Anatomical structure and where the triceps and biceps are located

January 31, 2020 Admin Home page » Tips and tricks

Are your hands lagging behind?! Implement a triceps and biceps training program using trisets, a real triple assault will give amazing results.

Just a great chance to implement this training scheme for the next time to pump up your arms in the gym. This is a test for the strong-willed, because at the end of the workout you will feel a powerful pump and an incomparable load.

This is a real chance to tighten up your arms and turn them from disadvantages into advantages. For “dummies” in the world of iron sports, I will explain that a triset is performing 3 exercises in a row without resting one after another. With their help, the overall load on the muscles and intensity increases, and also saves time, which will take much more than performing 3 exercises separately.

Trisets include loading with 3 different projectiles:

– barbell – will help to develop strength and maximum muscle load

- dumbbells - so that each arm works separately from each other in order to maximally pump each arm.

- crossover - isolated load on a specific muscle area, for maximum definition and targeted development.

Please note that training biceps and triceps with trisets should be performed almost in one place; make sure in advance that all the equipment is near you and that no one takes them. This is necessary so that you do not run around the gym from barbell to dumbbells, from dumbbells to crossover; this all takes time, and in the meantime the muscles get a break, as a result of which the effectiveness of the workout will decrease.

Let's move from theory to practice, the duration of the biceps and triceps workout will not exceed 30 minutes, but they will be damn hard, the biceps and triceps will receive the maximum load, they will be filled with blood to the limit, the arms will be as tired as possible, which will mean an effective workout.

Set aside a separate day for arm training

One of the most popular approaches to organizing a training split is to combine large and small muscle groups on deadlift and press days. As a result, triceps are often trained with the chest muscles, and biceps with the back day. This approach works for many bodybuilders, but over time people begin to notice that the second muscle group - the arms in each example - is not receiving the same training load as the first.

The problem is solved by providing special training for the arms. Without heavy bench presses or pulling exercises that will drain you early, you'll be able to approach your workout with full tanks, which will help you perform at your best. Because you can lift more weight, your muscles will be stimulated to grow.

Basic training principles

The classic training scheme has been and remains the most effective. It is based on working first large and then small muscle groups. The program is composed primarily of basic exercises that are performed with an optimal number of repetitions. To gain weight, exercises are done 3 to 4 times, 8-12 repetitions each.

The total duration of one training should be no more than an hour. If you exceed this time “limit”, the level of catabolic hormones will rise sharply and steadily. Between individual exercises take a break of 60-90 seconds, and approaches - from 30 to 40 seconds.

Start with the maximum weight

I stress this a lot, but it's really important: start your arm training with exercises where you can lift your maximum weight. There is no need to immediately start lifting dumbbells for biceps or doing triceps extensions on the upper block immediately after warming up. You can give your muscles double or even triple the load on a push-up machine or a close-grip bench press.

If we're talking about biceps, it's foolish to start with Scott curls or concentration curls when you can give the muscles a lot more stress in a standing barbell or EZ barbell curl. The first exercise you do on arm day will have the biggest impact on your overall results, so think carefully about where you want to start your workout.

Once you've found the right exercise to start training your arms, don't miss your chance by going too light. If you're building mass, don't be afraid to work with weights that stop you after 6-8 reps. This will give you more incentive to increase strength and mass than if you rely on light weights for high-repetition training with a pumping effect.

Train your biceps by thinking about "angles"

Elbows-to-sides, shoulder-width grip - this should be your starting position for biceps curls. But as with the basic bench press and row, it makes sense to explore different variations that can spur muscle development in your arms.

When the arms are in front of the torso plane, such as in Scott curls, the long head of the biceps cannot fully extend and emphasis shifts to the short head. By analogy, when the arms are behind the plane of the body, as in the incline dumbbell raise, the long head is fully stretched and can contract more, making it the main target of the movement.

To shift the emphasis, you can change the position of your hands while lifting the barbell. The long head of the biceps is located outside the short one, therefore, with a narrower grip on the barbell (relative to shoulder width), you work it more effectively. Conversely, by using a wider grip, you focus primarily on the short head.

