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Just like the bicep, the tricep muscle is important for arm strength and flexibility. Your triceps brachii is a three-headed muscle at the back of your upper arm that stabilizes your shoulder joints and helps with key arm movements like extending your elbow. If you’re trying to bulk up and build your tricep muscles, certain exercises are more beneficial than others. Interesting research shows that even similar exercises can affect your muscles differently. We look at the latest research on the best muscle-building triceps workouts. Squat Rack With Landmine Attachment
Overhead tricep extension is a popular exercise you might see people doing at the gym, either standing up or sitting down. This exercise targets all three parts of your triceps on both arms. When the weight is at the lowest point during an overhead tricep extension, your triceps experience a full stretch and extension to their greatest length. This exercise might seem more challenging for some people because your shoulders have to work as stabilizers for your arms.
Here’s how to do an overhead tricep extension:
Try to maintain good form, an upright posture, and an engaged core, and keep the movement slow and steady for best results. You can also perform this exercise using a cable machine or resistance bands by standing on the band or anchoring it somewhere.
A cable pushdown might also be called a rope pushdown and requires a cable machine or a resistance band. Cable pushdowns also target all three parts of your tricep muscles, increase strength over time, and tone your arms.
Here’s how to perform a cable pushdown with a cable machine:
Try to push both arms down evenly and keep your elbows tucked in.
If you can’t access a cable machine, you can use resistance bands at home or on the go. Attach the resistance band to something sturdy at chin height or above your head, such as a metal bar or hook. Hold on to the ends of the band and perform the pushdown exercise in the same way.
Interesting new research by Ritsumeikan University and the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya compared these two popular tricep exercises: cable pushdown and overhead tricep extension. The research involved 14 young men and seven young women around age 23.
The researchers tested the study participants’ one-rep maxes for each exercise and measured their arm mass using an MRI. Twice a week, after a short warm-up, the participants performed five sets of ten reps of cable pushdowns on one arm and five sets of ten reps of overhead triceps extensions on the other arm. They completed the exercises on non-consecutive days. Every week, they increased the weights for each exercise.
At the end of the 12-week study period, the researchers measured arm mass using an MRI and revealed that both exercises increased strength, but overhead tricep extensions resulted in 40% more muscle growth and size compared to the cable pushdown.
During overhead tricep extensions, the tricep muscle’s long head, called the triceps brachii, is fully lengthened, which could be one possible reason for the impressive muscle-building results. The long-head muscle appears to be the most active during this movement, but all three heads of the muscle are targeted.
Researchers also point to the reduction in blood flow to the triceps during overhead extensions, which could have increased metabolic stress in the muscle and encouraged hypertrophy.
Stronger arms are important and reduce your risk of injury during everyday activities like carrying groceries, exercising, and strength training. Both cable pushdowns and overhead extensions are excellent workouts for building and strengthening your triceps, but it seems the overhead tricep extensions reign supreme.
Many people seek to get stronger and more able through their strength training workouts, but they may wonder how to build muscle to improve their physique and bulk up. A great method for adding on mass is through hypertrophy training, which is a form of training achieved by using heavier weights during high-volume training. Although a lot of people assume that you can only build muscle by lifting dumbbells, barbells, or other traditional weighted implements, it's possible to do so with resistance bands as well. Resistance bands provide a low-cost, portable, and convenient way to do at-home strength training workouts for those who can’t afford a gym membership or prefer the convenience, efficiency, and privacy of working out at home. To learn more about how to build muscle using resistance bands instead of weights, we spoke to Seamus Sullivan, a certified strength and conditioning coach and a certified Precision Nutrition professional who has been training clients for over seven years. Keep reading to learn expert tips on how to build muscle using resistance bands and increase your gains even if you don’t have access to weights.
How does muscle growth occur? Ultimately, muscle building is the process of hypertrophy. Hypertrophy occurs in a two-step process in which you first break down muscle fibers through high-intensity training (typically resistance training workouts). Then, as long as your body has a sufficient supply of amino acids from dietary protein and adequate caloric intake to support muscle repair, the process of muscle protein synthesis will help prepare and rebuild your muscle fibers to be stronger and larger. "The usual factors for hypertrophy are mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress," Sullivan said. "Mechanical tension is when a load is placed upon a muscle while the muscle goes through a full range of motion. This leads to muscle damage that, with rest, will now allow the muscles to grow. Lastly, metabolic stress creates signals which have similar effects to mechanical tension to initiate hypertrophy." Sullivan also noted that to promote hypertrophy, resistance training exercises need to be performed in sets close to failure.
No doubt, hitting the gym is a solid move if you're looking to get fit and shed some pounds. But, according to a new study, relying on the gym's equipment to reach your weight loss goals may not be the best approach.
Up until now, it was commonly believed that the "fat-burning zone" recommendations displayed on gym machines were a foolproof way to lose weight and keep it off. However, new evidence suggests that those recommendations may not work for everyone.
Developing strong arms can be made that much easier by performing certain cable exercises, such as tricep cable workouts. These cable machines allow muscle groups in the arms to be targeted efficiently to ensure a more even arm muscle exercise regime. This can help prevent strength imbalances from developing as certain muscles are not overlooked.
The triceps are an example of muscles that are often ignored because we give the biceps all the attention since they are the muscles that are most on show. However, building strong triceps, which are the muscles at the back of the upper arms, is also vital for good overall arm strength and mobility.
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