Biceps / Triceps / Forearms


TRICEPS CABLE PRESSDOWN (OR LAT MACHINE)

 PRESSDOWNS:
Hook a short bar to an overhead cable and pulley, stand close to the bar and grasp it with an overhand grip, hands about 10 inches apart. Keep your elbows tucked in close to your body and stationary. Keep your whole body steady; don't lean forward to press down with your body weight. Then press the bar down as far as possible, locking out your arms and feeling the triceps contract fully. Release and let the bar come up as far as possible without moving your elbows. For variety, you can vary your grip, the type of bar you use, how close you stand to the bar, or the width between your hands; or you can do a three-quarter movement, going from all the way up to three-quarter of the way down in order to work the lower triceps more directly.



SEATED TRICEPS PRESSES:
With this exercise you develop the inside and rear heads of the triceps. This exercise gives you extra stretch to hit the inside of the triceps more directly.

Grasp a barbell with an overhand grip, hands close together. Sit on a bench and raise the bar straight up overhead, arms locked out. Keeping your elbows stationary and close to your head, lower the weight down in an arc behind your head until your triceps are as stretched as possible. Only the forearms should move in this exercise. From this position, using only your triceps, press the weight back up overhead to full extension. Lock your arms out and flex your triceps. You might prefer doing this exercise using an E-Z curl bar, or on an incline bench.



LYING DUMBELL EXTENSIONS:
Lie on a bench, head even with the end, knees bent, and feet flat on the bench. Hold two dumbbells overhead, arms straight, and palms facing one another. Hold your elbows stationary and lower the dumbbells down on either side of your head until your triceps are fully stretched and the weights touch your shoulders. Press them back up through a sweeping arc, but lock your elbows out before your arms are pointed straight up overhead and flex your triceps.




ONE-ARM TRICEPS EXTENSIONS:
Sitting on a bench, take a dumbbell in one hand and hold it extended overhead. Keeping your elbow stationary and close to your head, lower the dumbbell down in an arc behind your head (not behind the shoulder) as far as you can. Feel the triceps stretch to their fullest, then press the weight back up to the starting position. It is essential to do this as strictly as possible (looking in the mirror helps you to check your form). Finish your set, and then repeat the movement with the other arm. Be sure to go back and forth from one hand to the other without stopping to rest in between.
NOTE: One-Arm Triceps Extensions can also be done standing up, just balance yourself by holding on to something with your free hand.