Triceps….is that a dinosaur?

So you’ve been hitting the gym for a while, you’ve been bicep curling in the squat rack in a bid to get big arms, still not stretching the tape?

 

You can curl and curl the biggest weights in the gym but if you want to build sleeve busting arms then you have to smash the triceps. 66% of the the upper arm is made up of the triceps, the slab of muscle that hangs off the back of your arms has three heads, the long head the medial head and the lateral head.

The triceps are the supporting muscle group in all of your pressing movements, chest presses, shoulder presses etc and although you will breakdown fibers in the triceps from these movements, it is imperative to isolate the triceps in order to get the best results when on the quest for bigger arms!

 

As with biceps I like to to train my triceps on the back of a bigger muscle group. Mixing it up with a chest workout you will have pre-exhausted ensuring you have a full breakdown of muscle fibers. After back, will mean your triceps are fresh for bigger lifts with a heavier load (Oh, did I mention you should always train as heavy as you can!)

 

Again, keep it simple, Once a week is enough, or rest for at least 4 days after isolating them until you hit them again. Here is the best breakdown for your workout:

 

• 4-5 exercises
• 3-4 sets per exercise
• 8-12 reps per set

 

Although the triceps are also a comparatively smaller muscle group with the back, legs etc they can handle a little more load than the biceps (This can depend on individual strengths) the key to efficient triceps training and getting the most out of the workout is all down to the peak contraction. The squeeze at the top of the movement where it should feel like the back of your arm is on fire. After reps, when approaching failure, the burn should be getting deeper and deeper to the point of being unable to straighten your arm.

 

I like to start my triceps workout with straight bar cable triceps push-downs, its one of the best exercises to build the triceps, to give detail and separation but also a great starting exercise to warm up the elbows before your heavier lifts.

 

Here are my top 5 advanced training principals to utilize during triceps:

 

Peak contraction – Squeeze like fuck as the top of the rep for one second

Drop set – Go to failure, drop the weight, go to failure again.

Triple drop set – Go to failure, drop the weight, go to failure again.

Superset – Hit two separate triceps exercises back to back with no rest.

Compound Superset – Hit your triceps exercise immediately after a bigger compound exercise for a different muscle group with no rest.

 

Here is the program to make your triceps pop:

 

–  Straight bar cable push-downs – 4 x 8-12 reps (Inc drop sets and peak contraction)

 

–  Close grip bench press – 4 x 8-12 reps

 

–  Tricep parallel dips – 4 x 8-12 reps (Superset with tricep bench dips)

 

–  Incline lying rope push downs – 4 x 8-12 reps (Superset with under grip push-downs)

 

–  Tricep kickbacks – 4 x 8-12 reps (Yes I am old school)

 

Remember to get your whey protein, BCAA’s and glutamine in immediately after your workout, then rest up.

 

So, there are a couple of workouts to try on the quest to getting sleeve busting guns. Make sure you swing by soon for some more free knowledge bombs. Now, haven’t you got an arms workout to go and hit?…..Oh and make sure you go heavy, and to failure (Always go heavy and to failure) And put your phone away… Until you have a full pump anyway then Instagram the shit out of it!