Your triceps . . . do you know where they are and what you can do to tighten and strengthen them? Look in the mirror and lift your right hand like your going to wave to a friend. If you see the muscle that kind of hangs down . . . that is your tricep. It's hard to build that muscle for us girls, so doing a workout every week that targets those particular muscles is NOT a bad thing. They will be sore after you work them over so it's good to rest and let them recover in between. Here are a few exercises that you can use to start focusing on your triceps!!
This workout requires the use of hand weights. Depending upon your fitness level you decide on the size. Beginner 5 to 8lb, Intermediate 8 to 10lb, Advanced 10 to 12lb, Bad Ass 12 - 15lb.
If at any time during these exercises you get to a muscle failure situation . . . stop, rest, then go back to doing a few reps at a time. (for Overhead exercises you can drop one weight and hold the other by the ends to complete the final reps)
Warm Up! Always do an 8 to 10 minute warm up to get the muscles prepped and ready. You can use one of the warm ups listed here on the site and add in a few rounds of triceps dips on the side of a chair or bench (something stable) to get those triceps ready to work.
Stretch: do a few minutes of stretches after your warmed up and before you start.
22 - 16 - 10 - 4
(these are the number of reps for each exercise) Complete each exercise starting with 22 reps, then go back to the first exercise completeing 16 reps of each etc.
22 Skull Crushers: (lay down on your back, knees bent, heels flat on the ground, weights in your hands, hands should be directly above your face, bend only your elbows and take the weights down next to your ears thus skull crushers BUT seriously . . . don't crush your skull!) then back to starting postiion REPEAT 22 times. ***TIP: keep your abs held tight, like your pushing them down towards the ground. This will keep your lower back flat to the ground and in turn works the core too!
22 Triceps Push ups: (most ladies are going to start these on their knees) knees on mat, fan out your hands and make a little triangle with your thumbs and first fingers touching, place hands on ground directly under your shoulders, hips flat and tight . . . no butts in the air, complete a push up to the best of your ability going as low as you can, try get your chest to touch the ground but not the hips. REPEAT 22 of these ***TIP: keep your elbows tucked in next to your body, this is what works the triceps the best.
22 Jumping Jacks
22 Triceps Dips: on the side of a bench or stable chair. Hands on the edge, move hips just off the bench (knees bent easier version, knees straight harder version) either way keep your back close to the bench and elbows in close to you again to work those triceps. REPEAT 22 times
22 Overhead Triceps Extensions: stand tall, feet stacked under hips, abs held in tight, weights directly above you, with arms close to your ears, bend elbows ONLY and take the weights down behind your head as far as you can go (but still able to bring weights back up), keep elbows pointing toward the sky and tucked in close to the ears through the entire movement. REPEAT 22 times
22 Mountain Climbers: count left + right = 1 rep, hands on ground, directly under the shoulders (like your going to start a push up), tight core, bring left knee up towards chest, then right. Feet come off the ground toward chest.
Quick 30 second to 1 minute of REST . . . . REPEAT the whole thing doing 16 Reps of each, then 10 of each, then 4 of each!
Congratulations . . . your triceps workout is complete!
You can use these exercises individually or together like we just did to focus. If you want a few more feel free to email me. Same with questions, send me an email.