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Build Huge Inner Triceps With One-Arm French Presses |
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Written by Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM
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Monday, 23 April 2007 |
Arms grow best when they are challenged by heavy, simple basic exercises. Although the multi-machine pieces that cover the floors of most commercial gyms provide a good avenue for specializing in one or two areas of the arms, nothing beats basic exercises with dumbbells and barbells for bringing out hard-core arm mass. The inner area of the triceps muscle is quite large and its development is key to possessing a mind-blowing front double biceps pose. It's also critical for success at sports like football, several track and field events and most activities requiring any element of pushing. Actually, the entire triceps has one-third again as many muscle fibers as the biceps and this gives the triceps a greater genetic potential for overall growth than the smaller biceps. It makes sense to have the triceps as a key focus in your overall arm mass building efforts.
The triceps is a muscle with three heads and the thick inner long head of the triceps carries the most total fibers of any head. Thus, if your quest is to possess huge, iron-hard and thick arms, you must give some special attention to your long head of the triceps muscles. The one-arm French press is a great exercise that will cause your inner long head of the triceps to explode with new growth.
Structure and Function
The main function of the triceps brachii is to extend the forearm at the elbow joint. The triceps has three parts (tri=three), or heads (ceps = heads). The muscle fibers in each of the three muscle heads attach to a single triceps tendon that crosses the elbow joint. After crossing the elbow, this tendon attaches to the olecranon on the ulna bone (the olecranon makes up the point of the elbow). Contraction of the triceps brachii muscle primarily causes extension of the forearm at the elbow (straightens the elbow joint). Some people have a short triceps tendon and the triceps muscle belly appears to extend all the way to the elbow. Others have a relatively long triceps tendon, which gives them a more "peaked" triceps, but a short muscle belly.
The long head of the triceps brachii (to a bodybuilder this is the "inner head") begins on the scapula (shoulder blade), just below the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) at the shoulder joint. This muscle belly crosses the shoulder joint posteriorly, so the arm must be moved into shoulder flexion (i.e., arms and elbows lifted high over your head) if you want to fully activate the long head of the triceps. The lateral head of the triceps brachii creates the outside (lateral) boundary of the triceps. Its fibers run from a small section of bone on the posterior part of the humerus starting about 2/3 of the way toward the shoulder joint and stopping short of the shoulder joint.
The medial head of the triceps brachii is deeper and between the other two heads of the triceps. It attaches to two-thirds of the upper and posterior part of the humerus bone. This is a thick muscle further up the arm toward the shoulder, along with the long head of the triceps. It provides enormous depth to the top part of the horseshoe-shaped muscle that becomes apparent when the elbow joint is straightened.
One-Arm Dumbbell French Presses
The arm position of the dumbbell French press makes this a great exercise that's preferentially directed toward the long head of the triceps. The shoulder joint is flexed with the arm and forearm directly above the shoulder. This stretches the long head of the triceps because it's attached on the scapula of the shoulder joint. Because it's exercised in a stretched position, it is more fully activated that either the lateral or medial heads of the triceps and this places the emphasis of the exercise on the long head.
1. Although the exercise can be done standing, it's preferable to sit on a chair with a support for your lower back. This reduces the probability of obtaining back injury during the extension phase, or losing your balance during the exercise. The seated version also allows you to direct more of your concentration to the long head of the triceps rather than working on maintaining body stability. If possible, position the chair in front of a mirror so you can see your triceps muscles working and you can monitor your exercise form during the exercise.
2. Sit comfortably on a bench that has a short vertical back and press your lower back firmly into the back support. Grasp a dumbbell with one hand. Lift it from the floor and over your head as if you were going to do a one-arm shoulder press. Your palm should be facing toward the center of your body (this is a semi-prone hand position). The dumbbell will be vertical with respect to the floor.
3. The non-working arm can be used as a brace for the upper arm by holding the triceps of the working arm by the hand of the non-working arm. (This also maintains the upper arm in a vertical position and close to your head). A good alternative is to grab the edge of the chair with the non-working hand; this will increase the stability of your upper body during the exercise and allow you to really grind out the last few reps. It takes a little more concentration to keep the upper arm close to your head during the exercise, but the proper exercise form can be maintained with some additional effort.
