Compound Tricep Exercises

[ShapingUp]

I'm going through BB.com's Exercise Guides and choosing compound and isolation exercises for my Chest/Triceps workout. A lot of them have the chest as a secondary muscle, and some have shoulders as secondary.

Since I'm going to do Chest exercises first, do I want to the Triceps exercises that also work Chest, or do I want to avoid them?

Thanks a lot!

[MrSinister]

if you're going to work chest with tris then id recommend sorta weaving them into together.. so say start off with 4 or sets of incline bench, then do some dips, then close grip bench press.. and maybe finish off with some tricep extensions and/or pushdowns..

[Powers|ave]

few triceps excercises really hit chest; if your doing a chest/tri day, do something like this:
presses first(flat and/or incline benching).this is the core chest builder, usually people will grow fine just off these.
then maybe add some kind of fly movement, or maybe add cable crossovers.
thats all you'll need for chest.
then for tris try any combination of these:
overhead extensions(these are best imo)
skullcrushers
cable pushdowns
dips

if your tri's are too tired after chest try doing them after you do shoulders instead, or give them their own day if they are really lagging

[MrSinister]

few triceps excercises really hit chest; if your doing a chest/tri day, do something like this:
presses first(flat and/or incline benching).this is the core chest builder, usually people will grow fine just off these.
then maybe add some kind of fly movement, or maybe add cable crossovers.
thats all you'll need for chest.
then for tris try any combination of these:
overhead extensions(these are best imo)
skullcrushers
cable pushdowns
dips

if your tri's are too tired after chest try doing them after you do shoulders instead, or give them their own day if they are really lagging

a ruhl fan aye??? hes my favorite too but as long as ronnie competes markus will be owned forever

[aqua-beowulf]

I'm going through BB.com's Exercise Guides and choosing compound and isolation exercises for my Chest/Triceps workout. A lot of them have the chest as a secondary muscle, and some have shoulders as secondary.

Since I'm going to do Chest exercises first, do I want to the Triceps exercises that also work Chest, or do I want to avoid them?

Thanks a lot!

Guess I can't talk you into a back/triceps, split, huh? Well, I personally feel like you should complete one bodypart before beginning another, and as far as exercises go... close grip bench, weighted dips, and 2 hand behind-the-head dumbbell extensions are the cream of the crop. I understand you're concern of doing triceps exercises that will also indirectly hit chest... that's why you don't have that problem if you split your routine into chest/bis and back/tris. You get to directly train fresh muscles... see what I mean?

[ShapingUp]

Guess I can't talk you into a back/triceps, split, huh? Well, I personally feel like you should complete one bodypart before beginning another, and as far as exercises go... close grip bench, weighted dips, and 2 hand behind-the-head dumbbell extensions are the cream of the crop. I understand you're concern of doing triceps exercises that will also indirectly hit chest... that's why you don't have that problem if you split your routine into chest/bis and back/tris. You get to directly train fresh muscles... see what I mean?

Yes, I do see exactly what you mean - I love it! I'm always open to tweaking my program. I haven't seen anyone else do it that way, and I wouldn't have thought of it myself. You did talk me into it. Didn't take much eh?

What do you normally train with shoulders then?

Thanks a lot!

[Hola Bola]

Guess I can't talk you into a back/triceps, split, huh? Well, I personally feel like you should complete one bodypart before beginning another, and as far as exercises go... close grip bench, weighted dips, and 2 hand behind-the-head dumbbell extensions are the cream of the crop. I understand you're concern of doing triceps exercises that will also indirectly hit chest... that's why you don't have that problem if you split your routine into chest/bis and back/tris. You get to directly train fresh muscles... see what I mean?

Aqua-
Why does it matter if he's indirectly htting chest during his tricep exercises? If he's working them on the same day I'd think that would be a positive to be able to do exercises that hit them both. After all... hes going to be using his triceps during some of the chest exercises right? I just dont see why its such a big deal.

I'm not trying to be a jackass, I'm just curious concerning your position on this.

[jaguarr]

Yes, I do see exactly what you mean - I love it! I'm always open to tweaking my program. I haven't seen anyone else do it that way, and I wouldn't have thought of it myself. You did talk me into it. Didn't take much eh?

What do you normally train with shoulders then?

Thanks a lot!

