triceps mass builders selection

[xmaurohcx]

I have finished my 3rd blast and before I start I new one I have been researching and found a lot of tricep exercises i would like to try since I reached my max on regular skullcrushers and dips (will change them because as the weight became heavy it started to bother my shoulders)...

I already have close grip bench press and would like to try:

-smith seated half press
-smith reverse grip bench press (I recently found a topic in which dante said these add incredible amount of mass overtime)
-smith rack lockouts
-decline skullcrushers (these would be my last choice due to weight progression)

I would choose seated half press over rack lockouts because they would involve shoulders more than chest (I found my chest is an easy gainer compared to other bodyparts, except for quads that seem to respond fairly easy)

opinions on those exercises and eventually rep ranges RP?

[Collabera]

Decline skullcrushers aren't a bad choice.

Have you considered overhead/behind the head DB extensions? You can also do these with a cable/rope overhead. I prefer seated with back support. I think if there is any move that's added size to the long head of my triceps it's these. This move gets the biggest stretch on the long head from both insertions.

This move would be a new angle and you can go pretty heavy with them. My rep range for these are typically 20-25.

[SAHD]

Reverse grip bench ruined my wrists for a good 2 years. I needed injections and RSI treatment. They also did the same to another friend so be careful.

I would say to me the gain was not worth the associated problems.

Skip's Incline skull crushes really advanced my triceps along.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Jc0hrBrjKVs

[xmaurohcx]

been kinda busy lately... tried reverse grip bench press just to see how it felt and it kinda felt unconfortable plus didnt felt al all in the triceps. did seated half press in the smith and liked the overload on the triceps, probably will add this in 2 weeks when my next blast will start. for the other exercise i will try probably skip's incline skullcrushers since i would probably progress more than db overhead extensions.

question... i did the seated half press with bench set like a smith front press... anyone used incline bench or other position?? how did it felt?

[obrnpwrlftr]

What about JM Presses? It's generally used by powerlifters. Check it out on youtube. Look for videos from JM Blakely.

[Collabera]

I think it would be difficult to make progression with a JM press. I've had them in my DC workouts before and as you begin to get close to failure there is too much room for compensation and breaking form.

[Sammich]

I think it would be difficult to make progression with a JM press. I've had them in my DC workouts before and as you begin to get close to failure there is too much room for compensation and breaking form.

Agreed. JM Presses are great for strength and improving bench explosiveness and lockout, but I don't think they would fit in with DC very well.

[doug1]

The only "pressing" movement that I felt even remotely hit the tris, is dips. With legs stuck out on something in front of me. Gotta really lean back. Dips, otherwise are almost all chest.

In my book, the absolute overall tri movement, is lying on the bench, z bar extensions. It's hard on the elbows, so don't go too heavy. Rest pause it with moderate weight, go for as much pain as you can tolerate.

Decline bench extensions are best, if you have that available.

[Casca]

Agreed. JM Presses are great for strength and improving bench explosiveness and lockout, but I don't think they would fit in with DC very well.

I think they fit in just fine. It is a very powerful movement, once the setup is understood, weight will follow.

An incredible movement for both strength and size in the tricep💪🏼. It does not involve SHOULDERS, what more could u want.


Casca

The Green Machine

[DC_catholic315]

Pjr pullovers
DESTROY MY TRICEPS

My top 6 choices no particular order
Pjr pullovers
Reverse grip smythe
Hammer Dip machine
Dips with wt
french presses with rope (elbow health)
Deadstop skulls

[Collabera]

This conversation, or one very much like it has taken place before. Instead of just pasting the link to the thread I will quote the most important stuff from it and at to this one as of the discussion is different.

Here is a quote from LearningDC (my trainer since I was 12):

"This is VERY important. "Feeling" something isn't important at all. Again..."feeling" is NOT important. What IS important is if you can progress big time on it. How is your progress with the the skull crushers and the reverse grip benches? The biggest mass builders are usually the hardest to "feel" in a particular muscle. Where do you "feel" deadlifts? How about squats? Heavy military presses? What you concentrate on is doing better than you did the time before. Simple."

