Help Triceps long head

[Storm]

What are your guys' recommendations to bring up the triceps long head? I'm struggling to find exercises where I can really feel the long head activate. Thank you.


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[Altamir]

A lot of answers to a not so easy question, as it could be a number of things. Thankfully you are talking to someone who basically has everything going against him in the tricep department, even more so in the long head development!! So I'll give my 2 cents as to what has helped me and hopefully you can infer some of this to your own situation.

1. Find lifts that you can activate your tricep properly. Half of my issue was that I really was not using it. I'm a very shoulder dominate lifter, so things like close grip bench etc don't do anything for me. Even things like cable pushdowns weren't really all that good. (Both of these may be winners for you, maybe you just need to do them differently?) So I'm going to list a few things that worked for me. Feel free to use them, but also keep exploring, keep trying stuff, pay attention to what works and WHY, and see if you can infer that over to other lifts.
a. PJRs LIFT-RUN-BANG: Small Session and PJR Pullover demonstration I will have DOMs from this for 2 days in my long head specifically. Keys to this, REALLY good range of motion, and a really good stretch at the bottom.
b. Decline bench DB skullcrushers. Keys to this, again, full range of motion, full stretch at the bottom. flex your triceps before extending up. Keep the angle of your arm past perpendicular to the ground and more perpendicular to your body at the decline.
c. Skip Extensions Skip Extensions and http://www.muscleandperformance.com/arti...er-triceps . Same as above.

2. Bands! I found my triceps responded EXTREMELY well to bands. They were just lazy really, and by attaching bands to certain dip machines, or tricep extension machines, I found that they "woke up" and would actually activate as I was pressing or extending, basically because they had no choice but to use them. Best of all, once I did this enough, this ability to activate them properly transferred over to other lifts. This really seemed to help lock in my mind muscle connection.

3. Occlusion Stretching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGkFvFfwxLM I use a slight variation on this. but sinking into the stretch and flexing your tricep should help with the mind muscle connection out of the bottom. This will also leave them VERY sore.

I'll add, at least from my personal experience, which is all I can currently draw on. Don't expect miracles. To get to where I am now (which was starting a awfulness and barely getting to almost acceptable) took a long time. Took a lot of trial and error. Keeping what did work, removing what did not work. and continuing to refine the process over and over. Which I am still doing. I don't want to give the impression that it's hopeless or not worth it. Only that often advice comes from folks who have it easy in a particular muscle group, and cannot relate to the frustration that comes from having poverty genetics in a weak body part. Cannot promise amazing results, but I can promise lots of hard work!! Keep grinding, its always worth it, and its always forward progress.

[Stewilliams]

I used to struggle getting my triceps to fire properly on close grip bench presses. I reduced the weight and used a slow negative focusing on feeling the triceps stretch during the eccentric portion of the lift. I would pause at the bottom of the rep as well to ensure I had full tension on my triceps, then drive upwards flexing my triceps hard at the top. Literally a few sessions of doing this and I was able to recruit my triceps quite easily on close grip bench and having progressed that lift (along with others) my triceps are no longer a weak point.

[Storm]

A lot of answers to a not so easy question, as it could be a number of things. Thankfully you are talking to someone who basically has everything going against him in the tricep department, even more so in the long head development!! So I'll give my 2 cents as to what has helped me and hopefully you can infer some of this to your own situation.

1. Find lifts that you can activate your tricep properly. Half of my issue was that I really was not using it. I'm a very shoulder dominate lifter, so things like close grip bench etc don't do anything for me. Even things like cable pushdowns weren't really all that good. (Both of these may be winners for you, maybe you just need to do them differently?) So I'm going to list a few things that worked for me. Feel free to use them, but also keep exploring, keep trying stuff, pay attention to what works and WHY, and see if you can infer that over to other lifts.
a. PJRs LIFT-RUN-BANG: Small Session and PJR Pullover demonstration I will have DOMs from this for 2 days in my long head specifically. Keys to this, REALLY good range of motion, and a really good stretch at the bottom.
b. Decline bench DB skullcrushers. Keys to this, again, full range of motion, full stretch at the bottom. flex your triceps before extending up. Keep the angle of your arm past perpendicular to the ground and more perpendicular to your body at the decline.
c. Skip Extensions Skip Extensions and http://www.muscleandperformance.com/arti...er-triceps . Same as above.

