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I cant take it anymore. I feel ALOT of pain when i do skull crushers...dips...and overhead extensions...ALOT of pain in my left elbow..its unbearable and very frustrating.
Can i build great triceps with only
close grip bench press
Tricep pushdowns
kick backs?
A few people may argue you need an overhead movement for complete development but to answer your question yes you sure can develop great triceps with CGBP and pressdowns/kickbacks. You could try single arm overhead extension(close to grazing the head) if you wanted, the internal rotation of the arm, coupled with the fact its like 30 percent of a double handed poundage might actually help you in the exercise without any pain plus working that stretch under tension that we know is great for development.
Have you tried cycling down your reps a bit to higher numbers(12+)? I have these gorilla long arms myself and when i start to go a bit too heavy for too long my elbows ache pretty bad as well.
Close grip presses are an excellent movement.
im gonna give single arm overheads a try. And i didnt know that an overhead movement could be important thanks for pointing that out =O! Is there a reason why this is only happening in my left elbow only ? is it a muscle imbalance or something? and can it be fixed?
[QUOTE=MoeGainz;976572663]im gonna give single arm overheads a try. And i didnt know that an overhead movement could be important thanks for pointing that out =O! Is there a reason why this is only happening in my left elbow only ? is it a muscle imbalance or something? and can it be fixed?[/QUOTE]
My triceps are doing well with only Weighted Dips, Decline Bench, Military Press, and Bent Press. Skullcrushers were hurting my elbows at one point. I heard a good argument for not performing hinge-type movements, and relying on pressing instead for tris. It may be only in one elbow b/c the body tends to drop one limb at a time. I would try to find the exact source of the pain.
I know the best thing to do when you have consistent pain in a specific joint is just to ignore it. It will stop on it's own with no lasting repercussions eventually.
I 'blew' out my elbows doing heavy skullcrushers and overhead extensions. It got so bad that at one point that my elbows would hurt for days after doing these movements. So i Stopped doing them altogether and starting focusing on closegrip, kickbacks, and pushdowns just like you mention. These exercises work just fine, and eventually you will prob be able to do skullcrushers and overhead extensions again after you rehabilitate
The question is not "can you" but "are you". If those are the only lifts you can do, then make it work bro.
80/20 rule, man! Honestly, all I do, outside bench and OHP is one iso for tris.
[QUOTE=mobikwa;976740183]I know the best thing to do when you have consistent pain in a specific joint is just to ignore it. It will stop on it's own with no lasting repercussions eventually.[/QUOTE]
I hope you're joking
[QUOTE=Tommy W.;976776923]I hope you're joking[/QUOTE]
Sarcasm meter must be faulty today ;)
99.99999999% that he was joking.
I haven't read the rest of the thread but the answer to your question is yes.
An overhead movement will put a bit more emphasis on your long head, try skull crushers on a decline. This often helps people who experience said pain.
yes definitely, in fact all you really need is the close grip bench as that is the exercise you can go heaviest on and it directly hits your triceps
[QUOTE=Xuaxace;976778843]Sarcasm meter must be faulty today ;)
99.99999999% that he was joking.[/QUOTE]
Lately there have been posts like this and they were SERIOUS so I don't assume anymore ;-)
Ever try using a thicker bar? It'll but a little more emphasis on the forearms and take some stress off your elbows
Which exercise will focus on the long head of the triceps out of those 3?
Strict form Skullcrushers bothered my elbows. This is with straight or EZ-Curl bar.
I switched over to French Presses (on a decline) about a year and a half ago. They are very similar to skullcrushers but you initiate the pull with the long head tricep muscle instead of the elbow joint itself. I use a SuperCurl bar (most gyms have at least 1) and use a comfortable amount elbow flare. I get more direct tricep stimulation by loosening up the form a bit and keeping the stress off of the joints.
I originally got the concept from Charles Glass videos, but if you watch Matt Ogus's youtube channel he does the same move (albeit calling them skullcrushers).
These do not bother my elbows and are a great triceps long head focused move in which you can stress with a good amount of weight (vs rope pulldowns).
[QUOTE=MoeGainz;976572663]im gonna give single arm overheads a try. And i didnt know that an overhead movement could be important thanks for pointing that out =O! Is there a reason why this is only happening in my left elbow only ? is it a muscle imbalance or something? and can it be fixed?[/QUOTE]
[img]http://munfitnessblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/one-arm-triceps-extension-arnold.jpg[/img] these ones, not just doing double overheads with one arm, keep the dumbbell traveling behind the head.
As for the elbow pain, it's really tough to tell. It could be a number of things including previous injury or insult to the elbow, and how much both are used. Make sure you are adequately flexible in the shoulders, lats and triceps. But like I said, when I get into cycling the 3-6 range after a few months my right elbow aches a bit so I just dial up my reps to sets of 10.
I had to stop doing skull crushers as well because of the pain. Now I just do Rope pull downs and single cable reverse pulldowns at the end of my shoulder workout. I have not lost any mass. I keep the rep ranges between 10-15.
[QUOTE=TigerStealth;976804793]yes definitely, in fact all you really need is the [b]close grip bench as that is the exercise you can go heaviest on[/b] and it directly hits your triceps[/QUOTE]
Can you not actually go heaviest on dips?