# Triceps



## talithakoum (Aug 22, 2010)

what's the best way to tighten up triceps???


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## Marat (Aug 22, 2010)

Decreasing bodyfat and in most cases, especially with women, adding some muscle mass. 

For the most part, one cannot 'tighten up' any individual body part. For general understanding purposes, while one is in a caloric deficit, one's body leans out everywhere.


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## unclem (Aug 22, 2010)

yes i agree ^^^but u can do cardio and some close grip benches and pushdowns or kick backs, and bench dips take your pick. but just go light and keep your diet in check and u should be ok.


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## Marat (Aug 22, 2010)

unclem said:


> but just go light



Why going light, as opposed to going heavy?


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## unclem (Aug 22, 2010)

m11 said:


> Why going light, as opposed to going heavy?


 
 in my opinion it helps shape the muscle more and going heavy she could get injured. thats my opinion though. plus u develope fast twitch muscle fibers.


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## talithakoum (Aug 23, 2010)

thx again for your help!


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## alphasteel (Aug 23, 2010)

talithakoum said:


> what's the best way to tighten up triceps???




Triceps are one of my favorite workouts.  They make up close to 2/3rds the arm while the bicep is only 1/3rd (so I have been told).  Once I stopped focusing on my biceps, and started training my triceps (more then my biceps) my arms blew up

For me, to make them pop you need to do two things.  One is reduce bodyfat with a proper diet- this was mentioned and it is true.  The second is your workout needs to be diverse.  Think of your muscle as a battle  and you want fight this battle on all fronts, so pick 5-6 tricep workouts that hit the muscle from different angles...I also would recommend light weight at first, really concentrate on squeezing your tricep and flexing when you reach full extension with the weight.  

some things I like....
dips
cable pull downs with rope
cable pull downs with bar
cable pull downs individual arm
various dumbell workouts including skull crushers, overhead extensions
ez bar tricep extensions lying down

also youtube is great source for creative exercises


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## Who Dat (Aug 23, 2010)

unclem said:


> yes i agree ^^^but u can do cardio and some close grip benches and pushdowns or kick backs, and bench dips take your pick. but just go light and keep your diet in check and u should be ok.




yes this is very good advice i would like to add this- dont forget to focus, go slow,concentrate on youre technique, keep it in the 12-15 rep range and sqeeeeze. but of course diet is key and always most important, completely remove all added sugar from your diet. my wife used to be tight like timea, then we had babies wifey.just stick with it it will come. it dont happen over night


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## gtbmed (Aug 23, 2010)

JM presses are great.


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## talithakoum (Aug 23, 2010)

thx for your responses...i really appreciate it!!!


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## roastchicken (Aug 24, 2010)

unclem said:


> in my opinion it helps shape the muscle more and going heavy she could get injured. thats my opinion though. plus u develope fast twitch muscle fibers.



There is a lot wrong with this statement. Unclem i got respect for a lot of stuff you post but you way off the mark with this tripe.

muscles grow in cross sectional size NOT shape.

Going heavy willnot injure you, using sub-par form will injure you.

Fast twitch muscle fibres are developed using predominantly low reps and maximal loads.

Still got love for you tho bro 

R


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## roastchicken (Aug 24, 2010)

One thing i will say to the OP - hitting high reps, circuits, giant sets etc.. will result in more muscle tension which can make the muscle appear tighter because it is in a slight state of contraction even when relaxed. 

R


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## unclem (Aug 24, 2010)

no worries everyone has there opinion, its nice, i still hate the goverment and poloticians if i sound like one lol. but again its nice then the OP can decide wat best suits her/ him. but i think the op has training behind her and isnt new to lifting.ROAST is it the other way around then? fast twitch is using low reps then slow twitch is for high reps? is that the way it goes R? come on somebody straighten me out here lol.


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## unclem (Aug 24, 2010)

roastchicken said:


> There is a lot wrong with this statement. Unclem i got respect for a lot of stuff you post but you way off the mark with this tripe.
> 
> muscles grow in cross sectional size NOT shape.
> 
> ...


 
 geez now iam wrong, shuckums, lol.


