Triceps Extension Machine

Execution

1. Sit into the machine with your upper arms and elbows braced firmly against the pads, gripping the handles with your forearms bent in.
2. Exhale and extend your forearms down/forward until your arms are nearly fully straight.
3. Hold for a beat at full extension, squeezing the triceps, without snapping the elbow into a hard lock.
4. Inhale and bend the forearms back under control over 2-3 seconds to the start position.
5. Keep the upper arms and elbows fixed against the pads for the whole set; don't let the shoulders rise to help.
6. If you run out of strength mid-set, let the forearms bend back slowly with the load until the stack settles all the way down, then release the handles and get up from the seat.

Quick cues

• Elbows pinned to the pads.
• Only the forearms move.
• No snapping the elbow straight.
• Shoulders down, don't shrug.
• Picture snapping a popsicle stick.

Common faults

• Fault: Letting the elbows drift off the pads and flare out

  Fix: Keep the upper arms fixed against the pads for the whole set, and lighten the load if they still drift.

• Fault: Shrugging the shoulders up to help extend

  Fix: Set the shoulders down before you start and isolate the movement to the elbow joint only.

• Fault: Only half-extending, with the arms never straightening

  Fix: Lower the load and pause for one beat at full extension on every rep.

• Fault: Releasing the handles before the stack has fully settled down

  Fix: Bend the arms back fully so the stack settles before releasing the handles.