Everybody has an opinion on the best triceps exercise.
Walk into any gym and you have a multitude of choice nowadays. From pushdowns to close-grip push ups, skull crushers to dips.
From the list above, most gym lovers opt for triceps pushdowns as the king for isolating their horseshoes. After all, it is truly a wicked exercise with many benefits.
At least, that would be the popular opinion. The scientific facts are far, far removed from this.
Believe it or not, triceps kickbacks are the most effective exercise for hitting your triceps. This may come as a revelation to even the most ardent fitness enthusiast, as this exercise has long been overlooked or left to the end of a workout, replaced by bigger, manlier exercises.
No mistake was made.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
In 2012, researchers from the University of South Carolina Upstate set out to discover the facts behind which exercise isolated the muscle more than any other. They compared several of the best known moves, putting subjects through an intense arm training routine and noting the key factors taking place inside the muscle.
When compared to the much more popular rope pushdown, kickbacks catapulted muscle activity in the long head of the triceps by 20%. But that wasn't all. In the lateral head, the one which gives your arms that much sought-after width most guys try to achieve in the gym, muscle activity soared up by an extra 50%.
Of course, those results were even more impressive when we take into account the difference in loads used. Pushdowns allow for a greater weight to be used, yet still could not compete in terms of results.
In this case, a lighter weight actually improved the situation. That's because it allowed the subjects to focus on the muscle considerably more, forcing a peak contraction with every single repetition in every set, leading to fresh muscle growth and a tougher mind muscle connection.
So despite the fact that this exercise has long been relegated to the "if I have time" category on arm day, it is actually a hidden gem when it comes to packing on lean size and toning your arms in double quick time. You may have to dust off some old muscle magazines to see it performed, but the latest studies confirm it'll be worth your while.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
Walk into any gym and you have a multitude of choice nowadays. From pushdowns to close-grip push ups, skull crushers to dips.
From the list above, most gym lovers opt for triceps pushdowns as the king for isolating their horseshoes. After all, it is truly a wicked exercise with many benefits.
At least, that would be the popular opinion. The scientific facts are far, far removed from this.
Believe it or not, triceps kickbacks are the most effective exercise for hitting your triceps. This may come as a revelation to even the most ardent fitness enthusiast, as this exercise has long been overlooked or left to the end of a workout, replaced by bigger, manlier exercises.
No mistake was made.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
In 2012, researchers from the University of South Carolina Upstate set out to discover the facts behind which exercise isolated the muscle more than any other. They compared several of the best known moves, putting subjects through an intense arm training routine and noting the key factors taking place inside the muscle.
When compared to the much more popular rope pushdown, kickbacks catapulted muscle activity in the long head of the triceps by 20%. But that wasn't all. In the lateral head, the one which gives your arms that much sought-after width most guys try to achieve in the gym, muscle activity soared up by an extra 50%.
Of course, those results were even more impressive when we take into account the difference in loads used. Pushdowns allow for a greater weight to be used, yet still could not compete in terms of results.
In this case, a lighter weight actually improved the situation. That's because it allowed the subjects to focus on the muscle considerably more, forcing a peak contraction with every single repetition in every set, leading to fresh muscle growth and a tougher mind muscle connection.
So despite the fact that this exercise has long been relegated to the "if I have time" category on arm day, it is actually a hidden gem when it comes to packing on lean size and toning your arms in double quick time. You may have to dust off some old muscle magazines to see it performed, but the latest studies confirm it'll be worth your while.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
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