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## unclem (Aug 25, 2010)

R, but lifting heavy weight u can get injured, even if the exercise is done right. but the flip side is wat u said u can get injured walking wrong or light weight done incorrectly.lol. i like that mooh sign or watever its called.


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## talithakoum (Aug 25, 2010)

ya'll are getting way technical on me!!!  i'm not that die hard....yet.....you can get hurt by sitting in a funky position for too long also!  (sounds funny but it's true!)


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## gtbmed (Aug 26, 2010)

JM presses and heavy bench presses (maybe even with partial range of motion) are great for triceps.  Board presses and decline bench presses are good examples of this.  Your triceps can usually lock out a heavier weight than you can lift off your chest so it's good to take yourself out of that position and overload the triceps every once in awhile.


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## circa58 (Aug 26, 2010)

Super set, overhead cable pulls  immediately with cable push downs.

I do 8-10 overhead extensions with my back to the cable machine then flip around and do push downs 8-10

OR

laying bent bar (french curl) extensions super setted with close grip extensions using the same bar and weight, same thing 8-10 then 8-10.

guaranteed growth


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## caangelxox (Aug 26, 2010)

yeah I want to know too, I dont like the feel of my triceps. there is a little bit of flab and its soft compared to my biceps, which are hard and I dont even do bicep curls. I am a bagger at a supermarket so my biceps get a lot of work.


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## HeavyBomber (Aug 27, 2010)

unclem said:


> ...[clip]... but just go light...[clip]...



Quite possibly the worst advice ever.


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## PushAndPull (Aug 27, 2010)

I don't think you should go light, but make sure you're not going so heavy that your form suffers.


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## racer10 (Aug 30, 2010)

Like these guys are saying, keep your form in check, but don't be afraid of going heavy, girls are all afraid of getting bulky by lifting heavy, chances are you don't produce enough Test to get bulky. So don't be afraid to go heavy, light and tons of reps is a way too common thinking for training for women.  If you want to tone those triceps and anything for that matter go heavier, build the muscle (which increases your bodies natural ability to burn more calories throughout the day because it demands more to feed the muscles [in turn reducing body fat]), keep your diet in check, and do some cardio.  As far as tricep work..close grip bench, skullcrushers, and dips are all some of the best ways to build triceps.  You may not be able to do dips right now, but work to it.  Firms up your triceps, rear delts, and pecs all at the same time.  Work on it! Good luck!


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## unclem (Aug 30, 2010)

HeavyBomber said:


> Quite possibly the worst advice ever.


 
its how i trained but i still think that training heavy is not wise at first. but give your advice instead of just knocking mine, give yours and let her pick.


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## HeavyBomber (Aug 31, 2010)

unclem said:


> its how i trained but i still think that training heavy is not wise at first. but give your advice instead of just knocking mine, give yours and let her pick.



Okay,
The best way to "tighten up triceps" is to lose excess water and bodyfat utilizing a proper diet and add muscle by forcing them to adapt to increased loads, aka heavy weight.


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## gtbmed (Aug 31, 2010)

HeavyBomber said:


> Okay,
> The best way to "tighten up triceps" is to lose excess water and bodyfat utilizing a proper diet and add muscle by forcing them to adapt to increased loads, aka heavy weight.



And HB, you know that most people can lockout a bigger weight than they can press off their chest unassisted.


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## HeavyBomber (Aug 31, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> And HB, you know that most people can lockout a bigger weight than they can press off their chest unassisted.




Of course.
The exercises you listed earlier are great.

OP: do those.

To build triceps you gotta get nasty with them. Demand and expect a lot. They will respond.


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## unclem (Aug 31, 2010)

good advice HB, i do use very heavy weight, to, but, for her as a beginner, to grab a 60lb db and curl isnt the way to go either, she could get hurt. but i see your point. it sound like your a powerlifter.without any opinions, it would be a waste of a board, so everybody has there own, which is nice.


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## talithakoum (Aug 31, 2010)

*triceps*

thanks, everyone, for your comments/help!  i recently returned to the gym, remembering the good old "triceps dip" machine that i had used before.  (aka "skullcrusher"!)  have a great week!


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## PushAndPull (Aug 31, 2010)

talithakoum said:


> "triceps dip" machine that i had used before.  (aka "skullcrusher"!)


