Outer Triceps Training
When we think about triceps training we often think about the hardcore mass building triceps exercises like lying tricep extensions, commonly called skull crushers, close grip bench press and tricep dips. Although all these triceps exercises are fantastic mass builders for the entire tricep, in this article I am specifically going to target the outer triceps. The outer triceps is the long head of the triceps on the outside of your arm which starts just below your deltoid or shoulder and runs down your outer arm meeting at a point just above your elbow.
Hitting the inner triceps is easy when performing almost any tricep exercise but targeting the outer triceps is done by employing specific techniques. One of my favorite exercises for outer triceps training is the rope pushdowns but every day I am in the gym either training my own body or doing personal training for a client I see this exercise performed incorrectly. Unlike with regular triceps pushdowns performed with an upside down V bar where you keep your elbows in close to your body, when performing rope pushdowns for outer triceps you need to have your arms flared out. A rope pushdown for the outer head triceps is performed correctly when you begin the exercise with your fists and forearms pointed directly at each other, both forearms together form one straight line. Your forearms are parallel to the ground at the beginning of the exercise and your left elbow is pointing directly out ways to your left, likewise your right forearm is pointing out to your right side.
As you begin the rope pushdown movement you push both arms out and down to the side and flex the triceps at the bottom of the movement. The thing is when doing rope pushdowns in this correct manner you can’t use as much weight as when you keep your arms tucked in close to your body. The reason is because you are employing specifically your outer triceps when doing this movement. When you pushdown with your arms in by your body you are using more of the inner and stronger parts of your triceps. So although you can’t use as much weight you are directly targeting your harder to build outer triceps. If you are performing this type of pushdown for outer triceps and you can feel that the weight does feel heavier than it usually is when you are pushing down with your elbows by your body, this is a good indicator that you are performing the movement using the proper form.
Another great pushdown movement used to target the outer head triceps is reverse grip pushdowns with a straight bar. Using a straight bar with the reverse grip your palms are facing upward and when holding the bar this way your elbows are naturally tucked in close together or at least as close as the width of your body. When you begin the movement your forearms are once again parallel to the ground. As you begin to pushdown you should ideally push the bar slightly forward and away from your body. Don’t just push the bar straight down, the cable connected to the bar should not be running exactly perpendicular to the ground but on a slight lean away from you body. Once again you will specifically target the outer triceps with this exercise and you will not be able to use as much weight as you would be with your palms facing downward.
The alternative to the reverse grip pushdown I just mentioned above is the single arm reverse grip pushdown. It is performed in the exact same fashion as the dual arm reverse grip pushdown however you only use one arm at a time with a small single hand grip. One of the best ways to bust through a training or growth plateau is to mix up your exercises each week and continually keep the body guessing and growing by hitting your muscles from slightly different angles. This is how the big guys get massive by consistently confusing the muscles with slightly different exercises each week.
The triceps dumbbell kickback is an old favorite outer triceps builder. When performing this exercise it’s best to lean slightly forward with one arm supporting your body by holding onto a bench or the dumbbell rack and then holding the dumbbell in the other arm right at the waist position and then kicking the dumbbell back and slightly out to the side and flexing the triceps at the bottom of the movement. The key with this exercise is to kick the dumbbell out to the side not just backwards. When you take it out to the side you deliberately target the outer triceps for growth and an insane pump.
One more exercise I like when training outer triceps is the seated behind the head one arm dumbbell extension. It’s a long name for a relatively straight forward triceps exercise. As the name suggests, you sit at the end of a flat bench preferably facing the mirror so you can see you are performing the exercise correctly, with your back straight and your arm directly pointing upward with the dumbbell in your hand, lower the dumbbell all the way down behind your head with your elbow completely bent, then raise the dumbbell above your head with your arm straight and flex the triceps at the top.
In terms of sets and repetitions for the outer triceps I would mix it up every week. You will still need to do one or two of the mass building triceps exercises I mentioned earlier to begin the triceps workout with and then choose at least one or maybe two outer triceps exercises for 3 sets each. I’d normally go for about 10 reps till failure for each set but you can always mix that up a bit each week. One week you might push the super heavy weight for your body in the 6-8 rep range and the following week you might want to shock the body with 12-15 reps per set with a lighter weight. I would rarely ever go more than 15 reps, there’s no point really if your goal is to build muscle. When training for a bodybuilding competition or show it’s certainly beneficial to do higher reps around 15 per set to help bring out definition and cuts in the muscle. When looking to build muscle fast, I’d stick around the 8-10 rep range till failure on almost every set.