Today we are going to talk about a fairly trained muscle in the gym next to the biceps to show off a big arm. Its about triceps. There are only some people who do not train this muscle or do not give it the importance it has since, at first, its improvement is not much noticeable. In this article we are going to discuss the various functions of the triceps and the most important aspects to address to increase your muscle mass.
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Functionality and anatomy
Many people make the mistake of not giving the triceps the importance it needs. However, when it is possible to hypertrophy this muscle and see it defined and outstanding, more than one is surprised. And is that the triceps is bigger than the biceps if we look at the whole. The mistake of training the biceps too much and not so much the triceps leads us to a rather unbalanced morphology of the entire arm in general.
Working well the triceps we will achieve that the symmetry of our arm is perfect and, aesthetically, much better. Contrary to what many people think, the triceps makes up 70% of the thickness of our arm and only the remaining 30% is of the biceps. In order for the biceps to be taught and show off, we must have the arm flexed since in full extension it will hardly be noticeable.
The triceps brachii muscle has 3 heads and is the largest in the back of the arm. Each head is given the name of vast and we have the inner, the middle and the eternal. It goes from the shoulder to the elbow and its shape can be similar to that of a half moon.
This muscle has an extensor function that works best with the support of gravity. Its natural development is not as common in people who do not work it out in the gym, as it can happen with the biceps. Almost any action that we have to do with the arms, the biceps kicks in. However, the triceps does not do the same.
The main function is to extend the forearm over the arm and fix the elbow joint well. These movements are necessary in any strength work in the upper body.
Triceps workout
As we have mentioned before, the triceps is not a muscle that will grow on its own with the actions of the day to day. It is very rare that you have to repeatedly make an effort that involves this muscle in your daily tasks. Therefore, if we want to see it bigger and increase the volume, we will have to work it out in the gym.
Training this muscle requires good technique and the exercises to be performed must be well planned. Several aspects must be taken into account when treating them. In terms of size, the triceps is considered a small muscle like the biceps, so we should not overwork it. In addition, it is a muscle that is quite involved when performing numerous shoulder exercises (such as the military press) and when we do some chest exercises (such as the bench press).
If this muscle has already worked in the shoulder and pectoral sessions, in addition to being small, it is not a muscle that requires a large volume of work. With performing between 6 and 9 effective series in the session that works this muscle is more than enough. On the contrary, if we work this muscle excessively, we will be overtraining and leading to the worst possible injury situations. This can be avoided by planning your workouts well and giving your body the rest it deserves between sessions.
Important aspects of triceps training
We are going to put more emphasis on some of the main aspects to consider when we are working the triceps. If we want this muscle to look large and defined, we must know how to use the loads and perform a good technique in the exercises. It is useless to handle large loads if the technique is not adequateto. First, we will be causing our triceps to look overstressed and the exercises are not as effective. And second, they increase the chances of injury and, therefore, it will delay our growth since we will have to be at rest during recovery.
To work the muscle and hypertrophy it (see How to gain muscle mass) we must work the triceps at 80% of its maximum performance and with loads that we know how to handle enough to perform good technique. At the moment in which we cannot do the entire route or we cannot perform less than 6 repetitions per series, we will not be working on hypertrophy.
Each type of triceps exercise has its focus of incidence on an exact part of the muscle and the type of grip that we give it is also determining. This is how we can vary the exercises depending on the need for growth and be able to work them well in the sessions to achieve a good toning.
The key to training this muscle is the same as with the rest. Not always doing the same routine and demanding new adaptations from the body, progress in loads to give the muscle a stimulus and a need to continue growing and the deserved rest.
Rest and warm up
An important aspect to consider when training the triceps is rest. There are many people who, without knowing it, are overtraining this muscle. Exercise sessions must be well planned to give them the rest they deserve. The training volume should be adjusted based on your goals, but not exceeded. Do not forget that the triceps is a small muscle that is very easily congested and that it takes time to recover from another tough hypertrophy session.
We must also remember that it works quite a lot as an auxiliary muscle during shoulder and chest sessions, so we must not exceed the training volume. It is important to bear in mind that, if we want to avoid injuries and increase performance during exercises, we must warm up the muscle first. In this way, we will be able to work better by performing the exercises with their entire route and we will avoid possible injuries.
Best exercises for triceps
To enlarge our triceps we have to perform a series of exercises rated as the best for this area. These are:
- Triceps pushdown. It is ideal to work in series of 12 repetitions and with a weight not too great. You have to send the bar down with your triceps and extend your arms.
- French press. With a bar we lie on our back on the bench. We lift the bar and bend the arm until we almost touch the bar with our forehead. Then we extend our arms again. Here it is vital to have the elbows as closed as possible to enhance the effect of the triceps.
- Parallel background. It is the best exercise to tone the entire part of the triceps brachii. It is about lifting our body by leaning on two bars. Our pectoral muscles will also work as an accessory muscle.
I hope that with these tips and a good diet you will be able to grow your triceps.