I just switched to something similar in a three day split and am loving it:

Day 1: Legs/Shoulders
Day 2: Off
Day 3: Chest/Bi's
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Back/Tri's
Day 6 & 7: Off

Repeat. Rinse. I'm liking it for a couple reasons. One, I do very heavy training and trying to work chest/tri's and back/bi's on the same day was just too much, so being able to hit each muscle group when they're fresh is really letting me hit them extra hard without pre-exhaustion limiting what I can do. Two, I'm able to hit each muscle group twice a week now, rather than just once; once directly and then once indirectly. For example, I hit chest hard on Day 1 and get some indirect tri work as a result and then I hit tri's specifically later in the week, after I've had a chance to get some recuperation from my chest workout, and that will indirectly hit the chest to a certain extent as well. So I'm getting more bang for my buck in my workouts. I also feel this helps me avoid overtraining, too.

jag

[The Real Deal]

i like ur split. kinda looks just like mine

[POrtergolf]

This is a great thread, it has sparked some interest from me. I have been doing this routine for about 4 months.
chest/tri
Back/bi
shoulders

As I posted in some execise threads earlier this week I have added legs to my shoulder workout day. I think I am going to start a new routine like you guys are posting and try it for a month or 2 and let you guys know how it works.

New workout will look like this:

Chest/Bi
Back/Tri
Legs/Shoulder

[The Real Deal]

This is a great thread, it has sparked some interest from me. I have been doing this routine for about 4 months.
chest/tri
Back/bi
shoulders

As I posted in some execise threads earlier this week I have added legs to my shoulder workout day. I think I am going to start a new routine like you guys are posting and try it for a month or 2 and let you guys know how it works.

New workout will look like this:

Chest/Bi
Back/Tri
Legs/Shoulder

good luck with it. i found it hardest to do shoulders after legs.

[jaguarr]

good luck with it. i found it hardest to do shoulders after legs.

A lot of people find it difficult to do. It's always worked well for me, though. Maybe I'm just a masochist.

jag

[The Real Deal]

yah i read that u shouldnt do anything else on leg day, but i cant go another day so gotta do both.

[Hola Bola]

good luck with it. i found it hardest to do shoulders after legs.

I dont think I would have the energy for it either. But I do some crazy ass quad workouts.

[POrtergolf]

good luck with it. i found it hardest to do shoulders after legs.

I'll let you know how it works out.

I did it for the first time on tuesday and you are right it was a very tough workout. I think a lot of it was also that i had neglected my legs for so long. If it gets too difficult I can always switch it up, thats why i am mixing it up to find out what works for me.
Thanks.

[aqua-beowulf]

Yes, I do see exactly what you mean - I love it! I'm always open to tweaking my program. I haven't seen anyone else do it that way, and I wouldn't have thought of it myself. You did talk me into it. Didn't take much eh?

What do you normally train with shoulders then?

Thanks a lot!

Your welcome. I normally do legs and shoulders on the same day... but not together. I'll do one in the morning, and the other in the evening... but I've trained them together as well. Splitting them up just allows me to hit them a little more intensely is all.

[W8isGR8]

Guess I can't talk you into a back/triceps, split, huh? Well, I personally feel like you should complete one bodypart before beginning another, and as far as exercises go... close grip bench, weighted dips, and 2 hand behind-the-head dumbbell extensions are the cream of the crop. I understand you're concern of doing triceps exercises that will also indirectly hit chest... that's why you don't have that problem if you split your routine into chest/bis and back/tris. You get to directly train fresh muscles... see what I mean?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[aqua-beowulf]

Aqua-
Why does it matter if he's indirectly htting chest during his tricep exercises? If he's working them on the same day I'd think that would be a positive to be able to do exercises that hit them both. After all... hes going to be using his triceps during some of the chest exercises right? I just dont see why its such a big deal.

I'm not trying to be a jackass, I'm just curious concerning your position on this.

Don't worry... I don't take you the wrong way It's mostly personal preference, but he was concerned about doing tricep exercises that would indirectly hit chest... after he trained chest. I've done it both ways... chest/tris... chest/bis... and I'm telling you for me chest/bis & back/tris is a more effective way of training. I can use more weight with biceps and triceps, training them that way... which equals more overload. Take my bicep routine for example... I do 2 sets of weighted chins, 2 sets of incline dumbbell curls, and 2 sets of hammer curls. No way I could do weighted chins after all my chinning, rowing and deadlifting with back training. Weight will never be the "be all or end all" of bodybuilding, but I just can't see the point in having to lighten up so much to complete the workout that I'm not doing anything but performing reps.

[aqua-beowulf]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ha, ha... I said it was personal preference... MR. I TRAIN CHEST & BACK & TRICEPS & BICEPS ALL IN ONE SESSION

[jaguarr]

... I just can't see the point in having to lighten up so much to complete the workout that I'm not doing anything but performing reps.

But...you'd look awful butch swingin' them pink dumbbells so many times!

[aqua-beowulf]

But...you'd look awful butch swingin' them pink dumbbells so many times!

[GoJu]

I prefer chest/back and then triceps/biceps or chest/biceps and back/triceps as opposed to chest/triceps and back/biceps, I think you're asking to be overtrained. The best compound exercises for chest and triceps (respectively):

Incline Bench Press
Flat Bench Press
Weighted Dips
Close-Grip Bench Press
Skullcrushers
Overhead Extensions
Pushdowns

STAY AWAY FROM CABLE CROSSOVER AND KICKBACKS, AND ONE-ARM PUSHDOWNS AND CABLE FLIES!

