A non-standard, but extremely effective means of shaping and polishing the triceps.
The TRADITIONAL press down is considered an excellent isolation exercise for the triceps, but, unfortunately, it has two “temptations” that are difficult to resist, but which inevitably lead to a violation of the technique and sharply reduce the effectiveness of the exercise. The first is to lean your entire body onto the handle, especially if you’re doing presses at the end of your workout. The second is to pull your elbows back or spread your sides. It turns out that these two “temptations” practically disappear if you do the press down… while lying on a bench.
The press in this position attacks the triceps like a precision weapon – the focus of the load clearly falls on the lateral (lateral) head of the triceps, which stands out perfectly on the side of the arm. Use this press as a warm-up before heavy sets or as a fine-tuning tool for the triceps at the end of a workout to give the muscle a distinct horseshoe shape.
STARTING POSITION
» Attach the straight bar to the lower block of the machine.
» Lie down on a bench with your head facing the block.
» Bend your knees, place your feet on the floor, and look straight up.
» Stretch your arms back and grab the handle with an overhand grip: palms shoulder-width apart and facing up. Since the cable will move above your face, hold the handle as tightly as possible. It is advisable to properly stretch your thumbs before the exercise.
» Keeping your elbows at the sides of your body, pull the handle along your body. As soon as the angle at your elbows becomes straight, stop. This is the starting position.
TECHNIQUE
» While locking your elbows, tighten your triceps and pull the handle down toward your hips. Only extension of the arms at the elbow joints occurs, all other parts of the body are motionless.
» Once your arms are fully straightened, pause for a second. Then, without relaxing your triceps and smoothly bending your arms, return the handle to its original position.
TIPS
» Practice the exercise only with light weights. Working weight can only be increased when you master the technique one hundred percent.
» Place a platform between the bench and your feet and rest your calves against it so that during the exercise your body does not move towards the head of the bench.
» Perform the exercise at a deliberately slow pace. Jerking and accelerating will only take the pressure off your triceps and can injure your elbows or strain your wrists.
» Keep the back of your head firmly pressed against the bench. Keep your head down and always look straight at the ceiling.
» Instead of a straight handle, you can use a rope handle. This will only increase the stress on the triceps. You can also perform the exercise with one hand.
» Instead of a block exercise machine with a horizontal bench, you can use a crossover, of course, if its design allows you to adjust the location of the blocks. Install the lower crossover block above the bench level so that the cable does not touch your nose.
