The TOP 3 Mistakes people make when training triceps
The triceps are the foundation muscle of the arm for bodybuilders, not only do they fill your sleeves more than their cousin, the bicep, but strong triceps are a necessity for a strong bench. In this article, I'm going to highlight the 3 biggest mistakes you can possibly make when training your triceps, these mistakes not only stop you from activating the triceps and tearing fibers, but halt their growth altogether!
1. Leaning over and using your shoulders too much on the rope tricep pushdown
This is a real killer, and usually a sign of using too much weight (also comes packaged with grunting and looking around after their set to see if anybody was watching to see "how much weight they can lift") If you feel you have to lean over whilst doing your tricep pushdowns, follow the number 1 rule of the gym "lower the weight and leave your ego at the door". Remember that bodybuilding is all about isolating the muscle and tearing as many fibers as possible.
2. Overtraining
Triceps are extremely prone to overtraining, as mentioned in the first section. Now that people know that the triceps fill the sleeve a lot more than the bicep, the focus has shifted to devoting a whole day to tris and pushing out 15-18 sets, not only will this halt your progress completely, but it's really bad for your elbow joints. Stick to lower sets of higher, concentrated, perfect-form reps(really feel the burn!) to see the best results.
3. Relying too much on tricep pushdowns
Yes, they are amazing for isolating the tri's, no doubt they are one of the better exercises. However, that does not mean you should rely on them. Do not forget the classic mass builders such as parallel-bar dips(especially weighted), close-grip bench and tricep kickbacks. These 3 have been staple exercises for all bodybuilders, and should be included in your arms/triceps day. The first 2 compound exercises also hit shoulders and chest, so you get a bonus for working efficiently!
What have we learned today?
The triceps are an incredibly complicated muscle, unlike the biceps, the triceps are made up of 3 heads, and packing on mass on the triceps will fill out your t-shirt sleeves much faster than your biceps and give you that "wow strong arms" look that you see on all those people you envy at the gym. Follow these 3 tips and soon they'll be the ones in envy!
