Move Of The Month

Tricep extension; the exercise for flab free arms.
Characteristically the Tricep muscle located at the back of the arm is much weaker than the bicep muscle. Yes it is the one that can get very loose and hang down sometimes known as bye bye arms. In actual fact it is not the muscle getting loose, in reality it probably gets very small and weak with underuse as we don’t use our triceps as much as we use our biceps in our natural movements. In addition we tend to store excess fat at the back of our arms so in order to slim this region we also need to incorporate some fat burning exercise as well as strength work to rebuild muscle.

Tricep extensions can be done lying on the floor with knees bent and feet flat or using a bench. Both dumbbells and barbells can be used, both are as effective.

The Move:

GRIP

Lie flat on the floor face up.

Take a narrow grip shoulder width or slightly narrower.

To start, the arms should be straight with barbell or dumbbell positioned directly above the shoulders.

The wrists do not move and the upper arms remains fixed in a vertical position.

EXERCISE ACTION

Slowly bend your arms at your elbows, bringing the dumbbells or barbells to the forehead or the bridge of the nose. For more advanced practitioners a greater range of movement can be created by lowering the barbell towards the ear.

After lowering extend the arm and return the bar to the start position. Repeat this action and make the action smooth and continuous. With a low to moderate weight, 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps is sufficient to strengthen the muscle within a 3 month period working out twice weekly.

TRAINING TIPS

Ensure the back maintains a natural curve throughout the exercise.

Imagine your upper arms are set in concrete; they do not move from the elbows. Do not rotate your arms and try to keep them moving in a straight line.

Squeeze elbows in as bar is lowering especially on those last reps.

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