On our Walk and Talks we talk about many things and this seemed so important to share with everyone. Working our triceps, which when they are not worked may be referred to bat wings, jiggly or flabby arms or as Billy Crystal jokes they “make great shade behind my mother”. Yes, ladies triceps are important and easy to shape up, but work on the triceps not the shoulders.
Being in my Gym this week, gave me great inspiration to write this. Form, form, form is what it is all about. When you are doing a tricep press, where your arms are over your head, you bend the elbows and drop the weight behind your head and then press the weight back up to the ceiling – sound familiar? BE AWARE that if you let your elbows go out to the side, you are now working your shoulders. This is like standing in line for rotator cuff surgery or physical therapy. Since I am a Post Injury Therapist and this will bring me more work – this is not the way I want to get my clients. Not only will you not really work your triceps, doing the exercise incorrectly, you will have to wait until you recover to do anything. That is a true bummer.
THE CORRECT WAY – Arms overhead, keep your elbows next to your ears. Pretend you are covering your ears with your elbows. As you bend the elbows and drop the weight behind your head, keep those elbows next to your ears. It takes a little thinking but your triceps will really start to talk to you. Oh yeah, they will say, now we are working. Whenever you are working triceps, keep those elbows close to your body. If you feel the shoulders more than the triceps, that is your clue you need to check your form.
This is one of the accidents waiting to happen exercise I see when I go to my gym. Please don’t let this happen to you. There are other ways to work the triceps. Contact me or come on my “Women From The Heart” walk on Tuesdays. Fitness tips are given and the women wear them well.
Have a Fabulous Arming great day!
