having trouble getting tri's to contract

[JohnRobHolmes]

just like the title says. i cant feel a full flex on my tri's. today i did incline presses, skull crushers, close grip presses, and tricep pushdowns. i just cant feel the contractions of my tri's. my shoulders and chest want to do all the work. i know my triceps are flexing but its not powerful and i cant make them cramp or burn. any other excercises that i could do to give em a kick? is this just normal for triceps at first?

 

[Goodfellow]

Try dips or weighted dips if you can. Start with close grip bench, then go on to dips and then do some french presses i promise you they will be burning.



Karma is always welcome!

 

[b fold the truth]

I don't think that you have to FEEL them in order for them to get worked. My favorite Tricep Exercises are Board Presses and Incline Tate Presses. I feel the tates near the elbow and I feel the board presses the next day.

I have decent sized triceps...and I don't do extensions of any type.

B True

 

[Sub-Zero]

most people have bis too big compared to tri's but my tri's are actually improportional to my biceps, and ill just do weighted dips and skills after shoulder day (i lockout on all my shoulder motions tho)

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

i would say my bi's are much stronger than my tri's from rock climbing and bike riding. its something i have been trying to work on but my bi's just contract easy, work hard, and build much faster. i can get a killer pump in them, but my tri's are really hard to get pumped up. something to work on eh?

 

[Illuminati]

try doing lying tri extensions with db, only keep your elbows at a 90 degree angle from the body, and bring the weight down to the other pec.

also, here's an exercise that i do. its kind of a hybrid between an extension, and a pressing movement. i was fuckin around one day, trying to think of something new. get on a bench like you are going to do some db presses. rotate your hands so that your palms are facing each other. as you do the extension, try to move them in a straight line, with your arms tight to the body (keep the palms facing each other the whole time.) this will require you to drop your elbows while doing the extension. the end of the db should touch your shoulders. the position that you are now in, should be very similiar to a CG bench press, only you hands are at your neck, and the palms are facing each other. now press and extend up at the same time, tryin to move the weight in a straight line back to the starting position. <--give these a try. let me know what you think. also, if my description doesn't make sense, let me know, and ill try to write it up better...

 

[bignate73]

on a press you might not feel them cramp because when you lock out, you go to passive support (skeletal structure). you might feel it on pressdowns because the cable is pulling you slightly, or you just might not know how to flex your tri's.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

ill give that movement a try, illuminati. sounds like it would be really good. as to your comment bignate, i try not to lock out my arms for that very reason. however, even on pressdowns i cant get my tri's to contract fully. its like the power isnt there. i just dont know how to flex em yet i suppose. yep, thats the problem. its all soft when i push on it. task #1 for this month- harden them tri's!

 

[bignate73]

 

[Illuminati]

ill give that movement a try, illuminati. sounds like it would be really good. as to your comment bignate, i try not to lock out my arms for that very reason. however, even on pressdowns i cant get my tri's to contract fully. its like the power isnt there. i just dont know how to flex em yet i suppose. yep, thats the problem. its all soft when i push on it. task #1 for this month- harden them tri's!

cool. let me know how it goes....