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As I was teaching a weight training class the other, someone made a special request to get rid of “the under arm jiggle.” To you and I, it’s called the triceps. Of course we exercise our triceps as part of our weight training. Women especially worry about their triceps. So today, I give you a triceps exercise!
Tricep Extension a.k.a. Skull Crushers
- You can use a curl bar or dumbbells for this exercise. For our purpose for today we will use the curl bar.
- Load up the bar.
- Lay down on a bench holding the curl bar shoulder width apart.
- Keep the elbows in.
- Overhand grip hold the bar just above your chest and slowly lower the bar to your forehead and inhale.
- Exhale as push the bar away back to a starting position.
- Repeat.
The tricep extension is an excellent exercise. The more you do, there is a tendency to let the elbows flare out to the sides. Prevent that from happening, because you will no longer be weight training those triceps. You MUST keep the elbows in to see any results.
Personally, I like to super set my triceps with my biceps to get a good pump in my arms!
Yesterday when we talked about weight training routines, it was all about working back and biceps. So today, it’s only natural to talk about working chest and triceps, as we continue our overall discussion about toned and shapely arms.
Just like the biceps are a secondary muscle group when working back, triceps are a secondary muscle group when working chest. That means when you are weight training chest, you’ll want to fatigue the triceps muscles as well. Push ups are an excellent choice for chest and triceps. The closer your hands are the more you isolate the triceps. The chest press uses triceps and again, the closer the hands are on the bar, the more triceps work you’ll get.
When you hit the chest hard, only work the triceps with a couple of exercises afterward, like dips, and/or triceps extensions. You don’t want to over train the the triceps. After 4-5 weeks hit your triceps hard, with more triceps exercises and go lighter on your chest. Keep this weight training routine for a couple weeks, building triceps strength, and hopefully you will see increased bench press weight.
If you are looking for that weight training exercise that will absolutely blast and burn the biceps, allow me to introduce to you….(drum roll please)….21s!!! That’s right 21s! This exercise is usually done with a barbell, or curl bar, but can be done with dumbbells.
- First make sure your biceps are warmed up.
- Load up your bar.
- Stand tall, shoulders back, tummy tight, hands are shoulder width apart on the bar. For more intensity, have a little bit more of a narrower grip on the bar.
- Lift the bar half way up (to your waist) and lower down to the starting position.
- Do this 7 times.
- On the 7th repetition lift the bar all the way to the top.
- Then lower the bar half way down (to the waist) for 7 reps.
- Finally, do 7 full repetitions, lifting the bar for its full range, all the way up and all the way down.
Every time you lift the bar, from the bottom, or from the top, squeeze those biceps and make them work. By the time you get to the final 7, those arms should be burning. If they are not, increase your weight and/or the number of sets. It’s summer so show off those shapely, well toned arms with this weight training exercise!
While relaxing this weekend, I was reading a periodical from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) which had interesting research done on weight training for muscle endurance and strength training. They have done several studies showing that constant training to failure may actually hinder growth and strength within the muscles.
ACSM studies pointed out that the order and timing of the training sessions have proven optimal strength and endurance results in weight training and aerobic performance. That residual fatigue from a previous weight training period may compromise the quality of strength training for your next session, by reducing volume and force. It was also suggested that once the muscles have reached their “optimal” volume (# of exercises performed, # of reps or # of sets) that moderate increases in volume can improve strength. However, once the optimal level has been reached there won’t be any more significant gains and can lead to reduced performance in resistance training. However, the “optimal” volume level has not been determined.
I hope this research information helps you with your weight training. It is something to keep in mind, that constant hard training on a daily basis, may in fact, sabotage your goals.
Hitting a plateau with your weight training?…try this little exercise which is very similar to compound sets. Instead of only doing 2 exercises per muscle group you would do 3 exercises back to back with little rest between sets. By doing your weight training this way you, hit the muscles more comprehensively.
An example of this would be working the chest, first with a set of push ups, then move onto chest flys and end with a set of chest presses. The pectorals should be sufficiently fatigued. Have fun with this weight training workout!
Do you want to feel sexy? One of the best aphrodisiac’s is exercise. Weight training to help with muscular fitness is a great way to get that sexy feeling. When you exercise, your body has a higher amount of serotonin, which helps with your mood. With higher levels of serotonin, a by product is a good mood and feeling sexy!
