As the largest muscle group in the arm, the triceps determines the circumference of the arm. The triceps and biceps are like brothers and together they make up our upper arm, while the small arm makes up the lower arm.
If we were to focus on the whole arm, triceps > biceps > lower arm. If you neglect triceps training, it will not only affect your arm circumference, but also your bench press weight.
Without further ado i will start with an analysis of the triceps to give you a comprehensive look at triceps training so you will understand and know how to train them.
The triceps, which has three heads are shown below from left to right: The long head, the lateral head and the medial head.
If you train your triceps well enough, it will take on a "U" Horseshoe shape, which is very aesthetically pleasing.
The largest of the three heads is the long head, followed by the lateral head and then the medial head; the long head is the largest muscle in the arm from the back; the lateral is the second most visible for the side of the arm and has a great effect on the fullness of the arm, the medial is not very visible but has a very important role in the power and stability of the triceps and is involved in all triceps exercises.
The long head of the triceps extends the elbow and shoulder joints, while the medial and lateral heads can only extend the elbow joint.
Let's start with the long head, which is the largest of the triceps.
The main function of the triceps is to flex and extend the elbow, while the long head, as mentioned above, involves the elbow and shoulder joints, so the movements involving the long head will involve shoulder extension, internal shoulder contraction and external shoulder rotation.
Overhead arm extensions use shoulder flexion and elbow flexion to allow full extension of the long head, which is the better type of movement to focus on the long head.
In triceps long head training, the larger the arm tightens and the closer the elbow is to the body the more the long head is stimulated.
In the triceps press class using a straight bar with a reverse grip and a slightly forward leaning body position will stimulate the long head more.
Lateral head
The lateral head is recommended to be pressed down with the rope, in an upright stance with the elbow slightly away from the body, allowing the arm to rotate internally at the lowest point of the press to allow the lateral head to contract fully.
Use an upright hand position and fist with the eyes up.
The double bar arm extensions and dumbbell arm extensions are also very good for stimulating the lateral head!
The lateral head of the triceps is marked in red in the picture below.
Medial head
The medial head as mentioned above is the most activated and used muscle for triceps exercises, almost all exercises for triceps can involve the medial head, so when you have a developed lateral and long head it will naturally be strong as well.
Finally a word about the number of weights and movements to train your triceps!
Weights and reps
The triceps is about 65% fast in terms of muscle fibres, with a high anaerobic capacity metabolism and easy fatigue, so choose 8-12rm for fast muscle fibres for weight reps to stimulate them.
The rest are slow muscle fibers dominant endurance, not easy to fatigue, so to 12-20rm weight times to choose to stimulate the slow muscle fibers.
This is why it is important to practice triceps with both small weights and large weights with fewer reps, combining the two for better stimulation and training of the triceps.
Movements.
There is no isolation in the choice of triceps movements, all three heads are involved, but the points of focus are different.
1. Barbell narrow bench press
The narrow bench press is one of the few exercises that can be done with large weights to better stimulate the fast fibres in the triceps.
The narrow bench press has a balanced focus on the three heads of the triceps, so it is a good choice to put it as the first exercise.
The distance between the two hands is slightly narrower than the shoulders, not too narrow as this puts a lot of pressure on your wrist joints and can easily cause wrist injuries. 20-30cm between the two hands will ensure a neutral wrist and also ensure the stability of the barbell.
Lift the barbell and slowly lower it down to feel the force of the triceps, the lever drop in your upper abdominal position will give a better sense of stretch to the triceps.
2. Backhand straight down (long head)
Lean forward slightly, hold the club with your backhand shoulder width apart, keep your elbow joint as close to your body as possible, press down to the lowest point of the top contraction, then slowly return and feel the contraction of the long head, remember to do this with a straight backhand grip.
If it is a forehand rope press down target the outside head more.
3. Overhead arm extensions (long head)
As mentioned above overhead movements are very good for stimulating the long head of the triceps using equipment such as dumbbells, barbells and ropes.
One-arm dumbbell posterior cervical arm curl.
This movement coincides with the line of force of the long head of the triceps and when you perform this movement you can fully feel the extension of the long head.
Overhead barbell flexion.
The figure below adds a shoulder extension for better stimulation of the long head, but it is not recommended for novices, as the shoulder joint is prone to injury if not mastered properly, but to try it, use a small weight to try it with your own controlled weight and feel the extension of the long head.
Overhead rope extensions.
This is a safe and effective way to stimulate the long head of the triceps.
Overhead barbell arm curls.
Keep your elbows facing forward, keep tension on your triceps during the movement and reduce the stress on your elbows, it is better to do it with a curved bar, a seated position will free up your lower back and a slight flexion of your shoulders when lowering the barbell will stimulate the long head of your triceps better.
Remember to use a weight you can control and keep it steady.
4. Double bar arm curls (lateral head + medial head)
Keep your body as straight as possible, this will be better for the triceps, dips will focus more on the lower chest, pay attention to the rhythm of the movement, slow down your movements and feel the contraction and stretch of the triceps.
If you feel overwhelmed by the double bar arm flexion you can train in the following way which is also very good to stimulate the triceps; seated arm flexion.
5. Rope press down (lateral head)
A small change as shown below, at the lowest point of the press, the wrist and elbow do an internal rotation, which will better stimulate your lateral triceps, as mentioned in the lateral head analysis above, so i won't explain too much here.
6. Prone dumbbell arm curls (lateral + medial)
One arm allows for better isolation of the triceps. With the forearm at 90° to the upper arm, flex the triceps backwards, keeping the upper arm stationary, feeling the contraction of the lateral head of the triceps and keeping the large arm close to the body.
7. Diamond push-ups
The diamond push-up is similar to the narrow press, but the diamond push-up uses its own weight to perform it, it has a good stimulation of the chest and triceps, and all three heads can basically be worked.
If you can't do it in the position pictured below, you can do it in a kneeling position, keeping your back straight.
Train the triceps with a long head, targeting both the lateral and medial heads so that you have a well-rounded development of the triceps.
Train with large weights for fewer reps and small weights for more reps to ensure that the fast muscle fibres as well as the slow muscle fibres of your triceps are stimulated.
