The Triceps: two thirds of a well developed arm
The Triceps.
It makes up for two thirds of most people's arms.
Yet it doesn't get nearly as much attention as the Biceps.
If you want to add mass to your arms, make sure to give the triceps at least as much attention as your biceps.
It is not only about size - a well developed triceps lends an aesthetic appeal to the arm. If properly trained it will let you achieve a truly statuesque and visually impressive look.
Personally I have always rated is as one of the muscle groups that is most fun to work out. It is a muscle group that I feel responds very well to the kind of training that I prefer, namely high volume training with a moderately high or high number of reps per set. Most isolation triceps exercises aren't well suited for low reps with heavy weights.
For me, an arm session which contains lots of supersets, alternating biceps and triceps, has always been the best day of the week at the gym.
My favourite triceps exercises are the following:
Triceps push ups behind the back.
A great exercise for achieving an all round pump in the triceps. You can push yourself really hard in this one with zero risk of injury, as long as you avoid being all too conscious about full range of motion. Don´t bother to count reps, instead focus on feeling the muscle and making sure it really burns with effort.
Triceps extensions, 1 handed, behind the back, with dumbbell.
Good for targeting the longest part of the triceps and for bringing out striations and definition in the arm. (Ever seen Stallone raise his arms toward the ceiling in Rocky 3 or 4? That s the kind of details this exercise will help you achieve - and that is why I often refer to this exercise as Rocky extensions.)
The Triceps pushdown, 2 handed, cables
A classic. Great for honing the horseshoe. Suitable for high reps and achieving a great pump.
/Daniel Schou
