Everybody has an opinion on the best triceps exercise.
With so much choice, it's easy to presume they are all as effective as each other. Pushdowns, bench press, lying extensions, they are all effective tools to use.
When pushed for an answer, the majority of fitness lovers shoot for the triceps pushdown as the king of the jungle. It is well known for it's brutal assault on the back of the arms, particularly when used with techniques such as dropsets.
However, the latest scientific research disagrees with all of the above.
Triceps kickbacks, the type you'd have to dig out some 1980's keep fit dvd's in order to remember what they actually are, rule the roost when it comes to isolating the three headed monster which sits on the rear of your arms. Surely there is some mistake? After all, this exercise has long been ignored by most gym enthusiasts in favor of bigger, heavier movements.
There's no error.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
This finding occurred during a thorough 2012 examination conducted in South Carolina, in which a team of sports scientists sought to answer the exact question raised today. Test subjects performed all of the best known triceps techniques while the scientists monitored muscular activity. What they found went against just about every piece of advice you would pick up if you were to approach any bodybuilder in a local gym or fitness suite.
The long head of the triceps increased muscular activity 20% over pushdowns, but the lateral head, which gives your arms more shape, was where the real magic happened. In a direct face-off versus the often hailed rope pushdown, kickbacks raised muscular activity by a shocking 50%!
All of this occurred despite the fact that subjects were lifting a significantly lighter load.
The fact that you need to use a much lighter load actually works in your favor, allowing you to focus on the muscle a lot more and really squeeze while you contract at the top of every repetition. Rep after rep, this builds into a very serious stress which the body will reward you via new muscle growth in time.
You may need to lose the stigma that this exercise is designed for women in lycra, performing endless repetitions with pink, fluffy dumbbells. But once you have done so, you'll be in a position to reap the rewards from an exercise which is now scientifically proven to be at the top of the heap.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
With so much choice, it's easy to presume they are all as effective as each other. Pushdowns, bench press, lying extensions, they are all effective tools to use.
When pushed for an answer, the majority of fitness lovers shoot for the triceps pushdown as the king of the jungle. It is well known for it's brutal assault on the back of the arms, particularly when used with techniques such as dropsets.
However, the latest scientific research disagrees with all of the above.
Triceps kickbacks, the type you'd have to dig out some 1980's keep fit dvd's in order to remember what they actually are, rule the roost when it comes to isolating the three headed monster which sits on the rear of your arms. Surely there is some mistake? After all, this exercise has long been ignored by most gym enthusiasts in favor of bigger, heavier movements.
There's no error.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
This finding occurred during a thorough 2012 examination conducted in South Carolina, in which a team of sports scientists sought to answer the exact question raised today. Test subjects performed all of the best known triceps techniques while the scientists monitored muscular activity. What they found went against just about every piece of advice you would pick up if you were to approach any bodybuilder in a local gym or fitness suite.
The long head of the triceps increased muscular activity 20% over pushdowns, but the lateral head, which gives your arms more shape, was where the real magic happened. In a direct face-off versus the often hailed rope pushdown, kickbacks raised muscular activity by a shocking 50%!
All of this occurred despite the fact that subjects were lifting a significantly lighter load.
The fact that you need to use a much lighter load actually works in your favor, allowing you to focus on the muscle a lot more and really squeeze while you contract at the top of every repetition. Rep after rep, this builds into a very serious stress which the body will reward you via new muscle growth in time.
You may need to lose the stigma that this exercise is designed for women in lycra, performing endless repetitions with pink, fluffy dumbbells. But once you have done so, you'll be in a position to reap the rewards from an exercise which is now scientifically proven to be at the top of the heap.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
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