Not only biceps, but also triceps makes arms! We offer you the 10 best exercises for this part!

The most popular triceps exercises are definitely different variations of the pulley press. It's good to watch what's going on in the gym... like that hot fitness girl working out on the machine next to you. Unfortunately, that's about all they're good for.

Have you ever seen the triceps of strength athletes or gymnasts? Massive, huh? And to think, few of them waste time pressing pulleys!
These athletes build their triceps with push-ups on the bars and compression exercises!

Here, we offer you a list of 10 exercises you can substitute for pulley pressing, and we guarantee yourarms will grow!

1 - Barbell push-ups

In my opinion, this is the best exercise for your triceps. And like other hard exercises, it doesn't make it into fitness magazines very often.

• Position yourself on the bars with your arms outstretched
• Lower yourself as deep as you can
• Push back from the bottom
• Don't fully extend your triceps at the top! (98% extension is enough to avoid losing tension in the muscles)
• Keep your torso as perpendicular as possible
• The more you lean forward, the more your chest will work

If you can't lower yourself in a controlled manner, you should consider collecting stamps instead of weight training. Or... practice the negative bench press on close until you build some strength.

Incomplete execution of the barbell push-up is an absolute waste of time!

Just please don't resort to the version where you practice with your feet on one bench and your hands behind your back on the other bench. This would only put your shoulders at risk!

Your own weight will probably be enough in the beginning. As you get stronger, you'll be able to add a one-handed bar or a belt disc between your legs. Or a chain around your neck like many pros do.

2 - Bench press on narrow

This exercise is not happily named, as I recommend everyone practice with a grip of around 35cm. The extremely narrow variations I see in gyms put tremendous pressure on the wrists and shoulders. (Gentle girls can go closer with the grip because of their physique.)

• Remove the axle from the rack (due to the longevity of your rotator cuffs, I recommend removing and placing the axle in the rack with the help of a partner)
• Lower the axle to the bottom of the sternum
• Once the axle is 10-15 cm from your chest, you should push it back
• Do not push your elbows through!

3 - Bench press on a narrow negatively inclined bench

This exercise is exactly the same as the one above, except that you perform it on a negatively inclined bench (10-25°).
Here you lower the axis about 5 cm above the nipples.

4 - French push-ups with EZ axis in a seated position

• Sit on a straight bench and place the EZ axis on your collarbones
• Hold it overhead at shoulder width
• Push the axis above your head
• Slowly lower it until your forearms touch your biceps
• Then start pushing back to the starting position
• Only the forearms move!

5 - Triceps extensions with one arm on a negatively inclined bench

Studies using magnetic resonance imaging have shown that this is one of the best triceps exercises!
For me, this is the exercise that allows me to get the best triceps stretch.

• Lie down on a negative bench and push the one-armed leg over your head
• The grip will be palms together
• Keep your elbows in place and lower your forearms until your forearms touch your biceps
• Then release the elbows, using only the strength of the triceps.
• The movement will again come from the elbows only!

If you want to make it interesting, add pronation (moving your hands away from your body) at the end of the movement. This will engage the little anconeus muscle.

6 - Triceps extensions lying down

There are different ways to practice these. Some people recommend lowering the axis to the nose, some to the place where the hair starts, some to the forehead (skull crushers). You can do it with one-armed dumbbells, two-armed dumbbells, or on the bottom pulley, whichever you prefer.

There is no one best method, because the body adapts to the exercise in a few workouts. That's why you should rotate the execution every 6 or so workouts.

Just don't let it become a lat pulldown exercise. The movement comes from the elbows, not the shoulders. Keep your wrists neutral so you don't get in trouble.

7 - Seated half push-ups in a rack

Louie Simmons uses this exercise very successfully. It 'll pump up the muscles on the lateral head of your triceps. This is the one that makes your triceps look like an X, and makes you appear much wider.

• Put a positively inclined bench in your rack with an 80-90° incline (the seat should also be angled so you don't slide)
• Set the stops so that you start at about the level of the beginning of your hair (if you're a barefoot woman, from the forehead)
• Elbows pointing outwards
• Practice normal pressure and really put the axis on the stops for 2-4 seconds each repetition
• I recommend a tempo of 221, so 2 seconds lowering, 2 seconds pause and 1 second pushing, or 321, depending on the length of your arms.

8 - Complex triceps extensions on a ball

This exercise probably won't be familiar to everyone, so let's go through it step by step.

• Lie flat on a 55cm gymnastics ball with a loaded EZ axis held about 1mm above your forehead
• Elbows pointing towards the ceiling
• Practice the concentric part of the extension, with your elbows almost extended
• Once you have your arms almost extended, shift your body on the ball so that you can practice triceps extension with a positive trunk tilt
• Lower the axis down
• Return to the starting position

Don't worry about your elbows coming a little apart. If you endlessly resist it, you might even injure your arm extensors, and it won't isolate your triceps much anyway.

If you want to make the exercise more interesting, do it with one arm and palms together.

9 - Overhead pulley press on a positive bench

This is the equivalent of concentrated biceps raises for me. It doesn't let you use your abs, which offers amazing isolation.

It's also a good exercise for people who just have lower back pain. I often put it at the end of a workout.

• Put a positively inclined bench (about 60°) in front of the top pulley (sitting with your back to the machine)
• Grab a straight extender
• Stick your elbows to your torso
• Extend your arms to lift the weight
• Stay in this position for a moment
• Controllably lower your forearms to your head
• The movement comes from the elbows only!

It's a common pulley press, but the bench will force you to hold perfect technique!

10 - California Press

The California press is a hybrid between a close-range bench press and a supine triceps extension. It's a very popular complementary exercise to the bench press for triathletes.

• Start the same way as with the bench press and lower the axis down. Not to the bottom of your chest, but over your head.
• Allow your elbows to rotate forward.
• In this position, your forearms will touch your biceps and the axis of your forehead
• The triceps will be well extended
• From this position, bring the axis over the chest
• Push the axis up to almost extended elbows
• Set the weight somewhere in between what you use for triceps extensions in the lying position and the bench press

You probably can't add all of these exercises into one workout. But that's okay!
Pick from this list like you're picking from a Chinese menu. Just always add something from here to your future workouts and you'll see your triceps, and your arms, grow with them!

Source: www.t-nation.com - The Top Ten Triceps Exercises
By Charles Poliquin