Find out how sports therapists are approaching the creation of training programs for the local development of the triceps muscle of the arm. Many athletes dream of pumping triceps like Mentzer's. For people interested in bodybuilding and who lived in the 70s and 80s, Mike's figure was the standard. The volume of Mentzer's hand exceeded fifty centimeters and at the same time possessed an excellent definition. Moreover, his triceps at any time of the season also had excellent separation.
Most often, athletes try to pump their chest and arms. It is these body parts that symbolize masculinity and strength. However, at the same time, bodybuilders often pay all their attention to the biceps, completely ignoring the triceps. But you must remember that the triceps are much larger than the biceps and if you want to have not only powerful arm muscles, but also harmoniously developed, you need to train the triceps.
Mentzer himself often recalled that when, after one of the most successful hand training, he examined himself in the mirror, one of the visitors to the hall could not resist and exclaimed that these triceps were simply terrible. It was a compliment and Mike was able to achieve this by not making a common mistake early in his career and giving due consideration to the development of the whole body rather than one or two groups. It is important to remember that when training any muscles, they have a certain effect on others. If you, say, train your legs, then this will allow you to get a strong indirect effect for the triceps. Let's take a look at the scientific approach to triceps pumping in bodybuilding.
How to properly pump triceps?
Surely you know that the triceps consists of three sections (heads). This muscle has two main functions - it straightens the elbow and brings the arm to the body. Mike has always been interested in the latest research in physiology and attended lectures by renowned scientists.
Triceps is no exception. To understand how best to work on it, Mentzer attended Professor Treyville's lectures. According to the scientist, each section of the triceps performs a different job, depending on the resistance to be overcome. In ordinary life, or under the influence of light training, most of the load falls on the middle section of the muscle, and the rest of the heads only provide it with little help. At the same time, Treville found that at a certain point in time after passing the appropriate threshold, the outside and middle departments begin to work in the same way.
The value of this threshold has not yet been established, but scientists assume that it is large enough. Thus, in order for all parts of the muscles to actively engage in work, it is necessary to apply a powerful load. All of this suggests that you need to do those heavy-weight exercises that can provide elbow extension from a 90-degree flexion position. The most effective from this point of view are push-ups from the bars and press down. They were always included in his own training program, and also recommended to his students. We have already said that Mentzer has always tried to use a scientific approach to pump triceps in bodybuilding or for other muscles. For triceps, Mike said his favorite moves were bar dips, press down, and Nautilus extension.
While the choice of effective movements is undeniably important to progress, the volume of training and the frequency of training are equally important. Mike is confident that there is no point in doing more than one set for each muscle group. If you wish, you can perform two sets, but no more. Any work done by the muscles is stressful. This is why it is important to have short and intense sessions so you don't overtrain. After completing the exercise, the body must first recover and only after that it will begin to increase the muscles. If you spend many hours in the gym, then there is simply no energy left for the growth of muscle fibers. This is the main reason for the need for infrequent and intense sessions.
In preparation for the competition, Mentzer trained once every 3-4 days and at the same time performed no more than five sets for triceps. It should be remembered that Mike's genetics were quite average. Mentzer recommended to his students, who did not plan to perform, to train triceps once every five or seven days, and the number of approaches should not exceed two. Triceps is quite actively involved in the execution of movements to other groups, which increases the time for its recovery. The larger your muscles become, the longer your rest should be.
Many athletes are interested in knowing the sequence in which to work on the muscles. Mike thinks you should work out large groups first, as long as you have enough energy. Thus, it is better to pump triceps in the second half of the lesson, after training the chest muscles. This is due to the fact that in all exercises for the development of deltas and chest muscles, the triceps work very actively. If after that you give him a lot of load, then overtraining cannot be avoided.
It is very important for progress to adhere to the correct technique for performing all movements. You must work at a slow pace and control all movement. When working in jerks, the muscles are loaded only at the starting and ending points of the trajectory. Let's take a look at the technique of Mike's favorite triceps movements.
Press down
This movement makes it possible to engage both of the main functions of the triceps. To do this, you need a high block, and the grip should be at the level of the shoulder joints. It is also important to make sure that your elbows do not go to the side, as this will bring the muscles of your chest and back into action.
Beginning the movement, evenly straighten the elbow joints and squeeze the handle down until it disengages. In this position, the arms should be as close to the body as possible. After sustaining a short pause, return to the starting position.
Dips on the uneven bars
This movement was always performed by Mike immediately after the bench press to maximize triceps load with the help of the deltas and anterior pectoral muscles. Mentzer did push-ups with the elbow joints as close to the body as possible. These two exercises should be the main ones for you if you want to have powerful triceps.
When you can do more than five repetitions when doing push-ups, then you need to increase the weight. Train your triceps every fourth session, giving it 5 to 7 days of rest for recovery and growth.
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