Is it possible to train triceps and biceps on the same day, at the same time?

As we wrote earlier, Arnold Schwarzenegger recommends training triceps and biceps on the same day. But is it possible to train these muscles at the same time? Yes. And below we present several supersets for successfully working out these muscle groups.

So, the first rule of successful training is not to let your muscles get used to it. The more often you change your approach to training, the more effective the results will be. Therefore, professionals most often recommend training according to the following scheme:

• 1 workout: the triceps are worked out separately first, followed by a set of exercises for the biceps;
• Workout 2 : exercises that work the triceps and biceps at the same time;
• 3 workout: ladder with increasing weight;
• Workout 4: ladder with decreasing weight as you go.

As you can see, with the same exercise cycle you can constantly stimulate the muscles and not let them get used to it.

It is worth remembering that biceps and triceps are antagonistic muscles, so either biceps or triceps will work in the exercise. In order to pump them up at the same time, you need to alternate one exercise for triceps, the second for biceps.

In total, a beginner will do 2-3 triceps exercises and 2-3 biceps exercises during the training process.

Exercises to train your biceps. Please note that each exercise comes with a video lesson on how to perform the technique correctly. Master the technique to avoid injury!

• Dumbbell biceps curls;

Video: Standing dumbbell curls for biceps! Technique!

• Arm curls on the upper block;

Video: Bitsukha curls on the upper block

• Standing barbell curls;

Video: Standing biceps curl

• Standing EZ-barbell curl;

Video: Standing EZ-barbell curl

• Barbell curls with reverse grip;

Video: Reverse Grip Raise

• Hammer;

Video: Curling arms with dumbbells HAMMER: technique and nuances

• Incline biceps curl;

Video: Seated dumbbell curls for biceps. The most effective per jar

• One-arm dumbbell lift on a Scott bench;

Video: Lifting dumbbells for biceps on a Scott bench

• One-arm bending on the lower block of the simulator;

Video: Bending arms from the lower block in a crossover: technique of execution

• Barbell lifts on the Scott machine.

Video: Biceps on the SCOTT bench

Carefully monitor the correct technique, do not rush, so as not to injure your elbow joints.

Exercises to train the triceps:

• Dumbbell bench press;

Video: Exercises for the chest. Dumbbell Bench Press

• Press to the bottom;

Video: Triceps exercises. Press down on a vertical block

• Reverse push-ups;

Video: Reverse push-ups. ABC of exercises

• Bench press, close grip;

Video: Close-grip bench press

• Bent over arm extension;

Video: Bent-over arm extension with dumbbells: technique and nuances

• Extension of arms on a block;

Video: Standing arm extensions on a block

• Bench press, head down, French;

Video: Barbell head down press

• Extension of arms from behind the head;

Video: Exercise for triceps. Arm extension with dumbbell

• Press down with a reverse grip;

Video: Reverse Grip Press Down

• Seated dumbbell press with one hand.

Video: French press with a dumbbell with one hand: technique and nuances

It is important to remember the correct technique for pumping muscles. The muscles are worked, stretched and filled with blood, and given time to recover. In the first year of training, you cannot pump your biceps and triceps more than once a week, otherwise there is a risk of “clogging” the muscles, not giving them the opportunity to recover. What’s even worse is that you will get injured due to overexertion.

Superset for biceps and triceps:

• Basic exercise of choice for triceps: repeat 8-12 times;
• A minute of rest;
• Basic exercise of choice for biceps: repeat 8-12 times;
• A minute of rest;
• A cycle of 3 sets of each exercise with a minute rest.

It is important to remember that such supersets are very effective, but also difficult for the body. Include them in the program no more than once a month in order to improve the quality of your workout without overtiring your body.

To pump the long head of the triceps, raise your arms above your head

For every body part, there are one or two tricks you need to master to pump your muscles in an advanced style. One of the main tricks to developing horseshoe triceps is moving the training to the overhead plane. The fact is that the fleshy long head is attached above the shoulder joint, which means that it is fully stretched only when we raise our arms above our heads. Remember that a muscle contracts with maximum force only after it has been fully stretched. Therefore, when the elbows are located on the sides of the body, the outer head of the triceps takes on the lion's share of the load.