2. Bands! I found my triceps responded EXTREMELY well to bands. They were just lazy really, and by attaching bands to certain dip machines, or tricep extension machines, I found that they "woke up" and would actually activate as I was pressing or extending, basically because they had no choice but to use them. Best of all, once I did this enough, this ability to activate them properly transferred over to other lifts. This really seemed to help lock in my mind muscle connection.

3. Occlusion Stretching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGkFvFfwxLM I use a slight variation on this. but sinking into the stretch and flexing your tricep should help with the mind muscle connection out of the bottom. This will also leave them VERY sore.

I'll add, at least from my personal experience, which is all I can currently draw on. Don't expect miracles. To get to where I am now (which was starting a awfulness and barely getting to almost acceptable) took a long time. Took a lot of trial and error. Keeping what did work, removing what did not work. and continuing to refine the process over and over. Which I am still doing. I don't want to give the impression that it's hopeless or not worth it. Only that often advice comes from folks who have it easy in a particular muscle group, and cannot relate to the frustration that comes from having poverty genetics in a weak body part. Cannot promise amazing results, but I can promise lots of hard work!! Keep grinding, its always worth it, and its always forward progress.

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate the help. Two questions about your suggestion, please:

1. DB decline skullkrushers -- neutral/hammer grip or pronated?

2. Bands - Can you expand on what you did with them with an example or two of what worked well?



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I used to struggle getting my triceps to fire properly on close grip bench presses. I reduced the weight and used a slow negative focusing on feeling the triceps stretch during the eccentric portion of the lift. I would pause at the bottom of the rep as well to ensure I had full tension on my triceps, then drive upwards flexing my triceps hard at the top. Literally a few sessions of doing this and I was able to recruit my triceps quite easily on close grip bench and having progressed that lift (along with others) my triceps are no longer a weak point.

Thanks for the suggestion, I haven't ever noticed much development from CG benching. I'm not a particularly strong bencher, but I'll give this technique a shot.


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[Altamir]

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate the help. Two questions about your suggestion, please:

1. DB decline skullkrushers -- neutral/hammer grip or pronated?

Neutral/Hammer Grip, you are going to want the dumbbells almost behind your head if you can manage it.

2. Bands - Can you expand on what you did with them with an example or two of what worked well?

So the best is with the hammer strength dip machine if your gym has one. You can loop a band around one of the weight pins on the side of the machine, and then around the front of the machine, and then back onto the weight pin. I made a little picture the red lines are the bands. For me. I like the band tension to be HIGH!, its not a subtle increase in tension. I use EliteFTS Monster Minis


2nd is a smith machine. Not sure what your smith machine is set up like, but mine has the weight pins back on the frame, and then safety stops at the bottom of the rack. So I bring the bands from the pins, around the safety stops, and then looped onto the bar. From here you can go close grip presses or Incline JM presses (Which are really good IMO, you can find these on John Meadows youtube I think)


3rd is attaching bands to ANY weight stack that is a tricep machine. So an extension, a pushdown, a dip machine. You can loop the band around the frame of the machine, or hold it down with a plate. Go to Home depot a buy a 1/4"x6", 1/2"x6", and 5/8"x6" nut. Should cost you about 2.50. And now you can add bands or weight to and weight stack you want. Even those with protected stacks. (note a 45 will bend a 1/4" nut)

Here is how it looks set up.



Hope some of this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Scott Stevenson]

Storm,

Are you currently in a mass gaining phase of your training?...

Could you post some pics and perhaps provide some stats?...

First and foremost, IMO, the big picture stuff must be in place before managing exercise selection will be especially effective.

-S

[732mikee]

Awesome diagrams Altamir! We should put together a "banded machine / banded exercise" thread.