In pursuit of massive arms, men fanatically train their biceps, while often forgetting about the triceps.
However, the triceps muscle of the shoulder takes up about 70% of the volume of the arm, so it should be in priority. And you don’t have to go to the gym to do it.
Triceps exercises can be used even at home, for men of any fitness level. Next, we will tell about them in more detail.
Anatomy of the triceps muscle
Already in the very name of the triceps muscle of the shoulder is a description of its structure.
Three muscle bundles – lateral, medial, and long, are located behind and on the side of the arm, opposite the biceps.
The triceps account for two-thirds of the volume of the arm. This is a fairly strong muscle with great potential for growth.
Extension of the arm in the elbow joint is the main function that the triceps muscle performs.
The movement is carried out both with the help of other muscles and independently. In the first case, this occurs when performing basic pressing movements for the chest and shoulders, and in the second – in single-joint.
Exercises for home workouts
In bodybuilding, all exercises are divided into basic and isolating.
Based on this classification, you can choose from them those that will help you train your triceps as quickly as possible at home.
Basic movements
The base is considered to be movements involving several joints and a large number of muscle groups.
For example, push-ups on the uneven bars are a basic movement for the muscles of the chest, since the shoulder and elbow joints are involved in it. And in addition to the chest, the shoulders and triceps also work.
Such exercises are isolated for almost every muscle group.
With the help of the base, they stimulate the maximum increase in muscle volume and strength.
For example, in the same dips on the uneven bars, professional strength athletes can use an additional weight of 130-150 kg.
Basic triceps exercises that are suitable for training at home are:
- Push-ups with a close grip
The palms are placed on the floor at shoulder width a little narrower. At the same time, in the course of the entire movement, the elbows are pressed to the body.
In this version, the emphasis is shifted to the extension of the arms, which means that the triceps work even more than the pectoral muscles.
- Reverse push-ups from the bench
At home, a chair or a solid sofa is used.
Here the load is regulated by the position of the legs. The easiest option is to bend your knees. The smoother they are, the more difficult it is to perform the exercise.
Advanced is considered a method in which the legs are placed on another chair, and additional weights are placed on the hips.
- Dips on narrow bars
The position of the palms is shoulder width apart, and the movement is performed in half the amplitude – the body goes down only to a right angle.
A large selection of gymnastic corners will allow you to install bars even at home. But if this is not possible, they are easy to find on the street, in any courtyard of the house, and on sports fields.
For triceps training at home to be as effective as possible, it must have basic exercises.
They stimulate the production of testosterone in increased amounts. This hormone is directly related to muscle growth. And the more of it, the better.
Isolation exercises
Isolation movements are those that are performed using one joint and a small number of muscles.
For example, the extension of the arms from behind the head. Only the elbow joint works here, and the main load falls on the triceps.
Isolating exercises for the triceps are impossible without the use of additional equipment.
Dumbbells are used for this, but if they are not available, an expander or a rubber band will do. A small kettlebell (or even two) is also a good weight option.
However, when doing triceps isolation at home, remember its main purpose:
Single-joint movements stimulate muscle growth much less and are more suitable for polishing muscles, that is, improving their shape.
They are also used as “finishing” ones, at the end of the complex, in order to further work out the triceps, which are tired after performing basic movements.
Among the isolating exercises that will bring results, we note the French bench press or extension of the arms from different starting positions – lying, standing or sitting, or tilted.
They are performed both with two hands at the same time, and each in turn, for a more targeted study of each side.
In all of these exercises, instead of dumbbells, you can use an expander. To do this, one end of the rubber band is attached at floor level to a fixed object, or fixed under the feet. And the second is held in two or in one hand.
Workout recommendations
To effectively train triceps at home, every man must adhere to certain rules for building the training process.
Selection of exercises
The training aimed at increasing the muscle mass of the triceps begins with the implementation of basic multi-joint movements.
Choose for yourself 2 suitable ones from the ones listed above, and try to give your best in them.
Next, isolating exercises are performed. As a rule, 1-2 per session is enough.
Training frequency
To increase muscle volume, do no more than 1-2 workouts per week.
If the triceps are worked out in a general mode, along with other muscles, then one more targeted exercise for the triceps per week is enough.
This is because he gets a decent indirect load also during training for the muscles of the chest and shoulders.
If the classes are held in the style of specialization, when other muscles are not trained except for the triceps, then you can work it out 2 times a week.
Sets, reps, and rest
In each exercise, 3-4 working approaches are performed. In the basic, the optimal range of repetitions is 8-12 times, in isolation – 10-15.
Triceps recover quickly enough after power loads, so rest pauses between sets are 1.5-2 minutes.
Change in training load
The key to muscle growth over a long period of time is the periodization of the load.
That is, periods of maximum intensity alternate with less intense ones. But for progress, in any case, an increase in the load is necessary.
This is achieved by increasing the number of exercises, approaches, and repetitions, or reducing the rest between sets.
All these ways of changing the load have clear quantitative limitations. There are specific recommendations for them as mentioned above. And the reduction of rest pauses between sets is more suitable when exercising on relief.
Another method that works well for training is weight gain.
You can progress with this parameter at home for a long time. And they do it with the help of improvised means.
When push-ups on the uneven bars, a dumbbell or weight is attached to the belt, and a heavy chain is hung around the neck. You can wear weights on your legs. A heavy shoulder bag will do.
Another popular way is to use fitness rubber. With the help of such an expander, the exercise is complicated or facilitated.
When push-ups from the floor with a narrow grip, a heavy backpack or any other object on the back is used as a weighting agent. For example, a water bottle. Also, as in the case of bars, fitness rubber is also used here.
In isolation movements, it is ideal to use collapsible dumbbells so that you can adjust the weight. To complicate the implementation with an expander or rubber, you can increase its rigidity.
For men, bulking up the triceps at home is quite a feasible task.
To do this, you need to know the most effective exercises for the triceps muscle of the shoulder and use them in your workouts, correctly dosing the load. Then the result will not keep you waiting.