Most Effective Tricep Workouts

Woman using a dumbbell to perform triceps extensions

Your triceps muscles is the muscle group running along the back of your arms, forming a horseshoe-shaped muscle between your elbow and shoulders. Triceps muscles are responsible for elbow extension and pushing motions. You should work out your triceps at least two times per week as part of a balanced muscle conditioning routine.

When people work their arms, they often focus on biceps and skip the triceps. This can lead to injuries and strength imbalances. A balanced arm workout includes both biceps and triceps.It is important to balance workouts so that complimentary muscle groups develop strength and flexibility equally. Doing this can help you avoid injury and present an overall anesthetically pleasing appearance. In your arms, your biceps and triceps are complimentary muscle groups. While your biceps flex the elbow and help with pulling motions, the triceps extend the elbow and help with pushing motions. A balanced workout involves equal work of both sets of muscles.

The most effective triceps workout depends on your goals and fitness level. Some options for triceps workouts include:

If you pursue a regular weight training routine, then chances are you use your triceps to lift weights, even when you aren't performing specific triceps exercises. Triceps work is involved when you perform chest or bench presses and push ups, as well as when you work your shoulders. For this reason, it is best to perform your triceps workout on the same day you work your chest and shoulders. If you split your strength training routine into multiple days, you may wish to work legs, back, and biceps on one day, and chest, shoulders, and triceps on another. With strength training, it is essential that you leave at least 48 hours between workouts for a particular muscle group in order to allow the micro-tears you place in your muscles through strength training to heal and grow stronger muscle.

This is the area where you can tailor your workout routine to meet your goals and level of fitness.

Beginners need to gradually build strength in both muscles and connective tissue before pursuing a hardcore workout. Because of this, beginners should select a resistance that allows them to perform 12 to 15 repetitions. Select just one triceps exercise and perform two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps. After about six weeks, you will have reached the intermediate level. At this level, you can begin to lift slightly heavier weights and complete your exercises to failure. Choose one to two triceps exercises. If your goal is to build muscle, then perform two to three sets of six to eight repetitions. If you would like to tone and strengthen, perform two to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Once you have reached the advanced level, you may wish to try some techniques to spur even more growth like arm supersets. Advanced exercisers may also get more out of using free weights, which require additional work from supporting musculature. Advanced strength trainers should work every set to failure, selecting weights that allow them to perform between six and twelve repetitions for two or three sets.

Each of the following exercises are effective for isolating the triceps. Select one or two of these exercises for your workouts.

Skull crushers: Select a short barbell of the appropriate weight. Lie on your back on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grip the barbell with your elbows bent and your palms facing up. Tuck your elbows in close to your sides. Start with the barbell across your mid-forehead just above your eyebrows, holding the bar an inch or two above the forehead. Slowly extend (unbend) your elbows, carefully controlling the bar until your arms are fully extended at a 90 degree angle to your body. Lower the bar to the point just above your forehead again, and repeat. In this exercise, make sure your elbows remain stationary and only serve as a pivot. Kickbacks: Select a dumbbell of the appropriate weight. Grasp the dumbbell in your right hand with your palm facing inward. Place your left knee on a bench, and bend over to place your left hand on the bench in front of your knee. Tuck your right elbow into your side, bending your arm forward at a 90 degree angle. Now, use your elbow as a pivot and slowly extend the weight all the way back until your arm is fully extended. Lower the weight and repeat. Perform the same exercise for your left triceps. Pushdowns: Use a cable pulley machine with a straight bar attached to the upper pulley. Stand facing the machine with your elbows tucked into your side and your arms bent in front of you at a 90 degree angle, with your palms down over the bar. Grasp the bar with a loose grip and slowly extend your elbows, pressing the bar towards the floor. When your elbows are fully extended, Slowly return the bar to its starting position and repeat. Dumbbell triceps extensions: Select a dumbbell and sit on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grip the dumbbell in both hands and hold it up above your head with your arms extended to the ceiling. Using your elbows as a pivot and keeping your upper arms tucked into the sides of your head, lower the dumbbell behind your head and then extend the weight to the ceiling again.

Other exercises may contribute to a triceps workout, as well. For more variations try:

While strength is important, maintaining flexibility is also essential. After a triceps workout, be sure you incorporate slow stretches of the muscle group.

Working your triceps is an important part of an overall strength training program. Any of the above exercises will contribute to an effective triceps workout that will help you tone and strengthen this important arm muscle group.

Kettlebell Workouts

Kettlebells aren't just for hardcore bodybuilders, and the enthusiasm for them is backed by medical research. A study from the American Council on Exercise concludes that a 20-minute workout with a kettlebell can burn the caloric equivalent of running at a six-minute mile pace.

Try the following moves to get started. All you need is a single kettlebell and an exercise mat.

Grasp the kettlebell in both hands. Assume a squatting position, with your legs hip distance apart, your back straight, and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Hold the kettlebell between your legs. Straighten, stand, and swing the kettlebell outwards until it is at eye level. Contract your thighs. Return to the starting position. Do 10 to 15 repetitions.

Stand up straight with your knees slightly bent, feet hip-distance apart. Grasp the kettlebell in both hands. Raise it over your head, then swing it in a clockwise motion around your head. Repeat 10 to 15 times, then swing the kettlebell in the opposite direction.

Stand upright with your feet hip-distance apart and your feet turned outward 45 degrees. Grasp the kettlebell with both hands in front of you. Bend your knees, keeping your back straight, and place the kettlebell on the floor. Then stand and lift the weight up to chest height, your arms parallel to the floor. Grasp the sides of the handle and lift the kettlebell straight over your head. Lower the weight back down to your chest and return your hands to their original position on the top of the handle. Do 10 to 15 repetitions.

