Saturday, February 22, 2014

Top 10 Triceps Exercises And Their Benefits

10-vegetables-herbs-you-can-eat-once-and-regrow-forever.w654 - CopyExercises form an important part of fitness regime. Today, there are numerous workouts targeting different parts of your body. The ultimate goal is the same i.e. to maintain overall fitness and build lean muscle. As far as triceps exercise is concerned, it is suitable for those who desire to get bigger arms. Weightlifters often place emphasis on gaining mass in their arms. Now, most of them have this misconception that one can get muscular arms by training the biceps. But the fact remains that biceps comprise of only 1/3rd of the total upper arms muscles, the other 2/3rd is occupied by triceps. Thus, exercising your triceps is important if you wish to gain mass in your arms.

Benefits of Triceps Exercises:

As pointed out earlier, exercise for triceps basically focus on the triceps, enabling you to gain mass around the upper arms. Thus, triceps workouts are important components of a weight lifting regime. In addition to toning up your upper arms, triceps exercises offer the following benefits. a. In general, workouts have a common goal of maintaining overall fitness and the triceps exercise is no exception. Doing triceps workouts on a regular basis increases your strength and keeps weakness at bay. If you are strong, definitely you will feel better and happier. b. This is important as most of the people find it tough to handle the pressure of their workout regime and end up quitting. To gain good results from a workout, it is extremely important to be disciplined and that can be achieved only through focus and commitment. Thus, if you have succeeded in getting muscular arms as a result of the workout, you have proved your point. c. Overtraining of small muscle groups should be avoided if you are looking to develop your arms. Triceps are the muscles that extend up to your chest, back and shoulders. Regular stretching of these muscles involved in triceps exercises will protect your entire torso against injury besides improving flexibility, posture and joint mobility. This will result in improving circulation and relieving stress. d. Last but not the least, working out your triceps inculcates a feeling of well-being. You actually feel good after sweating out during a workout. Working out your triceps makes your entire body more active as this is a suitable means of naturally using your body every day.

Top 10 Triceps Exercises:

The muscles at the back of upper arms are known as triceps. These muscles are important as they extend the elbow joints to straighten the arms and enable to push weights away from the body. The exercises given below target the triceps to make your arms muscular and stronger.

1. Triceps Pushups:

Triceps Pushups These workouts are somewhat similar to traditional pushups. The only difference that makes this exercise more challenging is the hand position on the floor. A narrow hand placement can be used to effectively target the triceps. Just like regular push-ups, place your hands flat on the floor, keeping them shoulder width apart to focus on your triceps. Ensure that proper push-up position is maintained throughout the exercise. Your body should be kept straight and your head and neck in a straight line while you are down at the floor. Slowly and gradually, lower your body to the floor such that it is almost touching it and then push back by fully extending your arms. You can do up to 10-16 repetitions. This is the best exercise for triceps.

2. Kickbacks:

Kickbacks This is one of the most common triceps workouts that basically involve extending your arm while keeping your torso in a bent position. You can try extending one arm at a time or both the arms at the same time. Start off by placing your right hand and right knee on a bench for support. Holding a dumbbell with your left hand, place your upper left arm parallel to the floor and bend your elbows to make a 90 degree angle with your arms. Now keep your upper arm stable and extend your forearm to make your entire arm parallel to the floor. Repeat this position with both arms, using your left hand and knee for support while working the right arm. Around 10-16 repetitions are advisable.

3. Dips:

Dips Dips are an advanced exercise which basically targets the triceps by involving both the elbow and the shoulder joint. This is considered a great travel exercise as it does not require any equipment. It can be done with the help of a bench or chair. Sit on a bench or chair with your hands next to or slightly under your hips. Lift up onto your hands, bringing your hips forward. Now, end your elbows up to an angle of 90 degrees and lower your hips down such that they are close to the chair. Your shoulders should be kept down. Push back without locking your elbows and repeat this move 10 to 16 times.

4. Lying Triceps Extension:

 Lying Triceps Extension This workout is a great way to work the back of your arms. It enables you to lie down and work against gravity to control your weight during the downward motion.  Thus, it is advisable to begin with lighter weights. Lie with your back on a bench, holding a barbell above your chest at arm’s length. Now keeping your arms rigid, lower the bar slowly until it almost touches your forehead. Raise your arms to the starting position and repeat for 1-3 sets of 10 to 16 repetitions.

5. Seated Triceps Extension:

Seated Triceps Extension This workout focuses on the triceps equally as it involves holding weights in both hands and extending the arms over the head. In this exercise, the abs should be kept engaged to avoid arching the back. For this exercise you need to use a seat or weight bench with an adjustable seat to provide support to your back. It is advisable to begin with lighter weights. Sit on a bench and holding the dumbbell with both hands, carefully lower it behind your head. While lowering the weight, ensure that it is even with the lower part of the back of your head. The weight should not fall too far to cause over-exertion of the triceps during this exercise. Raise the dumbbell back to extend your arms and repeat for 1-3 sets of 10 to 16 repetitions.

6. Skull Crushers:

Skull crushers are similar to triceps extensions as they have the same starting position. The only difference is that you keep your arms facing out instead of facing each other. Lying on a stability ball or a bench, extend both your arms overhead with a weight in each hand. Now bend your elbows such that your forearms are parallel to the floor. Straighten your arms slowly and lower them to the starting position. At least 12 repetitions should be done.

7. Overhead Dumbbell Extensions:

Overhead Dumbbell Extensions Holding a dumbbell, stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Rest the dumbbell on your shoulder while your elbows should be pointing towards the ceiling.  Grasping the weight, lower it onto your back underneath your head. This should be the starting position. Now keep your upper arm rigid and perpendicular to the floor and your elbow pointing towards the ceiling. While in this position, lift the weight such that your whole arm is pointing almost straight up, without locking your elbow. Lower the weight to starting position and repeat the procedure.

8. Close Grip Bench Press:

Close Grip Bench Press This workout basically focuses on the muscle groups of the triceps along with the chest and the shoulders. It aims at keeping your elbows close to the body with hands not more than a foot apart. This exercise enables you to lift more weight than other triceps exercises as it also involves the chest for support. It can be done with the help of dumbbells or barbells. Start off by lying on a bench or a ball. Keeping your hands shoulder- width apart, hold a barbell in a narrow grip. Bend the elbows, lowering the bar towards the ribcage, such that your elbows are pulled in and close to the body. Squeeze your triceps to push the weight back up. Ensure that your elbows are not locked at the top of the movement.

9. Triceps Pushdown:

Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Staying in this position, grasp a bar attached to a high pulley with your arms facing down. Your upper arms should be kept rigid against the side of your torso. Now bend your elbows and push the bar down such that your forearms are parallel to the floor. This should be the starting position. After this, push the bar down, extending your arms fully without locking your elbows. Slowly allow your arms to return to the starting position, where they were parallel to the floor and repeat the move.

10. Single Arm Pullover:

Lie with your back on a bench and your feet on the floor. While holding a dumbbell in one hand, point the elbow of the same arm towards the ceiling. Grasp the inside of your elbow with the other hand on the weighted arm to stabilize the motion. Extend your arm, making it point straight up and lower it back near your face. Repeat the move. Hope you liked the article. Please leave us a comment. Source:-http://www.stylecraze.com/

1 comment :

  1. Thanks for your valuable information. It really gives me an insight on this topic. I'll visit here again for more information.

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