FACT: To get big arms you need to work HARD on your triceps.
FACT: I’m going to tell you how to work your triceps HARD and SMART.
If you’ve ever read articles on arm training, you’ve probably learned that the triceps muscle makes up about 2/3 of the total arm mass. The biceps, while a big “show” muscle, is actually relatively small!
That’s all well and good, and just blindly doing triceps exercises without a plan can yield some results, but to really maximize your triceps (as I mentioned above) you need to work them SMART.
So if you really want to stretch your t-shirt sleeves to the max, try this exercise. It contains three of the most powerful triceps exercises I’ve ever used. Not only that, these exercises are strategically arranged to literally force activation of many more muscle fibers in the triceps, leading to increased muscle growth and strength fast!
The best part is that this workout requires very little specialized equipment!
In the next section, I’ll tell you about all three exercises, then tell you how the exercises work together to help you boost your triceps next week.
EXERCISE #1 – Bodyweight Triceps Extensions – 2 sets of 8 to 12 reps
EXERCISE #2 – Superset Lying Triceps Extensions and Close Grip Bench Press – 3 sets of 6-8 reps
EXERCISE #3 – Bench Dips – 2 sets of 10 to 12+ reps
Rest 90 seconds between each set.
How to Perform Exercise #1: Bodyweight Triceps Extensions
2 series of 8 to 12 repetitions
For this exercise, you will need a horizontal bar/edge about 2 feet off the ground. You can use a Smith machine bar, universal bench handles, a railing, the edge of a chair or table, or even a Olympic bar set on the power rack with the safety rails a few feet off the ground.
Essentially any horizontal bar that is 1-2 feet off the ground will do. It should have some space underneath so you have a place to put your head.
-Stand in front of the bar, one foot away from it. Place your hands about 6 inches apart with a thumbless (false) grip.
-Step back a few feet, allowing your body to stretch as you do so.
-Keep your abs tight so your body remains supported
– Now lower your whole body forward, bending only your elbows, so that your head is ducking under the bar as if you were trying to do an overhead triceps stretch.
-Keep your elbows tucked in all the way.
-Keep your whole body tense and rigid. The only movement should occur at the elbows.
-Extend back up using your triceps.
This exercise will develop the long head of the triceps (which runs the length of the lower arm) and give the triceps a great stretch.
How to Perform Exercise #2: Superset Lying Triceps Extension Set and Close Grip Bench Press
3 series of 6 to 8 repetitions
Note: One repetition of each exercise (1 extension and 1 press) counts as one total repetition for our purposes here.
This is a unique type of superset where you basically combine two different exercises into one set, preferably an isolation exercise and a compound exercise.
For this superset, we’ll be using EZ Bar Lying Triceps Extensions and Close Grip Bench Press (using the same EZ Bar). Use a weight that you would normally be able to do about 12 reps for lying extensions on your own.
Simply put, you’ll do one rep of extensions and then one rep of close grip presses, alternating reps until you can’t do any more reps of extensions. At that point, you’re done with as many reps as you can of the close-grip presses. It is a very intense technique!
This type of superset maximizes training intensity and allows you to work several different aspects of the muscle at the same time, dramatically increasing training efficiency.
It’s best to do this exercise lying on the floor (especially if you’re training alone) rather than on a bench. If you have a spotter hand you the weight at the start and take the weight when you’re done, you can do this on a flat bench.
Begin with one repetition of the lying triceps extension. Lower the bar to the forehead, and then extend it up. Now do a single repetition of the Close Grip Press, lowering the bar to the lower ribcage area, then pressing up. Now do another extension, then another press. Repeat until you can no longer do extensions with good shape. Now finish with as many pressures as you can with good form. That’s a set!
How to Perform Exercise #3: Bank Funds
2 sets of 10 to 12+ repetitions
(the number of repetitions you can get will depend on the body position you use for the exercise)
You can use a bench (or even an ordinary chair) for this one. Start by sitting on the bench. Place your hands on the bench just next to your buttocks with your fingers curled over the front edge. It will almost appear as if you are sitting on your hands.
Where you place your feet will affect the difficulty of this exercise. The easiest position is with your feet flat on the floor a foot or two from the bench. Your knees will be bent.
To make this exercise more difficult, move your feet away from the bench (you can straighten your legs). This forces your triceps to take more weight from your body. Your next position after that is with your feet up on a bench with your legs straight. You can even try it with your feet on a bench higher than the one on your hands.
But if you’re REALLY looking for a challenge, move your bench so it’s facing a wall (about 2-3 feet away). Instead of resting your feet on the floor or a bench, place them on the wall.
That way, the only thing holding you up is your legs pushing HARD directly against your triceps as you do the exercise. The contraction you will feel in your triceps will be so strong and painful that it will be almost cruel!
To begin the exercise, move your butt a few inches forward of the bench. Now lower your upper body as if you were scraping your back along the front edge of the bench. Push yourself up, squeezing your triceps hard.
Why this training is so effective:
As I said earlier, the key to building your triceps is to work them hard AND smart.
We start the workout with an exercise that puts the triceps in a stretched position. The stretch position has two main benefits: the first is what is called the stretch reflex (also known as the stretch reflex).
When the muscle is placed under tension in the stretched position, a rapid change in direction causes more muscle fibers to be activated than normal. This change of direction should NOT be a bounce but almost a contraction.
So, when you reach the bottom of the bodyweight triceps extension, straighten your triceps, then quickly change direction (but don’t bounce!)
The second benefit of the stretch position is to help stretch the fascia that surrounds the muscle. Fascia is basically a “pillowcase” of connective tissue that holds a muscle in place. The fascia is hard and restricts muscle growth. Stretching helps loosen the fascia and allows room for the muscles to grow.
We now move on to the second exercise(s). The In-Set Superset combines two movements in one exercise. The extensions provide another stretch position exercise for the triceps (however, this stretch position is not as complete as the overhead position in the first exercise) and the press gives you a compound exercise that allows the shoulders and chest to help push the triceps harder. .
Completing each set with a burnout on the presses will really light up your triceps.
Now we move on to the coup de grace: the Bench Dip. With this exercise we seek a maximum contraction. The position your arms are in (behind your body) is the position where ALL of the triceps muscle fibers are in an optimal position for maximum contraction.
Just keeping your arms straight and trying to touch your hands behind your back will show this.
After the stretch position movement and the double problem of the In-Set Superset, you hit the triceps with the strongest contraction they are anatomically capable of achieving.
Let me tell you right now…if you haven’t felt your triceps bulge up like balloons before, this combination of exercises will! And you’ll make huge gains in triceps muscle development very quickly!