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You've managed to smash your biceps and tone your shoulders, but the backs of your arms still look flabby. Defining your triceps can be a tricky task, which is why we've come up with our top 10 exercises to firm up those suckers so you don't end up with soft, flabby arms like a girlie-man. Fact of the matter is, the triceps make up the largest muscle group on your arms and it only makes sense that working on them will make your guns look bigger.
Each of these triceps exercises should be done in sets of 3 to 4 with reps in the ranges of 6 to 10 (for strength and size gains) and 12 to 15 (for strength and definition).Exercises for Your Triceps
The following exercises show examples of exercises that target the triceps, the muscles on the back of the arms. The most common triceps exercises involve straightening the arms to engage the triceps as in kickbacks, extensions and dips. There are also some exercises that are more effective than others which can help you in choosing your exercises. To work these exercises into a routine:
Beginners: Choose 1-2 exercises, 1-2 sets of 12-16 reps
Inter/Adv: Choose an exercise from each column for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting between sets
Use enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps
The triceps can be worked through either isolation or compound elbow extension movements and can contract statically to keep the arm straightened against resistance.
Isolation movements include cable push-downs, lying triceps extensions and arm extensions behind the back. Examples of compound elbow extension include pressing movements like the push up, bench press, close grip bench press (flat, incline or decline), military press and dips. A closer grip targets the triceps more than wider grip movements.
Static contraction movements include pullovers, straight-arm pulldowns and bent-over lateral raises, which are also used to build the deltoids and latissimus dorsi.
Elbow extension is important to many athletic activities. As the biceps is often worked more for aesthetic purposes, this is usually a mistake for fitness training. While it is important to maintain a balance between the biceps and triceps for postural and effective movement purposes, what the balance should be and how to measure it is disputed. Pushing and pulling movements on the same plane are often used to measure this ratio.
