For those of you who may be fitness newcomers or are still grasping the concepts behind building a well-rounded physique, arm training may be pretty much be seen as a whole lot of bicep curling.
A common fitness misconception is that ‘arm training=targeting the biceps’…whether this is down to a great deal misinformation or the common association in fitness imagery and video between arm training and bicep curling…who knows…but arm training without targeting the tri’s will have you on a way road to muscular imbalances as well as disproportionate arms!
Keep reading as we discuss the importance of hitting our tri’s as part of our arm training, as well as how we can sculpt a well-rounded set of guns!
Stay Away From These Arm Training Traps!
As mentioned, one of the biggest traps that we can fall into is focusing too much on targeting the bi’s. Though hitting the biceps is great, neglecting the triceps certainly isn’t!
Instead of searching “how to get bigger biceps”, find ways to build arms that are well-rounded…well-rounded arms require training the bi’s, tri’s, forearms and shoulders!
Not all of us neglect our tri’s and there’s many of us who acknowledge the fact that the triceps are actually the largest muscle in our arms- that’s right, the triceps make up more of our arms than any other muscle! When it comes to training the triceps, a common trap that many fall into is the wrong balance between compound and isolation exercises.
Compound exercises are functional movements that train multiple body parts simultaneously. The functionality of these movements can create a great response from our body when we use them when training! Some great compound movements that hit the tri’s include chest pressing movements like a flat dumbbell press or a push-up, as well as shoulder pressing movements like an overhead press!
Alongside compound movements, a good balance of isolation exercises such as rope pull-downs and triceps kickbacks can really help us to work on defining and really breaking down the muscle fibres in our triceps.
The Road To Building A Well-Rounded Set Of Guns
So, here are the main things to consider when looking to build a beautiful pair of arms:
Do not neglect any part of your arms
In order to keep everything looking proportionate, ensure that you train your forearms, biceps, triceps and shoulders sufficiently! If a well-rounded physique is what you’re after, then the truth is that you cannot afford to neglect any part of the body!-ladies, everything needs to be targeted effectively.
The isolation/compound balance
As we’ve mentioned, in order to really get the most out of your triceps training, there is the need to hit them through both compound exercises that use functional movements to really target them in a natural way as well as isolation exercises to really direct attention on maximising definition and getting that killer burn feeling.
Lockdown is no excuse for neglecting the tri’s!
For many of us, the lockdown will mean a lack of or no exercise equipment accessible to us at all. Though this can be very frustrating, by no means is it something that can’t be worked around with a dose of will-power and creativity. Bodyweight variations of numerous triceps-hitting exercises exist and can be done at home with either no equipment or the assistance of everyday house-hold items!
Examples include push-ups (close-grip push ups which ideally focus a great deal of attention on the tri’s!), chair dips and floor inverted shoulder presses!
Push-ups and their endless list of variations are a great compound movement to hit not only the tri’s but also the remaining parts of the arms as well as the chest. They also work your core and improve stability and balance! Check out our blog on push-up variations to see the wide range of push-up approaches that you can try out at home!
Chair dips are a fantastic way to really work out the tri’s! This exercise allows you to use your own bodyweight as resistance to load onto the tri’s! Requiring only a chair or an elevated flat surface, this movement is ideal for lockdown arms training.
The floor inverted shoulder press is a super creative and effective way to target your shoulders as well as your tri’s using nothing other than your beautiful self and a floor! This is a great multiple-muscle training compound movement that gives your upper body a lot of attention without the need of any additional equipment!
For a whole selection of arm blasting exercises that can be done at home, check out our blog!- Arm Blasting Exercises To Try Out At Home – No Weights? No Problem!