The Best Science-Based Triceps Exercises for Each Head (Work Your Weak Points!)

4, 5. When it comes to building big, powerful looking arms, the majority of us know that we need to focus on the triceps, since they actually make up most of the size of your arms. However, sheer size is one thing, but what really makes a difference in terms of the aesthetics of your triceps is the relative development of each head. And for those who are unaware, there's three heads. The there's the long head, which is responsible for most of the overall mass of your triceps and is located towards the back of your arm. There's the lateral head, which is smaller than the long head, but it's the most visible head from the side. And lastly there's the medial head, which is the least visible of the three, but still plays an important role in triceps definition and in providing stability and overall strength for the triceps muscle as a whole. And when well developed, the these three heads collectively form the distinct horseshoe shape that essentially symbolizes a well developed tricep. So as you can see, it's a proportionate development of all three heads that is the key to creating aesthetic looking triceps. And in order to accomplish this, it's important that you choose the right triceps exercises. Because although all three heads cross at the elbow joint and therefore will be active to some extent in any triceps movement, we do also know that based on the literature and based on the anatomy of the triceps, we can emphasize the involvement of each triceps head through proper exercise selection. And in this video I'll show you exactly how by going through the best triceps exercises for each head, and I'll show you how to implement them into your routine based on where your triceps are lagging. As discussed previously, the long head makes up the majority of the triceps and usually has the most potential for growth, especially since most people just don't effectively emphasize it within their routines. This is mainly because the long head of the triceps is the only head that crosses over the shoulder joint, meaning that as you'll see, it can be preferentially targeted through exercise manipulation. And one of the best exercises that accomplishes this are inclined dumbbell kickbacks. This is because based on the long head's anatomy, by moving your arms back such that they're parallel with the body and then fully flexing at your elbows, you're putting the long head in a state of maximum contraction relative to the other two heads. This which leads to greater activation. In fact, as shown in this EMG study by Baron and Buskes incline dumbbell kickbacks elicited the highest longhead activation when compared to nine other common triceps exercises shown here. But in order to reap the full benefits of this exercise, it's vital that you perform it correctly. And to do so, you need to ensure that your elbow stays locked in place at your side such that your arm remains parallel with your body as you perform each repeat. If you let your elbow drop such that your arm is no longer parallel, you're going to lose the strong contraction of the long head that makes this exercise so effective. But despite this exercise's benefits, the main downside with this exercise is that tension and overall load is sacrificed when compared to other movements, which is where the next exercise, incline dumbbell overhead extensions, will come in handy. As stated in some of my other videos, any triceps exercise that places the shoulders in a flexed position will will emphasize the long head to a greater degree. And there are several exercises that do this. But in my opinion, one of the safer versions for the shoulder joint that also provides a better stretch on the long head since you're lying on an incline, is the incline dumbbell overhead extension. However, as with the previous exercise, proper form becomes essential in order to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise. As shown in this 2006 biomechanical analysis of the triceps by Landen and colleagues, greater degrees of shoulder elev provides a greater stretch on the long head, simply meaning that rather than starting and ending this exercise with your arms directly overhead, where your long head activation will be sub optimal, you want to instead move your arms slightly back, lock your arms here, and then proceed to perform your reps. This way you provide more stretch to the longhead, which in turn enables the long head to be more active throughout the whole range of motion. Now, since these heads don't cross over the shoulder joint like the long head does, it makes it difficult to preferentially target one over the other. However, we can make some inferences based on EMG analysis. For example, based on the previously mentioned Behrens and Busky study, we do know that for the lateral head at least, cable pushdowns with a straight bar or a V bar seems to be the best isolation exercise for the lateral head and when compared to other triceps exercises. Whereas on the other hand, as shown in an extensive EMG analysis by researcher Brett Contreras, it seems that when a rope instead of a bar is used, the exercise now involves greater medial head involvement while also becoming a more balanced triceps exercise for all heads so by knowing this difference, you're able to slightly favor one head over the other. Now, with that being said, another exercise I would add to the mix for the lateral and medial heads would be the weighted triceps D, where you perform the dip in a more upright position. Since research indicates that the triceps are composed of mostly type 2 muscle fibers, which are thought to be best stimulated by using heavy weight, incorporating an exercise such as the weighted triceps dip, which can be progressively overloaded with heavy weight, can ensure that you're maximally stimulating the triceps muscle fibers. Now, on that note, it's also vital that you're aware that most of your triceps development will come from your main heavy compound pressing movements, mainly because you're able to most effectively overload those movements with weight when compared to isolation exercises. So rather than trying to incorporate all the exercises previously mentioned, focus on your compound movements and then pick a couple of the ones I mentioned based on your weak points as shown here. So, for example, if I thought my lateral head was lagging, I'd mainly focus on weighted dips and straight bar pushdowns as my main triceps accessory movements. This way you're not trying to do everything at once, which can be detrimental, and instead you're focusing on bringing up what's lagging, which will make a huge difference in improving the overall aesthetic of your triceps.

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