We’re just gonna keep loading up the undertained muscle train and talk about triceps this week. What are they, why are strong triceps important and how do you build those juicy things? Well, we have you covered in what’s to be another short and sweet episode
WHAT’S A TRICEP?
- Well, it’s a muscle in back of your your upper arm and it’s about the size of your hand. The main function of the triceps is the extension of the elbow joint. It is composed of three heads (tri = three, cep = head): a long head, a lateral head, and a medial head. The tendons all have different origins, but the three heads combine to form a single tendon.
- Every muscle in your body has an opposite actor… let’s break it down quick. Agonist muscles and antagonist muscles are muscles that cause or inhibit a movement. Agonist muscles are prime movers since they produce most of the force and control of an action. Agonists cause a movement to occur through their own activation.
- Why is this relevant? Triceps, baby! The triceps’ primary function is extending the forearm at the elbow, which opposes the action of the biceps. At rest, with the arm slightly bent, the biceps overpower the triceps. Along with extending the forearm at the elbow joint, the triceps can also stabilize the elbow joint when the forearm and hand are doing fine movements such as writing.
- Before we get into why they’re important and how to build them, let’s do a quick anatomy lesson. Triceps means tri-head, right?
- Long head—The origin of the long head is the scapula. Because it attaches to the scapula, the long head not only extends the elbow but will also have a small action on the shoulder joint.
- Medial head—The origin of the medial head is at the dorsal humerus. The medial head does not attach to the scapula and therefore has no action on the shoulder joint, whether with stabilization or movement.
- Lateral head—The lateral head originates at the dorsal humerus as well. This head is considered to be the strongest head of the three. It is active during extension of the forearm at the elbow joint when the forearm is supinated or pronated.
WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
Do you enjoy push/pull day? Then you need your triceps. DID YOU KNOW: that bicep may be stronger, but the triceps are usually the bigger muscle.
- The triceps are essential for building upper body strength and helping with movement in your shoulders and elbows. Increasing triceps strength brings stability to your shoulders and arms, improves flexibility, and increases range of motion
- The triceps are essential for building upper body strength and helping with movement in your shoulders and elbows. Increasing triceps strength brings stability to your shoulders and arms, improves flexibility, and increases range of motion
- This prevents injury and makes it easier for you to use your upper body in daily activities, such as pushing heavy loads or upper body sports like swimming, rowing, and boxing. Strong triceps are also useful in weightlifting exercises, such as bench press or overhead press.
- Developing upper body strength is especially important as you age, but it’s a good idea to keep your body strong from a young age. Building muscle strength helps to support bone health and strength, which is useful in treating and preventing osteoporosis.
- It can also help to manage arthritis pain by reducing swelling, pain, and bone loss, while strengthening and lubricating joints.
HOW DO I MAKE MINE STRONG?
There are many ways to grow your triceps, some are better than others but that’s up to you to decide, here are a few of our favorites:
- Kickbacks — This move targets all three heads of the triceps. This exercise is also easier, so may be more user-friendly than push-ups.
- Diamond push-ups — They’re great, but only if you’re a seasoned push-up pro.
- Triceps extensions: This movement emphasizes the long head of the triceps muscle.
- Tricep pushdowns — This move emphasizes the lateral head of your triceps.
- Overhead tricep extension— The overhead tricep extension comes in at about 76% of muscle activation… and you can do them with just about any weighted object.
- Honorable mention to skull crushers.
- Dips — Any variety. Bench, machine… we don’t care, as long as you keep good form so your arms and shoulders don’t hate you.
No responses yet