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Monday, June 24, 2013

A nice combo: tricep workout

You need strong triceps if you expect a successful elbow lockout for your bench press. Tricep extensions help with that. I alternate between doing tricep extensions using a barbell with a double overhand grip on one day and I use dumbbells on the next  workout day. I avoid repetitive movement injury by using this system.  The potential for injury is mostly in the wrists, and dumbbells give the hands and wrists mobility to  decrease the potential for injury.  You can do them either standing up, sitting down or laying flat on your back on a bench. Be mindful of filling the chest cavity with air taken in through the nose and holding the air in to lock your spine in a straight up and down position before attempting any lift while standing up or sitting straight up. Holding your breath with your back flat on the bench will give you a stable base to lift from.

I also take the bar to full bent back elbow position with my forearm touching my bicep.  This taxes the elbow joint incredibly so watch for pain in them and quit if the pain becomes severe.

I go through a warm up phase gradually increasing the weight and then I do max out sets until I feel fatigue and soreness in my triceps.  The tricep is such a small muscle so it may take ten or more max out sets to achieve fatigue in the muscle.  

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