#3: On Triceps

Q: Hi Stéphane,

Great accomplishments! It’s nice to see a natural bodybuilder do so well.

I also want to say that your triceps are extremely well developed. Have you always had good triceps? What are your favorite exercises to work them?

Thanks in advance.

...Ronald Preston

A: Hi Ronald,

Thank you for the question and for noticing the accomplishments I have made over the past years. It’s always appreciated when bodybuilding fans notice the results of the hard work, and that natural bodybuilders can achieve great things.

I have to admit that my triceps are very well built. Actually, the side-triceps pose is one of my strongest poses. Whenever I do a side-triceps pose in a contest, I am most likely to be the one who stands out in the group.

To answer your first question: No, I didn't always have big triceps. When I first started working out, I weighed around 160 pounds on my 6-foot frame. At that time, I had only 11-inch arms. I don't need to say that my triceps were non-existent. However, I’m blessed with genetics in regards to triceps development. It was actually easy for me to grow my triceps compared to other muscle groups, such as my shoulders, chest, and legs.

Before sharing with you some of my favorite exercises for triceps, let me explain three important principles that I have found to be key factors in proper muscle development. The first principle would be the rest period. What I mean by rest period is the amount of days you wait before training the same muscle group again. For me, my triceps and biceps don’t need as much time to recuperate as some other muscle groups, such as my legs or chest. It took me a long time to determine the rest period requirement for each body part. It was just last year that I figured out that my legs could only be trained once a week. Because they needed three to four days to recuperate and another two days to get "full" again, I was actually overtraining them. I always had problems growing my legs, but since I’ve been training them once a week, they have started to grow again. A wise trainer of mine once told me that sometimes doing less was actually doing more. At first, I didn’t really understand the comment, but now it makes perfect sense. Make sure to give enough rest to each body part before training it again, otherwise you will most likely overtrain it and impair your progress.

The second principle, or perhaps rule of thumb, is to do only exercises that stress the muscle you are trying to train. In other words, isolate it. For example, if you are training your triceps and you are doing triceps pushdown and you feel it in your shoulders as much as in your triceps, then perhaps you should ask someone to evaluate your form to ensure you’re doing the exercise correctly. If you are doing it correctly, chances are that the exercise may not be suitable for you.

The third principle would be to always use proper form, regardless of the exercise. This is something many people in the gym don’t pay attention to. I already mentioned this when I was explaining the importance of isolating the muscle you’re working, but it’s an important point on its own.

So when doing an exercise, always makes sure it is done correctly; however, do not make the mistake and do what most people do: look around the gym and see what others are doing. Chances are, they’re doing the exercise wrong. My suggestion would be to meet with a qualified trainer who knows the exercises well, since he will be the one who can help you the most. Hey, even at my level I need a trainer – and I’m still learning from him!

The reason I wanted to share those principles with you was to ensure you don’t make the same mistake as I did when I started. In summary, proper rest, performing the right exercises, and using correct form will ensure maximal growth. If I had known 12 years ago what I know now, I would have a better physique today. Again, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I don’t have a good physique, but natural bodybuilding takes a lot of time and if you can save time by doing the proper things up front, then you are a step ahead of others.

That said, I’ll share with you some of my favorite triceps exercises.

One of my personal favorites would be the lying triceps extension using either a barbell or dumbbells. This exercise allows me to isolate the triceps and put the right amount of stress on them. When done properly, this exercise can become pretty painful (good muscle pain), but the results are amazing. Dips is another exercise I like, and if you are capable of adding weight, then the exercise will become even more difficult. Some gyms also have a Hammer Strength machine that mimics the dip motion. With that machine, I can add several 45-pound plates. From time to time, I will also do pushdowns on a cable machine.

Those are the main exercises I perform for triceps. As you can see, I focus on exercises that isolate my triceps, and I always stay away from anything that will involve other muscle groups, such as close-grip bench presses; that exercise works the triceps but also involves the shoulders and chest to a great degree.

So it’s important for you to determine which triceps exercises work best for you. They may or may not be the same as mine. Simply try some of them and determine which ones put the most stress on your triceps. Once you know, incorporate those exercises into your training and vary them from time to time. Variation is also very important – perhaps it’s another topic to discuss in a future article.

I hope this helps you and any others who read it. Thanks again and good luck!

...Stéphane Bussière, Canadian Champion 2005, 2006, 2007

If you would like to ask Stéphane a question, please e-mail: askstephane@seriousaboutmuscle.com.

SeriousAboutMuscle.com contributor Stéphane Bussière is a natural bodybuilder from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. He has won the Heavyweight class at the CBBF National World Qualifier three times in a row.