Any triceps exercise that places your arms above your head will change the alignment. The standing French press with a barbell and dumbbells, or overhead extensions on a block, transfer the load to the long head. A similar trick can be performed in some simulators. It's worth noting that if the arms are positioned perpendicular to the torso, such as in the French bench press, the long head is already stretched to some extent. But once you raise your arms above your head, for example, during the same exercise on an incline bench, you get even more activation of the long head of the triceps.

Use different grips for maximum height

With an underhand grip, biceps curls are reduced to simply lifting the apparatus due to muscle contraction. Of course, this is a great way to build muscle, but it’s far from the only one. The fact is that the arm flexors consist not only of the biceps brachii, that is, the biceps muscle. Beneath it lies the brachialis muscle, pumping which will significantly increase the overall volume of the arm.

To train the brachialis muscle, you need to perform curls with a “hammer” grip, in which the hands are in the so-called neutral position and the palms are facing each other. Hammer grip curls can be performed with dumbbells or on a lower pulley with a cable handle.

The brachioradialis muscle, which forms the volume of the upper forearm on the thumb side, is also involved in curling with a hammer grip. You can also work it out by doing barbell curls with a reverse grip.

Don't be afraid to improve your exercises

On the same Scott bench, lifting is usually done using an E-shaped bar; introduce variety using a straight bar, dumbbells, and kettlebell. The usefulness of the kettlebell lies in the fact that it rotates a little in the hand and the weight hits the biceps, while reducing the load on the forearm.

Please note, when you lift a dumbbell, you usually take it in the center of the handle, this is convenient, but to shift the load on the inside of your arm, take an external grip, that is, so that your grip rests on the plate closer to the outside of the dumbbell, so that when bending your arm, you feel the load shifting to internal area. Try to set the gymnastics bench at an angle of 45 degrees, lie on it with your chest and perform arm curls, for example with dumbbells, you will immediately feel how almost the entire load goes to the top of the biceps

Try setting the gymnastics bench at an angle of 45 degrees, lie on it with your chest and perform arm curls, for example with dumbbells, you will immediately feel how almost the entire load goes to the top of the biceps.

Don't swing your elbows

It seems that there is nothing easier than extending your arms at the elbow joints in triceps exercises. However, on your way you may come across a small obstacle in the form of your elbows moving to the sides. In any exercise, from French bench or standing presses and lat pull-downs to dips and close-grip bench presses, keep your elbows close to your torso to maximally target your triceps.

This is easier said than done - especially for big guys - because the elbows naturally move out to the sides. With this movement of the elbows, the muscles of the chest and shoulder are involved, and this reduces the effectiveness of the exercise. To increase triceps isolation, keep your elbows close to your torso.

Triceps. Home workout

First exercise. Standing French press. The body is straight, legs are shoulder-width apart. Hand position with dumbbells: elbow raised up, dumbbell behind back. The other hand belays the dumbbell, but does not support it. As you exhale, the arm gradually straightens at the elbow, while the hand rises from the dumbbells. The trainee focuses on the triceps. As you inhale, the arm bends again and the dumbbell is placed behind your back again.

Second exercise. Seated French press. Performed similarly to the first exercise. The trainee sits on a stool.

The third exercise is performed using a chair with wooden handrails. To perform it, the chair is placed opposite the sofa so that the feet are on the sofa, and the hands are pulled back and down to grasp the handrails of the chair, just as is done on the uneven bars. The point of the exercise is to bend/extend your arms while pushing.

Fourth exercise. A tape expander is attached to the home crossbar. The student turns his back to the horizontal bar. The body is straight, legs are shoulder-width apart. The exercise is performed with hands alternately. The arm is pulled back, as in a French press, but instead of a dumbbell, it holds a stretched expander. Then, with the elbow stationary, the arm straightens forward and upward.

