The Benefits of Exercise for Weight Loss and Overall Health

 5 Common Triceps Training Mistakes

Working out isn’t just about what you do—it’s about how you do it. Working out improperly can severely hamper your gains and can even lead to injury. This is true with all of the muscles in the body, and it is certainly true for the triceps. Whether you’re trying to work your triceps in order to improve your overall strength or in order to improve your appearance at the beach, it’s important that you train the right way. Learn the triceps training mistakes you need to avoid in order to get the most out of your workout.

Mistake #1: Neglecting a Warm Up

Any time you work out, warming up is important. A good warm up gets your blood flowing and prepares your body for exercise. It prepares your muscles to engage, and it can help you to avoid injury. Before you start your triceps training, you might try warming up in one of two ways. The first is to do a little easy cardio work, like spending a little time on a treadmill or exercise bike.

The other way you might want to try warming up is to specifically use your triceps, but at a much lower intensity than you will use during your actual workout. For example, before beginning doing intense, triceps-heavy weightlifting, you might try spending a little time working a punching bag. Punching movements involve the extension of the triceps, but don’t have the heavy load you’ll be using later. Alternately, you could try starting your workout out with a set or two of your triceps exercise of choice, but with a much lower weight.

Mistake #2: Static Stretching Before a Work Out

Everyone knows that stretching is important. Stretching can help you to improve your flexibility, which can help keep you from becoming musclebound. It can also help you to keep your mobility, which can help to prevent muscle pulls or joint problems. However, not all stretching is created equal.

There are two basic types of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching is probably what comes to mind for most people when they think about stretching. It involves placing the muscle into a stretched position and holding it there. (For the triceps, the classic stretch is to place your bent arm behind your head, to grasp your elbow with the other hand, and to stretch gently.) Dynamic stretching involves moving the muscle through its range of motion in order to warm it up and gradually get it ready for work.

While stretching can be a good thing, doing static stretching before working your arms puts it in the realm of triceps training mistakes. Static stretching can tire the muscle out, leading to decreased performance and even to an increase in the likelihood of injury, if it's pressed to its limit. On the other hand, dynamic stretching before an exercise helps to reduce the chance of injury and increases performance.

This isn’t to say that static stretching is always a triceps training mistake though. After a workout, static stretches can be very beneficial in lengthening your muscles and helping increase your flexibility.

Mistake #3: Beginning with Isolation Moves

If you really want to increase the size and strength of your triceps, isolation moves are your friend. These exercises focus the work on your triceps without the assistance of other, larger muscles. This means that you can really wring the last amount of effort out of your triceps.

However, you shouldn’t write off compound exercises either. Exercises that utilize multiple muscle groups and multiple joints burn more calories, teach you greater coordination, and may even help you increase your levels of muscle-building hormones.

When you combine isolation and compound exercises into a single workout, make sure you avoid the triceps exercise mistake of putting your isolation exercises first. Compound exercises should always be used first. Otherwise, you run the risk of tiring out your triceps using movements like skull crushers and then having your triceps be too tired to perform combination movements like bench press while your pecs are still going strong.

Mistake #4: Using Improper Form

When you work your arms, you need to make sure you know the proper form. Otherwise, you'll make triceps training mistakes that can lead to injury. A lot of the time, it can be tempting to just jump right into an exercise, whether you entirely understand it or not. Look before you leap, and really understand the proper mechanics of any movement you do it.

Mistake #5: Picking the Wrong Weight

Weight training is a balancing act. If you use too little weight, you won’t put enough load on your triceps to really make them gain in strength and size. On the other hand, if you use too much weight, you are also making a training mistake. Using too much weight almost always leads to poor form and relying on other muscles to do the work that your triceps should be doing.