Lie down on your back with your legs straight. Hold the kettlebell in one hand with your arm extended in a straight line from your shoulder. Bend the opposite knee, prop yourself up with your other arm, and slowly rise off the floor, balancing the weight carefully above your shoulder. Stand, and reverse the movement to return to your starting position. Do five repetitions on each side.

Ready to torch those calories in a whole new way? While kettlebells provide stimulating exercise, don't get overeager. The challenge of a kettlebell can also be dangerous. Kettlebells offer a lot of bang for your fitness buck, but the reason they're effective is because they work your core and offset your balance in unexpected ways as you swing the weight around. That unsteady element means you risk injury if you aren't careful. Working out with a kettlebell can be more rewarding and more effective than using regular dumbbells, but the chance of pulling or spraining a muscle is greater.

If you've never used a kettlebell before, author of Kettlebells for DummiesSarah Lurie recommends starting with a lighter weight than you'd use for dumbbells. If you normally lift 8- to 10-pound weights, start with a 15-pound kettlebell.

Stand with good posture throughout your workout to prevent injury to your core. Maintain a natural S-curve in your spine to distribute the weight of the kettlebell correctly. Focus straight ahead, and keep your head and neck aligned with the rest of your spine.

If you're a beginner with the kettlebell, don't try to do too much at once. A short routine or circuit is more than enough. Since kettlebell exercises are so efficient at burning calories, you'll still be getting the level of workout you crave. Put together the kettlebell exercises above into a simple circuit, moving through each exercise one right after the other. Repeat the circuit two or three times. If you need more than that, repeat the circuit again, or do more reps in each circuit until you're ready to move on to a more advanced workout program.

When you're ready to move from a beginner's workout to a more advanced routine, consider outside resources such as kettlebell classes, personal trainers, DVDs, and books to guide you in building a more advanced workout while mastering proper technique and form. Kettlebell resources include books like Russian fitness instructor Pavel Tsatsouline's Enter the Kettlebell or the more advanced Return of the Kettlebell. Also consider DVD programs, such as Phil Ross's Power Body: Advanced Russian Kettlebell.

If you're looking to kick your workout a few notches or find your way out of a fitness rut, a relatively simple set of kettlebell routines can lead to fast results and increased cardiovascular fitness. Remember to warm up and cool down with stretches before and after your workout. The kettlebell will challenge your muscles and core in new ways, so preventing injury and speeding recovery is key to an enjoyable workout.

CrossFit Type Workouts

CrossFit training is a relatively new and intense exercise system that primarily targets athletes and bodybuilders. The vigorous workouts are not for people new to exercise, but can be beneficial to experienced athletes and professionals training for military or police fitness. Find out about CrossFit, why it's controversial and how to begin a CrossFit training program.

Former gymnast Greg Glassman founded CrossFit in an effort to combine gymnastics, Olympic power weightlifting and multi-mode sprinting in an intense exercise program. During Glassman's years as a gymnastics coach in the 1970s, he realized that combining intense cardio activities with powerlifting and dynamic exercises, such as pylometric jumps, provided faster results than traditional combinations of weightlifting and cardio exercises.

CrossFit emerged as a system that mixed heavy fundamental resistance movements with powerlifting and fast sprinting in a single workout as well as high intensity interval training routines. The program also emphasizes eating a healthy diet. Many athletes also combine the workouts with a low carb diet, such as The Zone, to help maximize athletic performance.

The exercise system has grown in popularity over the years. It began as a program primarily for Olympic athletes, competitive athletes, gymnasts, bodybuilders, martial artists and those training for military and police work, but has expanded to exercise enthusiasts. There are also CrossFit courses developed for kids. The program includes games in which experienced CrossFit athletes can compete against each other.

When Glassman developed the CrossFit system, he wanted to create a total workout program that improved the following areas:

StrengthCardiorespiratory enduranceFlexibilityStaminaSpeedAgilityMuscle strengthCoordinationBalance

To this end, CrossFit has a general template for participants to follow when participating in the program. Glassman urges beginners to take the first month simply to learn the movements before increasing intensity, and to become familiar with the general template for workout routines.

CrossFit workouts are short but intense sessions that combine bodyweight gymnastic moves with powerlifting and a cardio activity like sprinting. They also call their high intensity interval method "tabata," which means doing an assigned number of exercise repetitions for 20 seconds vigorously, resting for 10 seconds, and then repeating this sequence of exercising and resting for seven more times, or a total of eight intervals. The workouts are structured and require participants to complete a certain number of exercise repetitions in a designated time-frame. What makes CrossFit different from traditional exercise is that the workouts target large muscle groups to both aerobic and anaerobic failure simultaneously. Weightlifting also will include using equipment like sandbags, kettlebells or water-filled devices.

CrossFit workouts may include the following types of exercises:

Squats (back and overhead squats and tabata variations)Pushups (traditional and handstand)Pull-ups (regular and weighted)Rope climbing variationsRing dipsRowingKettlebell swingsWalking lungesOlympic liftsCombative moves (defense and basic fighting techniques, with some martial art moves)Running/sprinting

The nature of the high intensity workouts and the degree that muscles are worked pose a greater risk of injury than more traditional exercise programs. If you are new to CrossFit, it is important to work with a professional trainer. A professional who is experienced in CrossFit training can help you develop a safe workout plan for your fitness level. Working with a trainer can help ensure that you do the exercises correctly and maximize health benefits. To learn more about CrossFit and find information about local classes or games, visit the official website.