The triceps is a horseshoe-shaped muscle located at the back of your upper arm. It is the largest muscle in your arm, making up approximately two-thirds of the muscle mass of your upper arm. To build your triceps, you need to target the muscle correctly with resistance exercises, work the triceps through a full range of motion, and allow it proper recovery time. Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise program.
Function
Your triceps allows you to extend your arms. It is composed of three parts that are commonly referred to as "heads." The three heads are an inner head, an outer head and a long, lateral head. The three sections meet at the elbow.
Variety
To fully develop your triceps, your workout will need to include a variety of triceps exercises. Your routine should include exercises that target the inner and outer heads and exercises that target all three heads. For example, dumbbell kickbacks target the inner head; one-arm extensions target the outer head; and triceps pressdowns target all three heads. Effective exercises that also target all three heads are close-grip bench press and skull crushers. It is important to change your triceps workout frequently by adding exercises and eliminating others. Also, alternate between workouts that include heavy weights and workouts that include lighter weights. When you are lifting the lighter weights, your sets should include eight to 15 repetitions. Your workouts with heavier weights should include sets of five to eight repetitions.
Form
Because you are isolating different parts of your triceps, keeping proper form is important. Triceps exercises extend from the elbow, so keep your elbows stationary during each repetition. Also, concentrate on feeling the triceps work during each repetition. It is also important to control the resistance while you are pushing the weight, as well as when you are returning it to the start position. Concentrate on attaining a full range of motion on each repetition, which means that your arms are fully extended at the finish.
Rest
Train your triceps two days a week, with a minimum of 48 hours of rest between triceps workouts. Triceps are smaller muscles than your back or thighs, so they don't need as much rest. However, failure to allow them to recover fully will hinder your workouts on other muscles, such as your chest. The triceps are involved in many chest exercises. Your muscles grow while you are recovering, especially while you sleep. So, make sure you get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
References
- BodyBuilding.com; Sadek's Bodypart of the Month -- Triceps; James Sadek
- BodyBuilding.com: Anatomy of the Triceps
- HealthGuidance; How To Get Huge Muscular Arms? Build Big Triceps Exercises; Chris Chew
- DaveDraper.com: IronOnline Arm Workout Routines for Big Biceps and Triceps: Henrik's Mass Blast Workout #3
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