[W8isGR8]

Ha, ha... I said it was personal preference... MR. I TRAIN CHEST & BACK & TRICEPS & BICEPS ALL IN ONE SESSION

You said it yourself, weight isn't what matters. Anything above @70% of 1RM will automatically recruit all motor units available on the first rep. You cannot "add" weight or tension to an individual fiber, you can only recruit more or less fibers. So thinking that adding more weight(or not using enough weight) will affect the actuall "load" on the muscle is wrong.

What most people percieve as the muscle not being "fresh" is wrong. The reason you have weaker muscular contractions at the end of a big workout it due to decreased glycogen stores in the muscles. The more sets you do, the more glycogen is depleted.

To counter-act this, simply decrease the total number of sets. You can easily make up for the lowered volume by increasing frequency. So instead of doing 12 sets for chest one day, and 10 sets for tri's another day, you could do 8 sets of chest and 6 sets of tri's the same day. Do that twice a week and you see that you actually do more total work for each muscle(16 for chest, 12 for tri's, as opposed to the original 12 and 10).

[aqua-beowulf]

I prefer chest/back and then triceps/biceps or chest/biceps and back/triceps as opposed to chest/triceps and back/biceps, I think you're asking to be overtrained. The best compound exercises for chest and triceps (respectively):

Incline Bench Press
Flat Bench Press
Weighted Dips
Close-Grip Bench Press
Skullcrushers
Overhead Extensions
Pushdowns

STAY AWAY FROM CABLE CROSSOVER AND KICKBACKS, AND ONE-ARM PUSHDOWNS AND CABLE FLIES!

I'm not worried about overtraining... I just don't see how you guys can train intensely working both back and chest in one session

[aqua-beowulf]

You said it yourself, weight isn't what matters. Anything above @70% of 1RM will automatically recruit all motor units available on the first rep. You cannot "add" weight or tension to an individual fiber, you can only recruit more or less fibers. So thinking that adding more weight(or not using enough weight) will affect the actuall "load" on the muscle is wrong.

What most people percieve as the muscle not being "fresh" is wrong. The reason you have weaker muscular contractions at the end of a big workout it due to decreased glycogen stores in the muscles. The more sets you do, the more glycogen is depleted.

To counter-act this, simply decrease the total number of sets. You can easily make up for the lowered volume by increasing frequency. So instead of doing 12 sets for chest one day, and 10 sets for tri's another day, you could do 8 sets of chest and 6 sets of tri's the same day. Do that twice a week and you see that you actually do more total work for each muscle(16 for chest, 12 for tri's, as opposed to the original 12 and 10).

That's a very good argument... but I'm not switching back

[W8isGR8]

I'm not worried about overtraining... I just don't see how you guys can train intensely working both back and chest in one session

Easy,

Incline DB press
Weighted dips
Pull-ups
BB rows

How hard is that? Unless you're trying to set a new max on every exercise, or you think you need 20-24 sets per bodypart.

[W8isGR8]

"In another study Robergs et al. (1991) investigated skeletal muscle glycogen metabolism in eight male participants during and after six sets of 70 % one repetition maximum, and 35 % repetition maximum during a weight resistance leg extension exercise. Comparison of various leg extension conditions found that leg extensions performed at 70 percent 1RM, decreased muscle glycogen stores by 39 percent. Leg extensions performed at 35 percent found a 38 percent decrease in glycogen stores. The question now is, what happens when fuel is low, and how badly is performance hindered? Jacobs, Kaiser, and Tesch (1981) investigated the effect of depleting varying muscle fibers on strength levels. It was found that glycogen exhaustion from both fiber types in the vastus lateralis was associated with impaired maximal muscular strength produced during a single dynamic contraction, as well as with reduced muscle fatigue patterns."

[aqua-beowulf]

Easy,

Incline DB press
Weighted dips
Pull-ups
BB rows

How hard is that? Unless you're trying to set a new max on every exercise, or you think you need 20-24 sets per bodypart.

You know I'm with you on the low volume high frequency stuff ole' buddy... I just like to group my bodyparts differently, that's all

[W8isGR8]

The problem comes from people who are used to the once a week, 4-5 exercises, 20-25 sets mentality. I used to be like that too, spending 1 1/2 hours on just chest or bi's/tri's. You can't expect to combine multiple bodyparts and keep that high of a volume. Studies have proven that you only need 1-3 sets per muscle to induce hypertrophy. You don't need 4 sets of 6 different types of curls for biceps.

[rbtrout]

All interesting posts and good arguments. My routine
Monday
squats
flat db or bb bench
incline db bench
bent over rows (90 degrees)

Tuesday
light bi work
light tri work
power shrugs

Wednesday
deads
standing military press
pullups

Friday
same as Monday

I do very little direct arm work. With this routine, all of my big lifts have gone up and I've put on about 15#.