A Blueprint To Building Triceps: 6 Tricks To Bigger Arms

Having a set of guns has long been an important fitness endeavour for men and women alike.

The freedom to wear a cut-off shirt and proudly display your hard work gives you both confidence and bragging rights. While it is important to train the biceps, if you want to add noticeable size and definition to your arms, the real power player is your triceps. Making up the majority of the size of your arm, your triceps are the key to upgrading to sleeveless t-shirts. Let’s run down the formation of the triceps so you have a better understanding of how to target the muscle.

Breakdown of the Triceps Muscle

Compared to the bicep muscle which has two points of insertion or sections, the triceps muscle is made up of three. Commonly referred to as heads, when the three sections of the muscle are flexed, they form that horseshoe shape that all weightlifters train to emphasise. Here is the breakdown of the triceps muscle based on these points of insertion:

Long Head

Begins: Infraglenoid Tubercle of the Scapula (shoulder blades)
Ends: Teres Major, Teres Minor

Medial Head

Begins: Dorsal Humerus
Ends: Medial Intermuscular Septum.

Lateral Head

Begins: Dorsal Humerus
Ends: Lateral Intermuscular Septum

From a functional standpoint, the primary role of the triceps muscle is to contract, resulting in the straightening of the arm. In contrast, the antagonist muscle, which is the biceps muscle, is to cause flexion in the arm. The triceps also play an important role in stabilising the shoulder joint. [1]

The Truth about Isolating each Tricep Head

While it would be great to be able to isolate each tricep muscle such as the long head (the largest part of the overall muscle). It is simply not possible. Each muscle of the triceps work in conjunction with the other two heads. Therefore, you can not completely isolate one head as even the most strict exercise will require the use of one or both of the other two heads. Though, it is possible to emphasise one head more so than the others!

With that said, the triceps muscle makes up one-third the size of your arm. If you want to have that jacked arms look, then you need to focus on training the triceps muscle as a whole.

[one_whole boxed=”true” centered_text=”true”] Just don’t forget about training the other side of the arm too as you would not want muscular imbalances. [/one_whole]

It is not enough to include a few triceps exercises into your workout. You have to focus on specific training guidelines if you want to target the long head and maximise hypertrophy, resulting in growth and definition. Let’s take a look at the top 6 tips and tricks for ensuring you get the results you want for your triceps.

1. Make it a Group Effort Then Isolate

Chances are; you are familiar with the benefits of compound exercises thus including several in your current workout program. The idea of utilising compound exercises, which targets multiple muscle groups, can extend into the days that are traditionally reserved for the isolation of lagging parts such as arm and calves. Why bother with compound exercises if your goal is to target the triceps long head muscle? The reason is maximising muscular hypertrophy.

During a compound exercise, you are using multiple muscle groups, allowing you to use more weight than you can during isolation exercises. Think about a Close-Grip Bench Press (CGBP). You can load up a barbell during the CGBP, and you may even include the help of a spotter to engage in failure sets. Beginning with a compound movement allows you to use more weight with fewer repetitions. This will contribute to increasing strength as well as size.

After two or three compound exercises, then you can focus on isolating the muscle, bringing it to complete exhaustion; consider the Single-Arm Triceps Kickback. During a Kickback, you can use a light dumbbell and your form ensures that the triceps muscle is working solo. Since you cannot use heavy weight during isolation exercises, it will be important to use higher repetitions. This technique results in a level of exhaustion that ensures the maximum hypertrophy you need for growth.

Training biceps and triceps together will lead to a mind-blowing pump.

2. Hit it from All Angles

Remember that no single exercise can target the triceps long head; therefore, you will need to have a list of effective exercises at your disposal to hit each section. The following is a list of exercises that are ideal for targeting each corresponding head:

Long Head:

Close-Grip Bench Press
Skull Crushers
Overhead Extension

Medial Head:

Standing Triceps Push-down
Weighted Dips
Diamond Push-ups

Lateral Head:

Dumbbell Kickbacks
Reverse Grip Push-down
Twisting Rope Pull-down

3. Pre-Exhaust to Reach Full Exhaustion

A valuable technique used in the bodybuilding world is pre-exhaustion. This is especially useful for those weightlifters who have been in the iron business for a number of years. While it may seem to contradict the first point on the list, you will eventually reach a point where your body will adjust to your lifting program, resulting in a plateau. Pre-exhausting the muscle with an isolation exercise then continuing with a compound exercise will help break your triceps out of that rut. Use the following layout:

Pre-Exhaustion

Isolation exercises: 1 to 2

Exhaustion

Compound exercises: 1 to 2

Complete Exhaustion

Isolation exercises: 2 to 3

Sample Workout Plan

Diamond Push-ups
Triceps Push-down
Close-Grip Bench Press
Overhead Extension
Triceps Kickback
Weighted Dips