4. Keep the upper arm (humerus) perpendicular to the floor as you are bending the elbow and controlling the descent of the weight. Slowly lower the dumbbell, so it takes a trajectory line behind your head and neck. Your elbow should point forward and upward. Do not let it swing to point out to the side or drop downward, otherwise the tension on the long head of the triceps will be reduced.
5. Continue to lower the weight until it barely makes contact with the trapezius muscle of the upper back. Do not use your trapezius as a trampoline to get the weight moving again. Also, take care not to hit the dumbbell on the back of your neck because this could result in neck injury and pain. Because you are working close to your head and with the weight over your head, at least part of the time, be very careful, especially as fatigue sets in.
6. Finally, extended your forearm (straighten your elbow) to the starting position with the elbow joint just short of being straight.
7. If you feel the need for some forced reps, keep them to no more than two or three and make sure your partner is competent enough to make sure the dumbbell doesn't crash into your head.
Important Tips
Locking your elbows out after each repetition will complete two undesirable events. First, this will reduce the stress to the triceps and allow the forces to travel through your bones. The second problem is that fully straightening your elbows will "jam" the head of the ulna bone (olecranon process) into its fossa on the humerus and this forcibly compresses the bursa protecting this joint. That is not likely to cause you any problems for a while, but continued extensions, especially if they are done explosively, will likely result in sore elbows and bursitis (swelling of the elbow bursa).
You can get a good stretch of the long head of the triceps muscle if you slowly lower the weight behind your head as far as possible. While the medial head will not be affected very much by elbow (and therefore shoulder) position, the effectiveness of activation of the lateral head will be improved if your elbows are kept closer to the head. (It will also be a harder exercise than if your elbow moves away from the side of your head). Do not let your elbows come forward (e.g., so your elbow is in front of your nose), or you'll reduce the stretch on the long head and transfer much of the work to the medial head of the triceps.
It's important to use sufficient resistance in the exercise, and you should be able to work up to some pretty hefty loads, but do so safely. Keep your exercise form perfect; otherwise you may find the dumbbell crashing down on your head. On the other hand, if you have a full stretch and proper arm position and a heavy enough weight, you'll feel the fibers stretch and strain on each rep as if they are about to explode. But, as you know, the explosion in muscle mass will really come about as you rest, and that will be the result of adding new protein to each fiber that had been forced to endure each grueling contraction.
The heavy weights will ensure that the long head contributes substantially to the lift and they will improve the effectiveness of this mass builder. In contrast, light weights tend to recruit the medial and short heads to a greater degree than the long head. Therefore, if you have been training your triceps with only medium or light weights, the chances are your long head will be underdeveloped. Therefore, the heavy dumbbell French press is great way to overcome this deficit. Nevertheless, warm up your elbows with a couple of light sets before hitting the heavy stuff. The dumbbell French press is simple enough to perform, but it is also important enough to do it correctly. Your inner triceps will know the difference and your "guns" will grow accordingly!
References
Brechue WF and Abe T. The role of FFM accumulation and skeletal muscle architecture in powerlifting performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 86: 327-336, 2002.
Eiserloh H, Drez D, Jr. and Guanche CA. The long head of the triceps: a detailed analysis of its capsular origin. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 9: 332-335, 2000.
Gearhart, R. F., Jr., Goss, F. L., Lagally, K. M., Jakicic, J. M., Gallagher, J., Gallagher, K. I., & Robertson, R. J.. Ratings of perceived exertion in active muscle during high-intensity and low-intensity resistance exercise. J.Strength.Cond.Res. 16, 87-91, 2000.
Haupt, H. A. Upper extremity injuries associated with strength training. Clin.Sports Med. 20, 481-490, 2001
Terzis G, Georgiadis G, Vassiliadou E and Manta P. Relationship between shot put performance and triceps brachii fiber type composition and power production. Eur J Appl Physiol 2003.
Zhang LQ and Nuber GW. Moment distribution among human elbow extensor muscles during isometric and submaximal extension. J Biomech 33: 145-154, 2000
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