Get Your Triceps As Big As You Think They Are

If I did a sprint for every time I witnessed a person trying to build their triceps with push-downs, I would have a body of shredded proportions...boo-hoo me, the gym gods are not that kind. Tricep push- downs - like bicep curls, leg extensions and hamstring curls - are single joint motions, meaning the amount of weight one can push/pull is limited; and so, when you increase the weight, thinking that you'll be increasing your size, you actually call upon secondary muscles for re-enforcements, taking on the load that you should not have tackled.

A much more effective way to build your triceps is to do the close-grip bench press, using either a regular bar, an e-z bar (a kinder alternative for your wrists) or dumbbells (hold them using a neutral grip, ie palms facing each other), for variety is the spice of gym life. In doing this movement, your elbows should graze the sides of your rib cage, pause momentarily at the bottom of the range and extend back up at a controlled pace.

However, if you really want a balls-out 'n' brutal triceps mutilation technique, super set the above exercise with a parallel bar dip: it'll ouch you like a muthaf**ker!

Remember, there are very obviously, very clearly three heads to triceps muscle group - lateral, medial and long - so, every effort should be made to make it look like what the name implies.