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The SECRET to BIGGER ARMS: ‘Triceps Brachii’ [Anatomy Explained]

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A well-balanced physique is important for many reasons. But, few things help you stand out from the rest, as much as a pair of well-built arms. No gym goer in his/ her right sense of mind would say no to having bigger arms. So how do you go about it? Walk up to the Dumbbell Rack and do set after set of curls, right? Wrong! One of THE biggest ways people sabotage their arms gains is by overtraining the bicep and completely neglecting the triceps. Your triceps consists of nearly two-thirds of your upper arm. Imagine all the potential arm gains you’re losing out on, without training them.
If you haven’t read my previous article on bicep training, check it out here:



Triceps Anatomy:

The tricep muscle is located on the rear side of your upper arm. It consists of three heads; the long head, median head and lateral head. The long head originates from the scapula (shoulder blade), the median and lateral heads originate from the humerus (upper arms bone), and all three heads end on the ulna (forearm bone). If you’re looking for monstrous horseshoe shaped triceps, it is extremely important to target all three muscle heads.



An important fact to note about the triceps is that they are made up of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers, which means it’s essential to train them with low, medium and high rep ranges to ensure maximum growth, which brings me to tip number ‘1’.

Triceps Training Tips:

·         Train with different Rep-ranges and Variations: Like all other muscles in our body, your triceps require constant stimulation to grow. Over time, your body gets used to the same old exercises. Performing the same exercises repeatedly, will only stall your progress. Use a variety of different exercises and rep ranges to make the most out of every tricep workout.

·         Good Form: Most tricep exercises, such as the cable pushdowns and skull-crushers are single joint isolation movements, targeting a just one muscle group- the triceps. Jerking heavy weights up and down is not the most optimal way to perform such exercises. Keep those elbows in place, grab manageable weights and focus on squeezing the muscle.

·         Warm Up: The elbow joint is an injury prone area, especially if you’re lifting heavy with improper form. If you happen to be one of those guys who rushes back from work, walks into the gym and hits the weights right away, break this habit of yours! The last thing your want to do is end up with a joint injury, bed ridden and unable to train!

Warming up not only prevents injuries, but also ensures better blood flow in the muscles, thus recruiting more muscle fibers- in other words, BETTER GAINS!

·         Avoid Overtraining: Don’t get me wrong! I strongly believe in pushing beyond limits and making the most out of every training session. But, it’s important to consider that there is a small but significant amount of tricep action involved while you’re training chest and shoulders. Those heavy bench presses you did the other day… Yup, you worked your tris too! Decide on doing a specific number of sets as per your workout volume and stick to those.

Effective Tricep Exercises:

1.       Close Grip Barbell Bench Press: Hands down, one of THE best tricep exercises for putting on some solid mass back there. Lay on a flat bench and grab a barbell overhead, with a close grip. Lower the weight until it’s almost an inch above your chest and push it back up.

2.       V-Bar/ Rope Tricep Push-Downs: A great exercise for the overall definition of the tricep. Make sure to keep those elbows in place and feel the contraction in your triceps. Attach a V-Bar or a V-rope onto a high pulley on the cable machine. Grab it with a neutral grip and push the weight down till you feel your triceps contract. Slowly bring it back up.


3.       Dumbbell Skull-crushers: Lay on a flat bench and grab dumbbells in both hands. Hold the weight overhead, forming a 90-degree angle between your upper arm and body. Lower the weight over your head and push back up.


4.       Tricep Overhead Cable Rope Extensions: Attach a V-Rope to a low/ mid pulley on a cable machine. Grasp the weight behind your head and push it forward till you feel your triceps contract. Lower it back down slowly. 

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Happy Lifting,

Shaumik Saha
(Admin)

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