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## Phineas (Aug 31, 2010)

Olympic Bar Corner Press.


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## Phineas (Aug 31, 2010)

talithakoum said:


> thanks, everyone, for your comments/help!  i recently returned to the gym, remembering the good old "triceps dip" machine that i had used before.  (aka "skullcrusher"!)  have a great week!



That's no skullcrusher. 

THIS - IS A SKULLKRUSHER!!!

YouTube - Overkill - Skullkrusher (HQ-Audio)


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## dh9800 (Aug 31, 2010)

thansk


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## Merkaba (Sep 1, 2010)

This thread is god aweful and filled with nonsense.  For one.  what does "tighten up" mean....and please don't say "tone".  There is no routine for getting rid of excess fat, if that's what you're looking for....?  If you want to make the muscles firmer well just about anything will do when you're starting.  

Skull Crushers to me are for the advanced. They are too high risk for me and I don't do them often.  Stick with the basics if you're not going to do some complex moves like bench press and dips or pushups.  I would recommend you learn the form for your complex lifts first, i.e. Bench press, dumbbell presses, dips.  This way you can add more weight later and really get into some body sculpting(not bulking). You can firm up doing enough reps and intensity of any pushing exercise. You shouldn't go heavy with low reps until you've used lighter weights, higher reps as a beginner while you were learning your correct movements.  But who wants to know that stuff nowadays...??? We want instant internt like gratification.  

On the fliip side, getting rid of fat is a dietary thing. That's another story.

It's 3am where I'm at so I'm going to bed.  I may chime in later.  Geez.


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## HeavyBomber (Sep 1, 2010)

Merkaba said:


> This thread is god aweful and filled with nonsense.  For one.  what does "tighten up" mean....and please don't say "tone".  There is no routine for getting rid of excess fat, if that's what you're looking for....?  If you want to make the muscles firmer well just about anything will do when you're starting.  ... ...



Whatever man,
Who's got time to explain the 'toning' and "tighten up" thing for the millionth time?
Simple question ; simple answer.


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## midwest216 (Sep 1, 2010)

increase reps and lower weight. Do last set until exhaustion. Also hit the heavy and speed bags if you have access to them. Those are great arm workouts, afterwards you wont be able to lift your arms.


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## Marat (Sep 1, 2010)

midwest216 said:


> Do last set until exhaustion.


In more situations than not, this just puts too much of a strain on the nervous system, especially in reasonably new trainees. 



midwest216 said:


> Also hit the heavy and speed bags if you have access to them.


In order to properly utilize those pieces of equipment, one would _at least _need to be able to properly tape up/prepare their hands (or have access to someone or learn how to do it themselves). With the proper education, it is a solid conditioning modality. 



midwest216 said:


> Those are great arm workouts, afterwards you wont be able to lift your arms.



For what it's worth and just a general FYI: having exhausted body parts essentially signifies that the resources needed for proper function have been temporarily 'spent'. It is no indication at all of whether the behavior that caused the exhaustion will ultimately lead to increases in strength or hypertrophy.

In this particular case, I don't think calling it a 'good arm workout' is really appropriate. I feel like that statement would be more associated with strength and/or hypertrophy (like deadlifting). Rather, heavy/speed bag word is excellent for overall metabolic conditioning.


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## midwest216 (Sep 2, 2010)

@ m11, dude your way too technical for me . Hyper what? I boxed for along time in military, and it felt like a good workout to me....minus all the technicalities. My arms were toned and ripped and like you said gave me a good "over all metabolic conditioning". For us dummies,  I felt the burn after 5 rounds on the bags. But good advice m11, real good advice.


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## Marat (Sep 2, 2010)

hypertrophy = muscle growth

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the service.


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## midwest216 (Sep 2, 2010)

all good advice


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## talithakoum (Sep 2, 2010)

*triceps*

it'll be a while before i'll be able to do a 60 lb. curl!  slowly but surely.....


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## Marat (Sep 2, 2010)

Unless you have a desire to curl 60# or, while taking in a surplus of calories, want to increase your bicep size beyond what you would achieve from a variety of pulling movements...hopefully you'll never have to both with that movement.


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