You can’t have a strong upper body without working on this muscle group.
Given a choice between leg day and arm day, which one would you choose? It’s not like training legs is not essential because it is, but nothing gives you instant gratification more than a wicked arm pump. In the mirror by the dumbbell rack, doing endless biceps curls and shoulder raise variations for increased flex time.
But wait, isn’t something missing?
If you guessed tricep training, you would be correct. Minus standing overhead triceps variations, many triceps exercises are not performed in front of a mirror, so they are sometimes pushed aside for exercise variations where your handiwork can be admired.
But your triceps—the three-headed horseshoe-shaped muscle on the back of your arm — deserve more attention.
The triceps make up two-thirds of your upper arm muscle and cover the entirety of the back of your arm. That’s some prime flexing real estate, and the triceps are not all show and no go, either. It’s your triceps doing work whenever you’re pressing or doing dips.
Here, we’ll dive into a little triceps anatomy and three reasons to never neglect your tricep training again during arm day.
Anatomy And Function of the Triceps
The triceps, or its Latin name triceps brachii, are three muscles on the back of the upper arm.
- The medial triceps starts at the back of the humerus, inferior to the radial groove, and inserts just across the elbow on the ulna bone of the forearm. You take a reverse (underhanded) grip on triceps exercises, like pushdowns, dumbbells, and barbell bench presses to emphasize the medial triceps.
- The lateral triceps also start on the back of the humerus and are inserted into the olecranon process, the lateral elbow. To focus on the lateral triceps, exercises that have your arms by your side work best—exercises such as neutral rope pushdowns and overhanded pushdowns.
- The long triceps head and most prominent of the three muscles originate from the scapula near the shoulder joint and attach to just above the medial head of the triceps on the ulna. All triceps exercises train the long head, but the ones that work best are the ones that put a stretch on it. Exercises like EZ Curl Skull Crushers. Dips and Overhead Triceps extensions.
The primary role of the triceps is elbow extension, and usually, the last half to a third of the range of motion most pressing exercises are all triceps. The triceps stabilize your arm when it’s by your side, and the triceps’ long head assists with the extension and adduction of your arm at the shoulder, like with lat pulldowns.
3 Reasons To Never Neglect Triceps Training On Arm Day
Because the triceps comprise 2/3 of the upper arm, they always play a significant role in flex appeal. Big, strong arms need love on both sides of the upper arm, not just one. Yes, vanity is a reason never to neglect your tricep training, and here are three more.
Shoulder And Elbow Health
Big and strong triceps don’t happen without healthy upper body joints. The shoulder and elbow are shallow ball and socket joints with little support but a wide range of movements. As the long head of your triceps attaches to the shoulder blade, they help with the stability and mobility of your shoulder. Especially shoulder extension and adduction movements like lat pulldowns and chin and pull-ups. All three triceps heads attach in and around the elbow, playing a vital role in the stability of your elbow joint, keeping the tendons and bones strong and firing on all cylinders.
Improved Upper Body Strength And Muscle
The triceps play a vital role in all pressing exercises, especially the last third, which is all triceps, as they work to extend and lock out the elbow. Once your arms break 90 degrees, your triceps kick into overdrive. The fancy term for this is lockout strength. If the triceps are your weak link, you will struggle to lockout, limiting the weight you can lift. Isolating and strengthening your triceps will improve your overall pressing strength and bring those gains back to the table.
Throw And Hit Harder
Many sports require the athlete to extend the elbow powerfully to hit or throw a ball or fend off an opponent. Baseball, softball, tennis, and football athletes are prime examples. They all need triceps strength and endurance to perform at the top of their game.
Triceps Programming Suggestions
Your triceps are big compared to your biceps, but they are still small muscles, so 10 to 14 sets per week is a nice, sweet spot without taking away from your pressing exercises. You have the option of training your triceps with your biceps or training them on your bench press or push day. Training them with a mix of stretch positions (dips and overhead extension) and shortened positions (pushdown and floor press variations) works best.
