EXECUTION
- Assume a well-balanced, face-up lying position on an exercise bench. The feet should be in full contact with the floor.
- Hold a barbell or E-Z curl bar in the hands with a pronated grip.
- The arms should be fully extended and held at a 45° angle to the vertical behind the head.
- You should feel tension in the triceps in this starting position.
- Inhale slightly more than usual and hold your breath as you bend the arms to lower the forearms until they are vertical (straight down) or close to vertical.
- Hold the upper arm in place at all times.
- Upon reaching the down position, extend the arms until they are once again straight but still angled 45 degree overhead.
- Hold this position to feel a strong contraction of the triceps.
- Quickly exhale and inhale again when the arms are fully extended and then repeat when ready.
TIPS
- Using too much weight so that you can not maintain proper arm position. With too much weight you will have to keep the arms vertical to better support the weights. As a result the triceps tension decreases.
- Not maintaining the arms at a 45° angle to the vertical. Moving the arms up to the vertical position as you extend the arms and angling them down as you lower the arms decreases the tension on the triceps during its overcoming contraction. As a result, the effective range of muscle building is decreased.
- Lowering the arms so that the elbows are almost in line with the body (as in a pullover). In this instance, the initial inertia of the weights will be overcome when you raise the elbows prior to straightening the arms. In essence you will be doing a partial pullover together with elbow extension.
- Not fully extending the arms at the end of the movement. Full elbow extension is needed to maximally shorten and tense all heads of the triceps, but especially the long head. Full extension also gives you the greatest peaking of the triceps as well as greater definition.
- Not feeling tension on the triceps throughout the exercise. This means that you are moving the elbows during execution which makes the exercise easier but less effective. The key is to maintain the 45° angle at all times.
- Doing the regular lying triceps extension (nose crushers), in which the arms are held vertical, is a good exercise but can be dangerous. When the arms are vertical the bones support most of the weight not the triceps which produces less tension in this position. When the arms are angled backwards the triceps immediately goes under tension and remains under tension during the entire movement resulting in a stronger, fuller contraction of the muscle.
- Placing the feet on the bench. When you do this your body is less stable and you may have difficulty holding the 45° angle position of the arms. As a result the chances of injury are increased.
One of the better exercises for the triceps is the lying triceps extension commonly known as the nose-breaker exercise. In this exercise the long head of the triceps is placed on stretch which in turn produces a stronger contraction of this often hard to develop section of the triceps. However, for an even greater initial stretch of the long head and resultant muscle contraction (and for greater stress on the other two heads of the triceps), I recommend the lying 45° triceps extension. It is superior to most other triceps exercises.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
Only one major muscle is involved in this exercise – the triceps brachii. The triceps has three separate sections known as the medial, lateral and long heads which fill the entire back side of the upper arm. When the triceps is well developed distinct outlines of their development can be seen. The medial head does the bulk of the work in most elbow extension movements. It is located on the back inner side of the upper arm close to the elbow. The lateral head is located on the back outer side of the arm and comes into play when the resistance becomes greater. The long head comes into play when speed of movement increases or when the weight increases greatly or a combination of both. In addition, the long head located between the medial and lateral heads directly to the rear and higher on the arm crosses both the elbow and shoulder joints. Thus it is a prime mover not only for elbow extension but also for shoulder joint extension. The triceps is assisted by the anconeus muscle, a relatively small muscle located at the elbow joint. The main function of this muscle is to fully extend the arm (which is important for full contraction of the triceps muscles at the end of the range of motion) and to stabilize the elbow.
MUSCLE AND JOINT ACTION
There is only one action is this exercise, elbow extension. With the axis in the elbow joint, the upper arm remains stationery while the forearm travels away from the upper arm in an arm straightening action.
SPORTS USES
Elbow joint extension with involvement of the triceps muscle is very important in all arm straightening actions, as for example, in tennis and badminton overheads, in volleyball spikes and basketball jump shots. Elbow joint extension is the key action in pushing movements, as see in the shot put, press up to a handstand in gymnastics, pushing away in football, and the final push-off in the pole vault to clear the bar. Elbow extension is also important in throwing and hitting actions and is needed for throwing a punch in boxing and in the martial arts. In bodybuilding the lying 45° triceps extension is very important for full development of all three heads of the triceps, but especially the long head. Distinct definition of the three heads (and especially the long head) is the key value of this exercise in overall shaping of the back of the arm.