Ah the triceps brachii…the forgotten muscle (at least in my case). Did you know that triceps means three-headed? It’s true. There’s a long, lateral and medial head that all meet at the olecranon process (elbow). Triceps is also singular and plural. Just a little fun fact for you.
Moving right along. My triceps are not particularly toned. I don’t require much of them. What do they really do anyway? Surprisingly a lot. They act as an antagonist to the biceps muscle, which flexes the arm. This means? They extend the arm. While the biceps tend to get worked more, it is important for the triceps to be equally worked. Did you know that the triceps make up about 70 percent of the upper arm’s muscle mass? I didn’t know that either.
Imagine my surprise when my trainer decided last night would be a good time to focus on my triceps. She showed me a few exercises and as I watched her, I thought to myself “No problem, this looks easy. Look how graceful she is.” Well all that grace went right out the window when I grabbed hold of the weights. I’m really beginning to think she uses lighter weights. While she could effortlessly and beautifully extend her tricep back while balancing all her weight on a exercise ball, I was wobbling and moaning as I struggled to pull back my arm.
For those of you who prefer to have visual aids, I will describe this experience through pictures.
Notice how my face rests on the ball instead of my hand. However, if I were resting my hand there, I would be hyperextending my wrist. How is that good for me trainer lady?! Take that! The weight is also flying from my hand as I attempt to extend my arm back.
Lesson to be learned: I lack grace, balance, stamina and strength. I pretty much make an ass out of myself at the gym. Armpits WILL hurt after working triceps. Don’t look in mirror while doing step-ups on a weight bench. Falling will be inevitable.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Ahahahahaha I don’t think I could pay a personal trainer enough to put up with my utter uselessness in a gym.
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I love the visuals. Triceps? What are they!!
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You wear your glasses while working out too??? I totally thought I was the only one. I hate how they’re always sliding off.
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Nice illustrations, btw.
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Haha, I know I should probably work my arms also, but I think having nice legs is more important for me right now. I don’t want to have all muscular arms… Your drawings were funny though!
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Ben -
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I’m surprised she puts up with me.
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Just K -
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Triceps Schmiceps!
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Modern Gal -
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I can’t see without them! And thanks!
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Angela -
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While I don’t want huge arms, I do want semi-strong arms. My legs are looking pretty nice lately though. I never thought I’d appreciate squats or lunges!
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Oh I totally love your photoshop skills!
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I sooo wish I could afford a trainer. Just so someone would make me work out. But, alas! It is not to be.
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Never look in a mirror while doing exercise..i made the mistake of glancing at one this morning in a post exercise/pre shower moment of madness and nearly passed out!
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those are awesome visuals.
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and i’m not a doctor or anything, but i would say judging by the images, your problem is that you don’t have hands. or feet. and those are generally required for lifting weights.
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love the visuals
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I hate tricep workouts. Hate them hate them hate them. Hate hate hate hate…did i mention i hate them?
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Try the seated dip also that one always does a number on my triceps :/
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Haha I just want to let you know that I’m in a quiet library and when I saw your illustration a loud obnoxious giggle came out of me causing everyone around to turn and look. Thanks.
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Those illustratives made my lunch break. Thank you.
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I love your illustrations. Very nice.
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When I initially began working out (back in ’04… I have since stopped…*ahem*) I was HORRIBLE at all things to do with the gym.
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I was also chunky as hell and hated being around so many super ripped & skinny people.
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Eventually the balance came to me, right along w/the stamina.. and then I stopped worrying about everyone else because we all have to start somewhere, eh?
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Hahaha…I love your drawings! When we do that tricep exercise in my 12-second fitness class, she just has us bend over slightly at the waist. I guarantee you if I had to balance on one hand on the ball, I’d fall on my face too!
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Dutchess -
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Thanks!
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Maiden -
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I can’t really afford her, but it’s the only way I’d actually workout.
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LizSara -
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Great advice.
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Ashley -
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Do you know how hard it is to draw hands and feet on paint?!
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Heidi -
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I don’t even want to know what you’re talking about.
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Annette -
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You’re welcome!
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Nilsa -
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You, too, are welcome.
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Angela -
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Thank you!
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Deutlich -
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Tis true!
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Tia -
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The ball sucks!
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That is very funny. Whatever effort you put into making the drawings was well worth it.
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Like the rest of the commenters, I must tell you how much I love the illustrations on this post. Laugh out loud funny!
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YOU ARE HILARIOUS. I love how we’ve been communicating non-stop all day, btdubs.
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The visuals are classic. I definitely felt for you!
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And I need some major tricep work. Maybe I should meet your trainer?
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BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA i love the visuals.
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those pictures are awesome!!!
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I love those drawings!!
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Love the drawings
I LOVE the ball. It’s awesome. Now, imagine this (I did it! woo!), doing the move you did but instead of my hand resting on the ball it was my knee and my other foot was out a little in front of the ball, I’m slightly bent over, and working tricep pull thing you did. Yeah, wobbly but I did it. Woo! LOL
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That is quite possibly the best visual aid EVER.
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Yes, I agree with the crowd….the visuals were tha best. I actually LOL’d (couldn’t resist typing that in) I hope your poor trainer was not standing behind you, it would hurt to have a weight flying at you!
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Actually, it is interesting you discuss the Triceps as a forgotten muscle. Why might you ask is this interesting. There is a training program that has been around almost 300 years that actually develops every muscle in your body–evenly. It’s called the Military. It didn’t occur to me until later (after going through boot camp three time, yes, three times–and I did it for fun!) when I was commanding the physical training program for my corps. But you should really take a fine look at that highly regimented, stressful, yet exceptionally powerful training program.
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My recommendation for building both biceps and triceps while developing the abs, lats and pecks for stamina is a simple push-up. If your feeling spunky put weight on your back on the middle of your shoulder blades (5 maybe 10 pounds–nothing insane).
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If you can’t figure out where I came from–you left me a message a while back on my blog and I’m finally getting the time to respond to everyone.
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Hopefully this isn’t too overwhelming of a comment back.
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N
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i LOVE the graphics. awesome!
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LOL.. great visual guide!!
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