Introduction
It’s great to have big, bulky arms, but it is much more impressive and gives you a really strong aesthetic look if you can cut in the horseshoe triceps. The Tricep brachii muscle, or triceps as it is popularly called, is one of the muscles at the back part of the upper arm. It plays a crucial role in the extension of the elbow joint, allowing you to straighten your arm. It also assists in shoulder extension when the arm is overhead. The triceps consists of three heads.
The three heads are:
Long Head: This is the largest of the three heads and originates from the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula. It is a Biarticular muscle. The long head sits on the inside of the arm and is responsible for making your arms look much bigger from the back.
Lateral Head: This head originates from the top half of the posterior humerus. The horseshoe’s front is made up of the lateral head. A well-developed lateral head gives an aesthetic look to the arms.
Medial Head: This is the shortest of the three heads and originates from the lower half of the posterior humerus.
The head that is most responsible for the horseshoe triceps shape is the Lateral head and the Long head completes the shape. One more thing to be noted is that no matter which triceps exercise you do you will work all three heads to some extent. You cannot entirely isolate a head, but you can increase the load on it. Here are the two workouts that focus on the Long and Lateral heads, respectively.
1. Skull Crushers (Lying Triceps Extensions)
Because the triceps long head is the only muscle that crosses the shoulder joint and joins to the shoulder, you must perform an exercise with your arms raised above your head to engage it.
Skull Crushers is one of the most falsely done exercises, contrary to the name you don’t wanna crush your skull with the bar. Don’t lower the bar to your head but behind the head. This will enhance your range of motion and allow you to perform the workout safely. If you modify the shoulder position, you can adjust how much the long head gets involved as you extend the elbow.
Angle:
Angle is really important when performing Skull Crushers or Lying Triceps Extensions. The trick is to go behind your head and stop at your eyes when bringing it back to the top, 120 degrees of shoulder flexion to be precise. If you bring it all the way up to the top to a vertical position, you’re gonna lose the tension on the triceps momentarily. You can keep the tension by keeping your arm angled back.
Use the EZ bar to perform this exercise as the EZ bar allows you to bend your wrist and puts less strain on the wrist.
Also see: THE ONLY 3 BACK EXERCISES YOU NEED
2. Rope Pushdown
The triceps rope pushdown is one of the best exercises in weight training that targets the triceps muscles. To target the lateral head of the triceps you have to make small adjustments.
- Don’t keep your elbows tucked in and to your side as that will work the long head more. Allow your elbows to flare out a little and lean the arms slightly forward.
- Grab the rope with a neutral grip and rotate the wrist inwards while contracting.
- Avoid using momentum; focus on controlled movements.
The Bottom Line
The triceps comprise about 2/3 of the muscle in your arm. If you perform these two triceps workouts with appropriate form and gradually increase the intensity, you will develop a “horseshoe” shape.
Fitness is not a sprint, but a marathon. Take satisfaction in gradual progress and remember that the journey to strength is as important as the destination.
Note: All the information provided in this blog is well-researched and also incorporated by me in my training sessions.
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