Kickbacks - Beneficial or Waste Of Time??

[RSP3CT]

Hi guys, simple question - are tricep kickbacks beneficial in any way? I just want my triceps to gain in size as well as shaping them for a defined look - i know close benching will add mass and i was wondering would a superset with kickbacks increase tone/mass? And any alternatives would be great advice - thanks

[chicagojosh]

Hi guys, simple question - are tricep kickbacks beneficial in any way? I just want my triceps to gain in size as well as shaping them for a defined look - i know close benching will add mass and i was wondering would a superset with kickbacks increase tone/mass? And any alternatives would be great advice - thanks

any exercise should be beneficial. I do kickbacks among many other tricep exercises. close grip bench, skull crushers, tricep pushdowns, various forms of tricep extentions/kickbacks are all good for tricep development. (not all in one workout, but all those are in the repertoire)

[Mike750]

^^ Agreed. Any exercise that you feel working in the target area is a go. Maybe focusing on the squeeze at full contraction on most reps. Might etch in detail, as they say. Unless this is Broscience. :-)

[chazzy1864]

Agreed. They have their use/place. Unfairly hated on, IMO.

[hanger1989]

I lean down next to a bench on my knees, and place the top of my arm on the side of the bench with the rest of my arm hanging off to do kick backs. This ensures that my tricep is doing all the work when I do them.

The reason people hate on them is because most people find it difficult to target the tricep, and there shoulder ends up doing alot of the work. So I find my way of doing them a lot easier to isolate the tricep, and keep your arm straight.

[tastan]

Kick backs can be a beneficial exercise. when I see guys do it, they use too much weight and they use sloppy form. Here is how I like to do kick backs.

Start off with the palm facing you, as you kick back start turning your palm towards the ceiling. End position of the movement should be palm facing ceiling. Squeeze the muscle and bring the dumbbell back to a starting position.

Give that a try

[E-Tank]

first off, there is no mass gaining vs toning or shaping exercises. Low body fat is what determines "tone"

I dont do them nor to i have my clients do them but that doesnt mean they dont work as stated above

[TrettinR]

I'm gonna go against the grain here. Sure, I agree they have some benefit. But there are so many different tricep exercises that are much better that, in my opinion, it's a waste of time and energy to be doing kickbacks when you could be doing something better.

[matjusm]

The thing that I personally find a bit inefficient about kickbacks is that the tension on the muscle only reaches its maximum at one point, so for most of the ROM you're not really challenging your muscles at all and then for one brief fraction of a second you do. You're mostly just swinging your arm in the air with any actual work being done in a very small part of the entire ROM.

Just my thoughts though, do them if you so wish or find them useful.

[JOoa0ky]

We have a finite amount of time each day and spend a finite amount at the gym... There are so many better choices out there that it seems silly to include kickbacks when you can do close grip bench, close grip inclines, close grip declines, close grip pin presses, jm presses, dips, skull crushers, dead stop skull crushers, french press, overhead db extensions, your 8000 variations of push downs...

Its pretty low on the totem pole for me.

Well unless you're a volume monster and have like 8 exercises for triceps alone then yeah, there'd be a spot for it on there I suppose?

[godsamurai]

I don't usually kick back and you can honestly get the almost same muscle activation via hammer grip(?) cable push down. Benefit of this is you can go super heavy without breaking the form. I would safely assume kick back is useless if there is no cable machine. Come at me bros if you disagree.

[KDG730]

I'm gonna go against the grain here. Sure, I agree they have some benefit. But there are so many different tricep exercises that are much better that, in my opinion, it's a waste of time and energy to be doing kickbacks when you could be doing something better.

I agree with this. They are an alright exercise but why not do an exercise you can use more weight in? What do you think is going to give you bigger triceps, Close grip benching 225 or doing high rep kickbacks with a 15lb dumbbell?

As state above, definition is only acheived through loss of body fat. Doing these low weight high rep exercises are not going to give you more definition

[YolkedPinoy]

I use it as my last tricep workout, great workout if u know how to do it right.

Make sure to use just enough weight so u can pause at the top of the movement, keep ur arm parralel to the ground too.

[chazzy1864]

I agree with this. They are an alright exercise but why not do an exercise you can use more weight in? What do you think is going to give you bigger triceps, Close grip benching 225 or doing high rep kickbacks with a 15lb dumbbell?

What do you think is the better exercise to gain size? Squats or leg press?

[ironwill2008]

Hi guys, simple question - are tricep kickbacks beneficial in any way? I just want my triceps to gain in size as well as shaping them for a defined look - i know close benching will add mass and i was wondering would a superset with kickbacks increase tone/mass? And any alternatives would be great advice - thanks

If they're performed properly, with enough weight, they can provide a massive contraction at the top of the rep that comes close to being a cramp. This effect can be increased by raising the entire arm up from the shoulder a little after the elbow is locked in extension.

[ectobryan]

If you do them with cables or heavy resistance bands, you'll be amazed how much more effective they are.