Fifth exercise. Bending/extension of arms while lying down. Hands are placed narrowly. Otherwise, the main effort will be on the chest muscles. When performing the exercise, use a backpack with weights.

When doing biceps curls, don't lift the barbell too high.

By far the most common mistake in biceps exercises is the desire to lift the bar as high as possible in an attempt to go through the maximum range of motion. I'm all for full range of motion training, but in this case you don't need to lift the bar too high. Most often, the front deltoids are included in this movement.

Let me explain. With your elbows close to your sides, bending your arms can lift the barbell to approximately shoulder height. But years of bad habits leave their mark, and for many bodybuilders, moving their elbows forward in an effort to lift the projectile even higher becomes second nature.

As the elbows move forward, the single-joint movement becomes a multi-joint movement involving the front delts. This not only connects another muscle group, but also creates a comfortable rest area for the biceps in the upper phase of the movement. The hands are located directly above the elbows, which means that the load on the biceps is sharply reduced.

For better isolation, stay true to the single-joint nature of biceps exercises. Remember that your elbows tend to move forward as you lift the barbell. Keep them pressed to your sides throughout the entire movement.

Don't focus on pumping

There is a persistent and popular belief that to succeed on arm days you need (insert one of the adjectives: killer, monstrous, incredible) muscle pump. The problem is that for a pump, high-repetition training is more suitable, in which blood fills the target muscle and stretches the muscle fascia by increasing volume.

Yes, this is one of the mechanisms of muscle growth known as sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. However, I believe that it is better to save the pump for the final stage of training, when the heavy exercises are over.

Training with heavy weights activates myofibrillar hypertrophy, in which actual damage to the structure of muscle fibers occurs. The relatively light weight fills the cells with fluid, but does not necessarily lead to deep disruption of the cellular structure.

The question arises: why not use both options? This is possible if you work with heavy weights at the beginning of the training session, and use the pumping effect at the end. The main rule: save the killer pump for the end of the workout.

Why pump your arms at all?

First, let's figure out why you should pay attention to your hands and train these muscle groups. There are several points here:

• women love guys with strong arms. This creates the image of a reliable protector who can protect you from adversity;
• beautiful biceps and well-pumped triceps look great in the summer, for example, in a T-shirt or short-sleeve T-shirt. It is from the muscles of the arm that one can see that their owner is in excellent physical shape;
• if you are asked to demonstrate the result of work in the gym, then the biceps are shown first;
• by the appearance of the hands, as a rule, a conclusion is drawn whether a person is “hilyak” or not;
• worked triceps and biceps - an opportunity to achieve better results in working out other muscle groups. Strong arms allow you to work with heavy weights and, accordingly, results in the form of muscle growth are achieved faster;
• strong hands are a big plus for the weaker sex, because you can easily carry bags and other heavy objects (when there are no men nearby);
• beautiful and toned triceps - an opportunity to forget about the ugly appearance of your arms and the presence of “sagging”.

Train your arms more often

Large muscle masses, such as the legs, require grueling workouts, after which you have to recover for several days, so one session per week is enough. With small muscle groups, everything is a little different, and therefore many athletes train their calf and abdominal muscles up to three times a week. As for the biceps and triceps, they represent the golden mean of muscle groups and are somewhere between the first and second.

If you have the energy, time and desire, adding a second round of arm training to the end of your weekly split is easy, provided your split is planned correctly. Here's a chart I used a few years ago (does not include abs or calves).

• Day 1:
  Chest and Triceps
• Day 2:
  Back and biceps
• Day 3:
  Shoulders
• Day 4:
  Legs
• Day 5:
  Biceps and Triceps
• Day 6-7:
  Rest

If you're going to train your arms twice a week, I recommend adding variety and making your workouts completely different in terms of exercise selection and approach. Let one be heavier than the other, with an emphasis on working on weak points and increasing the number of unilateral (one-handed) exercises. Try different techniques for increasing intensity, such as forced repetitions, drop sets, occlusion training (training that restricts blood flow), and eccentric training (negatives).