Triceps push-up

Muscle & Fitness, Dec, 2005 by David Sandler

EXECUTION

* Lie facedown on the floor with your hands flat and close to your shoulders and your fingers pointing forward. Pull in your navel and keep your abs tight.

* Hand position varies similarly to a bench press, but for maximal triceps activation, your hands should be parallel to your chest and spaced about shoulder-width apart, with your elbows tight to your body.

* Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe and fix your eyes on the floor throughout the movement.

* Extend your legs outward with your feet perpendicular to and your toes pressing into the floor.

* Begin the push-up by driving your body off the floor and exhaling while extending your arms.

* Keeping your elbows in, drive upward hard with your triceps muscles, extending your arms fully. At the top, either gently lock your elbows or extend them to a point just short of lockout. Pause briefly before beginning the descent.

* Inhale on the way down, and hold your breath at the bottom of the movement. To maintain constant tension on your working muscles, don't relax on the floor. Simply pause for a count and continue with your reps.

TIPS

* Try placing your hands in a diamond or triangle position (fingers and thumbs of each hand touching) for the exercise. While your elbows tend to flare out slightly during the movement, this difficult position gives your triceps an extra burn.

* Holding your elbows in reduces pectoral and anterior deltoid activation, and further isolates your triceps.

* Keep your body in a straight line and your torso tight throughout the movement. Look downward to decrease the strain on your neck.

* For an advanced variation, place a pair of dumbbells shoulder-width apart under your chest. Grasp the weights using a neutral (palms facing in) grip, then perform the push-up, trying to lower your chest all the way to the floor for an added range of motion. Be very careful when using dumbbells that roll.

* For an added burn, perform a set of either diamond-handed or standard triceps push-ups immediately after the triceps pressdown (for a compound set).

* If you can do more than 15 reps in any position, add resistance by having your partner press on your upper back. If you're unable to perform multiple reps this way, try bending your legs and placing your knees, rather than your feet, on the floor to execute the movement.

David Sandler, CSCS, is the director of StrengthPro Inc. (strengthpro.com) and an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University (Davie).

BY DAVID SANDLER, CSCS

RELATED ARTICLE: THE LIFT LOWDOWN

When: Do triceps push-ups at the end of your chest or triceps workout.

With: A regular regimen of bench presses, dips and triceps extensions.

How: Do three sets of 12-15 reps, keeping the rest between sets to 60 seconds or less.

RELATED ARTICLE: PRIMARY MUSCLES INVOLVED

Four major muscles are involved in the triceps push-up, but the triceps and anconeus act as the primary movers.

MUSCLE            LOCATION                     MOVEMENT

Triceps brachii   Back of upper arm            Extends elbow joint
Anconeus          Outside of arm near          Extends elbow joint
                  elbow joint
Anterior deltoid  Front part of three-headed   Moves arm forward and
                  muscle that covers shoulder  across body at shoulder
                                               joint
Pectoralis major  Upper portion of ribcage     Adducts upper arm (moves
                                               arm toward middle of
                                               body)

RELATED ARTICLE: SPORT USES

The triceps push-up plays an important role in developing overall triceps strength and size for all athletes and should be included in most training programs. General pushing strength is useful to all athletes who participate in contact sports such as boxing, football, rugby and wrestling. This exercise provides several valuable physical benefits, including improving your ability to move your bodyweight, and developing balance and stability in your shoulder complex.

WANT MORE EXERCISES?

The Training Notebook Collector's Edition, a three-ring binder specifically designed to store M & F pullouts (like this one), comes with 82 exercises. Order it at www.MuscleStuff.com or call (866) 562-3922.