Push, Pull, Extend (Triceps Workouts)

Posted on by

I’m proud to announce that I got to teach my first Group X Spin/Cycle Class today! An instructor at my job was sick and was unable to come in this morning so I was the lucky person chosen to fill in at our 6 A.M. class. I wasn’t nervous but, I won’t lie, I freaked out a little when we weren’t able to find any music because everyone who takes spin classes knows the music is an important factor. Fortunately one of the members had an old-school CD in his car and we used that. So I was able to make it work and class turned out great! Not having the music reminded me of how another style of working out got started…

Anyway, this month’s challenge is push-ups just in case you weren’t around earlier or had forgotten. A few weeks ago we talked about my favorite chest workouts which included push-ups. Check out that article along with the post earlier this week to get some suggestions on different push-ups you can do for the challenge. Today we’re going to talk about a few of my favorite triceps workouts that help sculpt the back of your arms. The triceps are a troubled area for most women so these exercises will be very useful.

TRICEPS EXTENSIONS

  1. You can either stand or sit on the end of the bench while holding the dumbbell in both hands
  2. Raise your arms overhead and bend them at the elbows bringing the dumbbell behind your neck. Hold this for one second.
  3. Make sure to keep sitting up straight and tighten the abs to support the back.
  4. Keep the elbows close to the head at all times.
  5. From this position straighten the arms back up in the air while exhaling.
  6. Return and repeat.

TRICEPS PRESSDOWN

I normally do these on the cable machine. You can use several different handles on the cable machine such as the straight bar or rope pulley.

  1. Face the machine and grasp the horizontal cable bar with an overhand grip. The bar should be at about chest level.
  2. Tuck the elbows into the sides and position the feet comfortably, slightly apart.
  3. Slowly push the bar down until your arms are fully extended. Then control the bar on the way back up and stop once the bar is in front of your chest.
  4. Repeat

TRICEPS KICKBACK

  1. Kneel with your right knee on the bench and bend over to place your right hand on the bench.
  2. Hold your dumbbell in your left hand with the palm facing your body.
  3. Bend the elbow 90 degrees so that it is next to the rib cage.
  4. Extend the left arm with the dumbbell to the back.
  5. Don’t look down, look straight forward and focus on the muscle you are working.
  6. Slowly lower the dumbbell by bending the arm at the elbow
  7. Complete one set and switch to the other arm.
  8. Repeat

I hope that the list of some of my favorite chest and tricep exercises are something you can use in your workout routine. I promise you won’t be disappointed and will be proud of the results if you perform the exercises correctly and consistently. In the next arm series I will feature my top back and bicep exercises.

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO

The next post will be Photo Friday. No. Seriously. I mean it this time.

Yours In Fitness,

Lauren “LC” Chatman