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Overview
The one-arm dumbbell triceps extension is a basic movement that effectively works the triceps muscle group as a whole. Stress is especially placed on the inner portion of the triceps muscle group. This exercise can be performed in several different ways to add variation to your workout.
Setup
Locate a moderately heavy weight and stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart. Lift the weight in one hand above your head with the arm fully extended. For added balance, take your empty hand and make a fist, and touch it to the bottom of your opposite ribcage. This helps to maintain balance throughout the movement which helps to keep the motion more fluid and allows you to focus more on the tricep muscles being worked.
Movement
The movement on this exercise is straightforward: lower the weight behind your head as far as it can comfortably go. Once at the bottom position, use your tricep strength to move the weight forcefully upward.
To add some variation to your workout and to hit your triceps in a slightly different way, try switching it up a little bit and experimenting between pointing your elbow directly forward or out to the side. Changing the direction your elbow is pointed will also slightly change the direction that the weight travels behind your head. Each angle works the triceps in a slightly different way and may be varied from time to time.
Tips From the Trainer
This exercise is great at the end of a workout because it is an easy exercise to push your muscles beyond the point of failure. When your muscles get too tired to do another rep, use your other hand to spot yourself and assist in pushing out a few more reps to completely exhaust the muscles.
Also, this exercise can be done while lying on the flat, incline, or decline benches. Each will provide for a different angle and each causes the movement to be more strict than it is when done standing up. To add greater intensity to the exercise (but less focus on each arm individually), try doing this exercise with two dumbbells at a time.
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