1. Cold Muscles Can Mean Torn Muscles
It's important to warm up your triceps before doing any type of stretching. When you warm up, you increase your heart rate which then pumps more blood into your muscles and connective tissues. This blood carries vital oxygen and nutrients that increase the elasticity of your muscles and helps prevent them from tearing when they're stretched. A good way to warm up your triceps muscles before stretching is to do about 5 minutes of push-ups leaning against a wall.
2. A Seated Triceps Stretch for the Inflexible
Sit cross-legged on a mat with your back straight. Tighten your tummy muscles. Take your left arm and bend it at the elbow. Then touch the top of your left shoulder blade or the middle of your back with the tips of your fingers. You'll feel a slight pulling. To deepen the stretch put pressure on your left arm with your right hand. You can reach over the top of your head with your right arm to do this. Apply gentle pressure until you feel a pull in your triceps muscle. Hold for at least 20 seconds, then repeat on your other arm. You can also do this stretch, and the next one, while sitting on a chair, but you'll need to lean forward which may put some pressure on your back.
3. Aiming for the Monkey Grip
For a deeper seated triceps stretch, you can try to lock your hands together in the middle of your back. Sit cross-legged on a mat with your back straight and your tummy muscles tight. Bend your left arm at the elbow and reach over to touch your left shoulder blade with your palm down. Then bend your right arm at the elbow, position it at your waist, and reach up your back with your palms out. Keep reaching in opposite directions with your hands until you're able to hook the fingers in a monkey grip. Gently pull your arms in opposite directions. Switch arms. Hold the stretch for at least 20 seconds. This stretch can also be done with a towel behind your back instead of locking your fingers.
4. Watch Out for the Shoulder Joint
Don't take your seated triceps stretch so far that you overstretch the shoulder joint and hurt yourself. Make sure that you don't pull your upper arm past the vertical position behind your head. It should remain about even with your head.
5. Pros and Cons of a Seated Triceps Stretch
This type of stretch is one of the easiest to do. You don't need any special equipment and your fitness level is not important. But sometimes a seated triceps stretch is not as effective as similar ones done standing up. When you do a standing triceps stretch, you are often able to add more pressure on the triceps than you would with a seated triceps stretch.
