Here's A Trick To Increase Your Bench Press! If you're trying to build bench press strength, there's one muscle group you’ll need to focus on - your triceps. There are a few triceps exercises you can do to improve your bench pressing power. This article will look at these exercises and show you what they can do for you!
Triceps Dips
You might think tricep dips are an isolation exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are three primary muscle groups involved: the pecs, deltoids, and triceps. Still, the triceps are the biggest movers in this exercise, and it works all 3 triceps heads.
For the basic dip, all you need are dipping bars. The most important thing to remember when doing this exercise is to keep your upper body straight. If you lean forward, you activate less triceps and more pecs.
Triceps Dip Variations
A variation that works well for many lifters is Bench Dips. If you have a difficult time doing regular Triceps Dips, try this version instead. Once you’ve built up your strength, switch to regular Triceps Dips.
If you haven’t done bench dips, here’s how.
- Sit on the edge of a bench with your hands beside your hips. Your palms should be on the edge of the bench with your fingers facing forward. Some lifters put their hands slightly behind their back. Try it and see which version you prefer.
- Walk your feet forward until your hips are a little ahead of the bench. Your legs can be bent or straight. An option that makes this exercise more difficult is to elevate your feet, such as on another bench or chair.
- This is your starting position.
- Keeping your upper body straight, slowly bend your elbows and lower your upper body toward the floor until your upper arms and forearms are at 90 degrees. Pause at the bottom.
- Squeeze your triceps and, using triceps strength, push your upper body back up to the starting position. Repeat for your desired number of reps.
Close Grip Bench Press
This is a straightforward exercise that directly targets your triceps. Plus, it's easy to handle a lot of weight on this exercise. Like Triceps Dips, the close grip bench press hits all 3 heads. The thing to remember here is you can bring your hands as close as necessary to fully activate your triceps.
Skull Crushers
This is a type of lying triceps extension where you bring the bar, or whatever equipment you're using, to your forehead. It's aptly named and describes exactly what might happen if you mess it up. This is an exercise that targets 2 of the 3 triceps heads. The easiest way to do this exercise is to use an EZ bar. This takes the pressure off your wrists. When doing this exercise, lower slowly and stop right above your head, then push off using only triceps strength.
