Exercise for the development of the outer head of the triceps. Learn all the technical nuances and training methods to build big hands. Probably now you will not meet a builder who would not be familiar with the French bench press. Even girls often use it in their training programs. The target muscle for the exercise is the triceps, with all three sections. The muscles of the chest, forearms and shoulder girdle are also involved in the work.
Here are the main benefits of this exercise:
- Significant gain in muscle mass.
- Girls with its help will be able to remove the "jelly" at hand.
- Works great for triceps.
- Improves shoulder stability.
- Not overly complicated, which will definitely appeal to beginner builders.
Note that this exercise is often performed not only by bodybuilders, but also by show business stars, for example, Halle Berry, Rihanna, Mark Wahlberg, etc.
How to do the French bench press correctly?
Although the movement is not difficult in terms of technique, bodybuilders make mistakes when performing it quite often. To do the French bench press, you need a narrow bench and an EZ bar.
Get into a prone position and grab a sports equipment with a medium grip at the place of the bend of the bar. In this case, the arms should be perpendicular to the body, and the elbow joints should be directed inward.
Inhaling, begin to lower the projectile, bending the elbow joints, touching the forehead with the bar. In this case, the entire movement is performed only by bending the arms. As you exhale, begin the movement in the opposite direction. You can use different variations of the basic movement, for example, using wide and narrow grips, using dumbbells, etc.
French Press Tips for Athletes
- If you deflect your arms slightly from the vertical plane, then increase the load on the target muscles (triceps) in the extreme upper position of the trajectory.
- Make sure that only the triceps are actively involved in the work, and the load is not distributed over other muscles.
- It is not necessary to dilute the elbow joints too much.
- While doing the French bench press, lock your elbow and shoulder joints so that they do not move.
- Placing your feet on a bench can help isolate the pressure on your biceps.
- Do not raise your pelvis while performing the movement.
- In the extreme lower and upper positions, pause for two counts.
- Do not perform the movement more than once for two weeks.
In conclusion, you can compare several movements aimed at working out the triceps. In addition to the French bench press, consider the narrow grip press and reverse push-ups. All movements are very popular and are considered to be very effective.
Scientists decided to find out which exercise is most effective for the triceps, and used MRI for this. As you might guess, they studied the electrical activity of the muscles when performing these three movements. The French press has proven to be very effective for the large triceps section. The middle and lateral sections took part in the work a little less actively. In the study of the press with a narrow grip, the situation turned out to be exactly the opposite and the maximum load falls on the middle and lateral sections of the triceps. Thus, we can say that by combining these movements you will be able to work out the entire triceps with high quality.
Reverse push-ups from the bench with push-ups on the uneven bars were also noted with an equally effective effect on all sections of the triceps. Earlier, another similar study was conducted, which showed the high effectiveness of push-ups with an arrangement of the arms "triangle".
For more details and visualization of the technique of performing the French bench press, see this video:
