwards (the latter remain close to the ribs to prevent the pectorals from gaining the upper hand).
Strongly contract the triceps at the end of the movement, then reverse, while in control
Aim for 6 to 12 repetitions.
Note that you can also do it unilaterally (one arm at a time), without accessories on the pulley.
3/ Kickback triceps
We end with an exercise where the shoulders are hyperextended (arms behind the torso) and which can be done with dumbbells or on the pulley (the latter being better to benefit from constant tension).
On the pulley, do not attach any accessories, grab the cable and place yourself in the initial 90° position (between the biceps and forearm).
Then contract the triceps to shift the weight back and move the shoulder back to aim for shoulder hyperextension.
The shoulder should not be aligned with the torsobut well behind, otherwise you are just doing yet another triceps extension exercise, that is not the goal.
The contraction at the end of the movement must be so strong that it is almost painful!
Get back in control.
Aim for 10-20 repetitions and on the last set, opt for a dropset or myo-reps.
Updated by Quentin on: 11/29/2023
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