When you exercise those good endorphins are released. The more you exercise the better you feel. With weight training your body feels tighter and more toned, you’ve lost inches and what could be sexier? So the question of the day is…do YOU want to feel sexy??
When it comes to weight training equipment there are many choices! Then again, if money is tight, no extras for a gym membership or equipment at home, there is always your body weight.
You can do push ups, pull ups, dips, squats, calf raises, abs, overhead presses without using anything except your body weight. For cardio workouts, you can walk, jog, climb stairs, bike ride, swim, cut the grass, wash your car, you know what I mean.
If you could buy one piece of weight training equipment, I would use my money on kettlebells. They are versatile, for every major body part, for some weight training, plus they offer the cardiovascular workout and muscle endurance and conditioning.
If you are committed to working out with weight training equipment or without don’t short change yourself with the options available to you!
Whenever I talk about weight training, the women get all upset and say they don’t don’t want to bulk up. The men however, are always looking to build muscle mass. Weight training and muscle building has many advantages to both women and men.
Weight training helps you to lose fat. By building more lean muscle your resting metabolic rate will be higher. This means that if the muscle to fat ratio is greater (more muscle/less fat)it requires the body to burn more calories at rest. That alone is a great reason for weight training!
Weight training can help with preventing injuries. As you get stronger lifting weights, your
connective tissue gets stronger, including stronger joints and bones.
Which leads me to more balance and stabilization. Weight training teaches all the muscles to work cohesively together, helping you maintain good posture and good balance.
There are so many benefits of weight training it’s impossible to list them all. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell both men and women about the possible prevention or delaying of osteoporosis by doing weight bearing exercise. Your self esteem will improve and the day to day activities will become easier. Now is a good time to start your weight training!
How do you know if you are ready to increase your weight when you are weight training? First of all it depends on your fitness goals. If you want muscular endurance, you’ll want to increase your repetitions with a challenging weight with little rest in between sets.
If your weight training goal is to gain strength, then you will want to drop the number of repetitions and increase your weight. This could be done with the progressive overload. That is, start with a weight you can successfully do 12 repetitions. The next set should be incrementally heavier, where you would want to do 10 reps. The third set would again increase the weight and reduce the reps to 8. As you increase your weight, increase the rest time in between sets.
This is a good rule of thumb to follow with any weight training routine you may use. Don’t try to push the increase if your muscles aren’t ready. However, do recognize the signs any time you get to your last set, with the last rep and you are not struggling, then it’s time for the increase!
Weight Training is good for everyone, men and women. There is a weight training exercise I’d like to discuss, that is very effective for your shoulders and upper back area. It’s called the Clean & Press. If you add in a Dead Row then you can target low back and hamstrings. I cannot tell you how many people I see in the gym, that do this particular exercise incorrectly. You know me, I’m a stickler on form!
I will admit the Clean & Press is a harder concept to get, but very worthwhile! First of all you start off with a barbell and some weights.
- Legs are hip width apart, shoulders back, hands holding onto the bar just outside your thighs.
- Lift the bar up, in front of your body like an upright row leading with your elbows.
- When you get to the top, simultaneously small squat getting under the bar and flip your hands and bar so the palms of your hands face up toward the ceiling, elbows facing the floor.
- Push the bar straight up into an Overhead Press.
- Bring the bar down, just below the chin, flip the bar over, palms face your body, and lower the bar down as you would for lowering the upright row.
That is a basic Clean & Press. To add on to the Clean & Press with a Dead Row:
- Push your hips back, not locking your knees and only a slight bend in the knees, abs tight supporting your low back, and lower the bar to your knees for beginners.
- Hold the body there, then lead with your elbows, squeezing the shoulder blades together and pull the bar to your waist.
- Lower the bar back to the knees, and use the abs to lift the upper body back to your starting position.
- You could add 3 consecutive rows, or just keep it a single row.
You can see how many body parts are used with the Clean & Press with Dead Row, which is a BIG plus in my book! If you are still confused, feel free to ask a Trainer at your gym. They are there to help YOU!
Good luck with your new weight training move!
On a side note:, the Clean & Press can also be done with kettlebells too.