Homonunclulus had a reply to this comment later down the thread:


"---LDC's comment and the very valid one that you need to be able to progress on an exercise in DC could be the best advice for someone even who is not highly advanced b/c along the way, they will figure out the exercise, learn to recruit more muscle mass and the nature / mechanics of the movement will then dictate that the target muscle IS activated, because is simply has to be to do the exercise with the heavy loads the person is lifting. I just would not go so far as to say that progression is all that's important and that feeling the muscle is not (meaning it's never, under any circumstances, important)."

here is a comment from myself on the subject:

"The biggest mass builders you will not really feel on a particular muscle simply because so many are worked at one time in varying portions of the movement. How many guys benching 405 for reps have average triceps? Not many. They all have big ass triceps. How many guys do you see with big triceps from doing skullcrushers with 25s to 45s on the EZ bar? Not much. If they do, it wasn't from skullcrushers or pushdowns or overhead extensions. Would you tell someone to do leg extensions first if they want to build big round quads? No, you tell them to squat. "

"I am not saying you can't do these smaller movements but they should never take priority over big compound movements. Don't focus on doing the movement in a way that makes you "feel" the muscle. Do an exercise that allows you to do the heaviest weight and allows you to progress. Example, you will progress more doing close grip bench press than you will on overhead tricep extensions"

[0001Delta]

I think the key to building mass on a certain body part (tris in this case) lays not with a few special secret exercises for that body part, but how you set up the entire day.

For example:

If I'm doing...

A1
Flat DB Bench 12-20RP
Klokov Press 15-30RP
Dips 12-20RP
Pulldowns 15-30RP
Deadlifts...

B1
Incline 12-20RP
Upright Row 20-30RP
Inhuman Press 12-20RP
Pull-Ups 15-30RP
T-Bar Rows...

C1
Hammer Press 12-20RP
Smith Press 15-20RP
Pushdowns 15-30RP
MTS Pulldown 15-30RP
Block Pulls...



...and I wanted to bring up my tris, I'd change my exercise selection so it looked like this:


A1
Paused Bench Press 12-20RP
Behind the Neck Push Press w/ closer grip 11-15RP
JM Press 2x12-20 straight setted
DB Pullover 2x12-20 straight setted
Deads...

B1
Paused Incline 11-15RP
Pin Press 11-15RP
Inhuman Press, 15-30RP
Close-Grip Pulldown to sternum 12-20RP
Rows...


C1
Close-Grip Incline 12-20RP
Seated DB Press 15-30RP
PJR Pullover 15-30RP
Standing Cable Pullover 15-30RP
Block Pulls...



Notice I'd be getting triceps stimuli on every single exercise except back thickness.


I really think there are no secret exercises out there that yield more growth than others. To me an exercise's worth should be measured on two factors alone a)Does it hit the intended muscle? b) Does it hurt and can you keep doing it for x amount of time? Then variation comes in just so you don't do the same shit over and over again, and the rest is just figuring out volume, intensity and how much weight to add next time.

But then again I think like a powerlifter nowadays...

[DC_catholic315]

Delta is the inhuman press the elbow flared close grip smythe with ass off the bench?
Or something different

Also props on that blast configuration
That's awesome information and it def helped me to configure future blast
There's a lot of exercises in there that got my wheels turning :-)

[0001Delta]

No prob man, glad to help!

While I never actually read anything about the Inhuman Press here on IM (I actually got it from a poster on TNation), it's been credit to Inhuman from this board.

It's a smith machine close-grip press. I don't exactly remember if it's done with the elbows flared or tucked, but you lay on the bench like on a regular bench press. The catch is that you are supposed to try your hardest to press the weight back instead of up, as if you wanna rack the smith bar on an invisible peg behind the smith. It works on both angled smiths and straight ones, on the angled one you don't have to try so hard to press the weight back up.

I'm on my phone atm and I'll get to my computer in a few minutes so I'll research Inhuman's posts here looking for a more accurate description.

[0001Delta]

Disclaimer:

I know I put Paused Bench Press in the model blast above, I was gonna go back and fix it, but I think we all know what exercises/movements work for our biomechanics. Flat benching is awesome for me, I've injured my chest more times on Incline/Decline/Dips/Machines than on the Flat Bench. But for those who are reading this and want to run this model of blast I wrote up above, stick to what Dante says, replace Paused Benches with Paused Incline/Decline.