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Most guys in the gym focus on arms when working out, truly a huge majority, and when focusing on arms they tend to focus on biceps. Perhaps because the exercises done for biceps look more manly, but it’s safe to say that it is mostly because guys think that biceps make for the majority of the arm, which isn’t true. Triceps make for the two-thirds of the muscles in the upper arm, and that’s why you need to know how to maximize your tricep workouts benefits.
The way to that is gaining knowledge about the muscle, and also some tips that will cut down the time for you reaching the goal.
Tricep Workouts Tip #1 Compound First
Most people focus on isolation exercises for their triceps, probably because they look so cut from the rest of the body. But in order to achieve maximum gains from tricep workouts, a mixture of compound and isolation exercises are needed. Compound movements occur engage more than one joint and work more than one muscle group, so close grip bench press is the ideal exercise to start your tricep workout. This exercise will fatigue the tricep with larger weight utilized for it, making bigger benefits when you move on to isolation exercises.
Tricep Workouts Tip #2 Bodyweight
When it comes to tricep workouts, almost everybody gravitates towards the dumbbells, machines, and barbells, forgetting about the mother of all exercises – body weight exercises. Triceps are particularly well covered with bodyweight exercises as you can make significant improvements to your physique with them. Dips, both between bars or between chairs, weighted or not, but also diamond pushups, which are also called tricep pushups. Since tricep muscles are used for elbow extensions, shoulder extensions, and adductions, and for pushing motions, these exercises are key.
Tricep Workouts Tip #3 Cable Machine
Bodyweight shouldn’t be your only type of exercises, as variety is key, and while using machines is sometimes looked down upon by older bodybuilders, some of them are great for tricep workouts. Cable machine being the ultimate triceps exercise, especially for beginners as skull crushers can be dangerous for those just starting out. Rope cable extensions will make your triceps burn more than any other exercise does for any other muscle.
Tricep Workouts Tip #4 Supersets
In order to boost your workouts and your gains while at the same time breaking the boring pattern of exercising, you could try to utilize supersets. Supersets mean that two different, often opposing exercises, are done in succession with no rest in between. They are perhaps best used for arms, so biceps/triceps. An example of superset would be doing bicep curls, followed immediately by triceps kickbacks, with rest coming after both exercises are done. Again, you shouldn’t utilize just supersets, but break the established cycle with them.
Tricep Workouts Tip #5 Full Motion
The most basic and the most beneficial tip for working out triceps is to always focus on achieving the full range of motion for each exercise. No half-repping should be a general mantra in the gym but is especially important when it comes to tricep workouts. As we said, triceps are tasked with your basic movements like shoulder and elbow extensions, so in order to reach their full potential as muscles, you must fully extend your arms while doing most of the exercises. Controlled, calculated movement does more than simply raising the weight.
Hopefully, these tips will boost your marathon towards bigger, more chiseled triceps. Be a useful member of the fitness community and tell us what are some other tricep workouts tips that worked for you?