4. Use Undulating Periodisation

Don’t let the fancy name scare you. Undulating periodisation is a method of constantly changing your workout by adjusting the repetitions and the corresponding volume. The higher the repetitions, then the lighter the weight will be. These types of workouts will usually follow a 14-day cycle, or mesocycle, allowing you to phase through three or four different workouts in a given week. [2] The idea is to continuously change the intensity from one workout to the next in order to avoid a plateau and ensure growth. It is recommended that you apply this method to all of your workouts and not just Arm Day. The types of workouts you can cycle through are as follows:

Endurance

12 to 20 repetitions

Hypertrophy

8 to 12 repetitions

Strength

4 to 6 repetitions

Power

1 to 3 repetitions

[one_half_last boxed=”true”]

Mesocycle Sample:

Week 1:

Monday: Endurance
Tuesday: Hypertrophy
Thursday: Strength
Friday: Power

Week 2:

Monday: Hypertrophy
Tuesday: Strength
Thursday: Hypertrophy
Friday: Endurance

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Focus on contracting only your triceps for better stimulation.

5. Target Triceps Twice Per Week for Growth

Following this idea of muscle exhaustion, one of the best ways to ensure growth is to hit the muscle twice in one week. The key is to make sure that you allow enough time in between the triceps-focused workouts in order to avoid over-training. A safe bet is to give your body two to four days to recover.

Sample Layout (using an upper/lower split):

Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Arms
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Lower Body
Saturday: Arms
Sunday: Rest

6. Nutrition and Supplementation

Last, but certainly not least, is that you must focus on proper nutrition and supplementation. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Nutrition makes up 70% of the results that you get to show off. If you have a choice, always pick food over supplements as Rich Piana explains in this video.

Make sure that you are eating enough of the right calories to support muscle repair, recovery, and growth. That means you should be getting plenty of the following macronutrients:

Protein: 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight
Carbohydrates: 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of bodyweight
Fats: 0.5 grams per pound of bodyweight

[one_whole boxed=”true” centered_text=”true”] Of course this follows a traditional diet. Other various diets will increase fats dramatically while decreasing carbohydrates. Protein should always stay the same to stimulate protein synthesis. [/one_whole]

You may also have to consider the total number of calories you are consuming because you may not be getting enough to spark muscle growth. If you find yourself in the gym 4 to 6 times per week, then you may need to be consuming between 2,800 and 3,200 calories per day. This is based on your current weight, gender, and fitness goals. If you need help to calculate your calories based on your goals follow this easy step by step process. And for you advance lifters, try diets such as carb backloading or carb cycling that aim to manipulate your macronutrients to simultaneously build muscle and lose fat.

Supplements also play a critical role in your results. The idea behind supplementation is to provide your body with the edge it needs to heal faster and perform better. If you do plan to go this route, here is a very basic supplement regimen you can follow.

Diamond push-ups stimulate triceps the most.

Morning

Multi-vitamin (Alkalises your body)
Fish-oil (Balances omega fatty acids and regulates hormones)

Pre-Workout

Creatine (Speed recover and help produce energy)
Whey protein (Minimise your body catabolise muscle tissue while you train)

Intra-workout

Dextrose (Any carbohydrate source is ideal if you’re training an excess of one hour)

Post-Workout

Whey protein (Promote protein synthesis and transitions your body to from catabolic to anabolic)
Glutamine (Replenish glutamine stores which are heavily depleted after vigorous workouts)
Creatine (Speed recover and help produce energy)

Afternoon

Fish oil (Balances omega fatty acids and regulates hormones)

Evening

ZMA (Supports sleep)
Glutamine (Elevates growth hormone levels)

Bear in mind these are just some common supplements and a very basic template of when you can consume them. Everyone has different objectives, and as a result everyone will differ in their supplement regimen. For advice on which supplements may benefit you, see what IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski recommends for the average lifter.

At Last

If you want to see results in arm size, strength, and definition, then you need to commit yourself to all of the essential workout variables required to produce that outcome. Familiarize yourself with each section of the muscle by flexing in the mirror. The mind-to-muscle connection has been shown to allow for greater utilization of that muscle.Keep your triceps guessing by switching up how and when you lift. Make sure to schedule a date twice a week with your triceps, ensuring you bring the same amount of intensity to each workout.

Finally, do not skip on healthy meals or supplementation. Your body needs fuel to perform, but even more so to repair and build the muscle. Stay as dedicated to your diet as you do your workout and you’ll be proud of the outcome that you achieve.

[toggles] [toggle title=”References & Honourable Mentions ” color=”Accent-Color” id=”b1″]

Feature Image Athlete: Marko Djordjic

Clark, M.A., Lucett, S.C., Sutton, B.G. “Muscular System.” NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2012. 593. Print.
Stoppani, James. “Training Cycles.” Jim Stoppani’s Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2010. 19-20. Print.[/toggle] [/toggles]