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LYING
TRICEPS (ELBOW) EXTENSIONS
 MPEG:
Lying Tricep Extensions
CORRECT FORM
1)
Lying on your back on a bench, have a spotter hand the barbell
to you. It is recommended to use an EZ-curl bar for this exercise.
2) Grab the bar so that your hands end up shoulder-width apart
from each other. |
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3)
Slowly lower the barbell by bending at the elbows. As the bar
approaches your forehead, drop your arms back so that the bar
actually goes past your forehead.
4) As you raise the weight back up, do not lock your elbows
completely at the top. |
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5) Inhale as you
lower the weight, exhale as you lift the weight.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
The form shown
above differs from conventional wisdom regarding this exercise.
1) Keeping your hands shoulder width apart protects both the
elbow and wrist joints. Bringing your hands very close together
in order to supposedly "build up the outer or inner pecs"
only creates more stress on the ligaments of the elbow and wrist joints.
You will hit all 3 heads of the triceps muscle (medial, lateral and
long head) by keeping the arm in its natural position.
2) Using an EZ-curl bar for most people will decrease the stress on
the wrists. For very few people however, that may not be the case.
They are the exception.
3) Bringing the bar down and touching your forehead, as is often advised,
is not only less effective, but dangerous. First, as you become fatigued,
you may lose control of the bar and risk striking the forehead. Second,
bringing the bar to the forehead also shifts stress off of the triceps
muscle and onto the elbow joint. This is great way to create an elbow
bursitis down the road.
4) Dropping your arms back as in the third picture adds a shoulder
component to the exercise. This increases triceps involvement because
the long head of the triceps muscle crosses the shoulder joint. Therefore,
to effectively train this part of the muscle, you need to extend the
shoulder during this exercise.
This exercise is not recommended for those with pre-existing shoulder
or elbow injuries.
EFFECTIVENESS
This can be an
extremely effective method for building the triceps muscles. Done
correctly and safely, it can very highly stress the triceps muscle.
It is essentially the bench press or squat for the triceps. Done incorrectly
or unsafely, this can lead to nagging and later more significant injuries
at the elbow or wrist.
HELPFUL
WITH TRAINING FOR
Bodybuilding,
Football, Power lifting, Martial arts, Boxing, Tennis, Throwing sports.
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