We've still got a few months before it's spring
and we start to shed our winter layers. And that gives us enough time to
tone and shape our arms so we can sport wonderful sleeveless styles. As
most women know, gravity can be cruel. And although the triceps, a large
3-headed muscle makes up most of the mass of the upper arm, if it is
lacking muscle tone and strength it can lead to sagging arms
demonstrated by the part of the arm that keeps waving once the hand
stops. But not only are the triceps muscles important for our looks,
they are also an important muscle involved in many sports such as
throwing a ball, a tennis serve, swimming, and spiking a volleyball.
When training the triceps, as with training any
muscle, it's best to use a variety of equipment and a variety of
exercises. There is no one piece of machinery that will do it all. It's
best to use hand weights, balls, machines and your own body weight -
each challenges the body in a different manner. And there is also no one
perfect exercise. If you only do one triceps exercise, the only muscle
fibers that will improve will be the ones effectively stimulated in that
exercise. But any given muscle works in a variety of angles and planes
and therefore should be trained that way too. So it's best to design a
program that includes a variety of exercises such as triceps press downs,
overhead triceps extensions, triceps dips, close-grip pushups and any
other exercise that targets that area.
In today's workout we are going to incorporate an
advanced training format - Pre-exhaust training. Pre-exhaust training
involves exercising a muscle using an exercise that is uni-jointed,
isolate and rotary in nature, for example, a triceps press down or
triceps extension. Then immediately after fatiguing the muscle, without a
break, another exercise is completed hat is multi-jointed, multi-muscle,
compound and linear in nature like a triceps dip or a medicine ball
throw.
This type of training will exhaust the triceps
muscle with the first set but instead of resting, the work on the triceps
muscle will be extended through the second set but in this next set, the
triceps muscle will get assistance from other muscles. Pre-exhaust
training is a very effective method for overloading the triceps muscle.
Pre-exhaust Training Combination
Exercise #1 Triceps Extension on Exercise Ball
Instead of laying on a bench, lay on an exercise
ball in the bridge position to more thoroughly target your balance and
stability muscles - make sure your head and shoulder blades are in
contact with the ball and your neck is in a neutral position. Be sure to
keep your abdominals contracted, your buttocks lifted, your feet under
your knees and your hips square to the ceiling. Start with 2
hand-weights with your elbows and wrists positioned right over your
shoulders. Keep your elbows over your shoulders as you slowly bend your
forearms down towards your forehead. Just before you make contact with
your forehead, return to the starting position.
Without a break, after exercise #1, immediately
complete the following exercise
Exercise #2 Advanced Triceps Dips
Position yourself seated on a bench with your arms
at your sides and with both your legs propped up onto an exercise ball
(the ball will challenge your balance and torso muscles more effectively
again). Be sure to keep your shoulder blades together and your chest
lifted up and out. And of course, keep those abs contracted. Keeping
your elbows over your wrists slowly drop your buttocks towards the
floor. Just before your upper arms are parallel to the floor, slowly
return to the starting position.
Take a 30-60 second break and then complete the
following exercise:
Exercise #3 Medicine Ball Chest Press
Lay on a bench on your back with a medicine ball.
Start with the ball at your chest and then slowly throw the medicine
ball into the air and then catch the ball. Perform this exercise for
30-60 seconds. This exercise is great for developing speed and power.
Workout Schedule
Trainer's Tips
- Put your mind into your muscle. This is
called neuromuscular facilitation and studies have shown that if you
consciously focus in on where you should be feeling the exercise,
you will recruit more muscle fibers and therefore each rep and set
will be much more effective and results will be achieved much more
quickly.
- When working the triceps, fully extend the
elbow to maximize muscle recruitment. However, avoid hyper extending
the joint which will put you past the normal range of motion of the
joint.
- Remember there are 168 hours in a week.
Although working out 3 hours a week is a good thing you have to ask
yourself what are you doing the other 165 hours. Use your abdominals
whenever you can - not just in the gym. And try to be more active in
your life which will help burn those extra calories, reduce your
body fat and therefore, display those nicely toned muscles. If you
adopt poor posture and a lazy lifestyle outside of the gym it will
counteract all your workout initiatives.
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