Are you guilty of triceps betrayal? Do you work your biceps to death, but abandon your underarm muscles? Have you convinced yourself that while you have time for the ‘important’ muscle groups such as your glutes and core muscles, you don’t have time for others?
Triceps, which are the muscles along the underarm and that extend to your forearm, are often the muscle group that gets the shaft. That’s unfortunate, because when you ditch out on your triceps by not working them on a consistent basis, you may discover that you’ve achieved ‘bat wings’—that unsightly flabby skin underneath your toned biceps! To tighten, tone and develop ‘triceps confidence’, here is a quick workout that anyone with half an hour to spare—whether at home or at the gym—can achieve!
Dumbbell Extensions (Standing Position)
If you have a weekly bicep workout, it probably involves some dumbbell action to strengthen and build your most noticeable arm muscles. Easily fit in a triceps workout by moving into a standing position and holding onto a dumbbell firmly with both hands. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart, and looking straight ahead of you, lift your dumbbell straight up over your head and bend your elbows (so the dumbbell is behind you.) Then, raise the dumbbell up again, letting your triceps do all the work. Lower it back down slowly (by counting to three) and repeat.
Tricep Dips
If you’re at the gym, use a bench. If you’re at home, push two chairs together and easily complete this exercise. As you would with a standard dip, make sure that your surfaces are even and that your feet are resting on a hard surface (as opposed to carpet, if you’re doing this at home.) Place your hands on the flat surface, and rest your weight on it, with your feet flat on the floor. Now, lift up your legs and place them on an object in front of you (another bench, chair, stool, etc.) and slowly ‘dip’ down by counting to three. If you’re feeling it in your triceps (you’ll also feel it in your core) you’re doing it correctly!
Lying Down Triceps Extension (Easy At-Home Exercise!)
If you don’t have time to exercise those triceps at the gym, you do at home. Take a backpack or any bag that closes with a buckle or zipper and fill it up with a stack of magazines. Lower yourself into the lying down position on your back and raise your arms above your head. Grab the bag you’ve filled with magazines, and slowly lift it up over your head, and all the way down to your stomach. Slowly lift it back up over your head and to its starting position. Repeat!
Each round of triceps exercises will last about 15-20 minutes, so whether you’re at the gym or you’re in your living room, you’ve got this—and you’re on your way to amazingly toned underarms. Don’t have the time to add it to your gym workout? Then do it while you watch The Good Wife or Modern Family, and you’ll barely realize you’re doing it at all!
