Resistance bands are a great and super effective way to train your whole body. They are a great tool to use for exercising for multiple reasons. They are very simple to use, and they are an inexpensive piece of equipment. You can use bands almost anywhere, and they are great at home gym-alternatives. Also, there are hundreds of different resistance band exercises and almost as many different ways to use them to make other exercises more challenging.
In this article, we bring you a great and short resistance band tricep workout that you can either incorporate into your existing training routine or perform independently. This training circuit will take you only about 10 minutes, and it can be done virtually anywhere, the only two things you need is your resistance band and enough free space to move around.
The circuit is focused entirely on your tricep muscles. Your triceps are the muscles running along the backside of your arm. They start from the top of your shoulder blade and the arm bone and run down your arm bone, cross your elbow, and into the back of your ulna (forearm bone). The tricep consists of three heads: the lateral, medial, and the long head.
When people (especially beginners) think about training their arms, they tend to focus on their biceps, and the tricep is often neglected and overlooked. Beginner athletes often assume that in order to get bigger and more toned arms, they need to focus on the biceps. But actually, the triceps make up a whopping two-thirds of your whole upper arm size. And is a crucial muscle for any pushing movement, like the bench press or the shoulder press, for example.
THe Resistance Band Tricep Workout
This resistance band tricep workout consists mostly of different kinds of tricep extensions and other tricep focused exercises to really help you isolate the muscle and focus on it. This workout routine consists of 5 simple yet effective exercises that are designed to both tone and strengthen the backs of your arms.
The resistance band exercises are:
- Two-handed tricep extension
- Bent over tricep kickback
- Standing single arm tricep extension
- Single-arm pushdown
- Tricep pull apart
This is a circuit routine, meaning that you perform each exercise for the necessary amount of time or repetitions, and then you move on to the other exercise.
Perform each of the triceps exercises for 45 seconds. Then rest and recover for 15 seconds and move on to the next movement. Do so for all of the five exercises.
Once you have completed the circuit, rest for 15 seconds and start it all over again. Perform two laps of this routine.
Tips and recommendations for this workout:
- Make sure to choose the right kind of band. It should be long enough so you could perform all of the movements with it. But also it should match your strength and fitness level. It shouldn’t have a too high resistance level – you have to be able to perform all of the exercises with it and be able to do so for 45 seconds straight. Also, it can’t be too light otherwise you wouldn’t load your muscles efficiently enough. So, before getting to the routine, test out each of the tricep exercises in this workout.
- If necessary, take longer rests between each movement. If you feel like you aren’t recovering fast enough between exercises or you are getting too out of breath and tired, lower the intensity by resting for a longer time between sets. For example, you can start by increasing the rest period to 30 seconds. Or you could push through one lap and then take a longer rest period before you start the second one. For example, you could rest a minute or a minute and a half before starting the second lap.
- Perform each exercise correctly and with proper technique. Always try to keep your movements near perfect, and don’t sacrifice form for more reps. If you feel like you can’t complete the 45 seconds with proper form use a lighter band. Proper technique and the right movements are crucial for both efficiency and for preventing injuries.
- Want to make it more challenging? There are multiple ways of making this resistance band tricep workout more challenging. The easiest way would be to use heavier bands (bands whit more resistance). That would make each exercise individually harder. You could also increase the intensity of the workout. Reduce the rest periods or increase the time you perform each movement for. And for the final option, you can add another lap of the circuit. Instead of performing two rounds of the circuit, do 3 or 4.
Step-By-Step resistance band Tricep Exercise Guides:
1. Resistance band two-Handed Tricep extension
- Stand straight with a slight split stance (one leg in front of the other).
- Next, take the resistance band and place the center part of it under the heel of your foot (the behind foot).
- Grasp the band at both of its ends. For a better grip, you can wrap it around your arms.
- Reach around yourself with your arms so the resistance band would run at your backside and extend your arms straight up.
- Rotate your arms so your elbows would be facing forward.
- Push your arms a little back, and keep them there.
- Next, by bending from your elbows, start to lower your hands behind your head.
- Keep your elbows fixed, close to your head, and pointed forward.
- Try to reach behind your head so you would feel a nice stretch in your triceps.
- Keep going until your elbows are bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Hold for a second, and then press your arms back up. Remember to keep your elbows fixed and close to your head.
- Keep going until your arms are fully entended. Hold for a second at the top and then bring them back down again. Repeat for your desired repetitions.
2. Resistance band Tricep Kickback
- Assume a wide split stance. Do so, place one of your legs in front of the other.
- Place the middle part of your band under your front leg. The band should run beneath the middle part of your foot so it would anchor itself at your heel.
- Next, grasp the ends of the band. One end with your left hand, the other with your right hand. For a better grasp, you can wrap them around your hands.
- Bend your upper body forward from your hips until it’s either parallel to the ground or near parallel. How far down you can go will depend on your flexibility, but keep it comfortable. It’s also important to keep your back straight and not arch it nor let it round.
- Keep your head looking down. Don’t look forward or up because that would start to stress your spine. Keep your head in a neutral position.
- Now bring your elbows up so they would be parallel to your upper body. And bend them at a 90-degree angle.
- Push your elbows inwards so they would be facing directly back.
- While keeping your elbows fixed, extend both of your arms backward at the same time.
- Fully extend them and lock your elbows, so you feel your tricep contract.
- Hold for a second, and while keeping your elbows still fixed, bring your hands back down. Repeat the motion for as many reps as you want to complete.
3. Resistance band single-Arm Tricep Extension
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Grasp a resistance band at its end with your right arm. For a better grip, you can wrap it around your hand.
- Next, bring your right arm behind your head. It should be at about neck level. Let the rest of the resistance band hang down alongside your back.
- Now bring your left hand to your lower back, so your palm would be facing outwards, and the back of your hand would be touching your lower back.
- Firmly grasp the hanging resistance band with your left hand and tighten it a little, so there wouldn’t be any slack in it.
- While keeping your left arm completely still and fixed, start to extend your right arm directly up while pulling on the resistance band with it.
- Lock your elbow once it’s fully extended and hold it for a second. Then return it back down behind your head.
- Repeat this with both of your hands for your desired repetitions.
4. Resistance band single-Arm Tricep Pushdown
- Stand with your feet at about hip-width apart.
- Wrap one end of the band around your right hand. Wrap the other end around your left hand. They should be about a foot apart from each other.
- Next, bring your left hand across your body to your right shoulder.
- Bend your right elbow so it would be at about a 90-degree angle, and bring your right arm below your left so it would be parallel to the ground.
- If necessary, tighten the band so there wouldn’t be any slack in it (by grasping it higher or by wrapping it more onto your right hand).
- While keeping your right elbow fixed, push your right hand down until it’s fully extended.
- Once extended, lock your elbow out and pause for a second.
- Then slowly return it back up. Repeat this movement with both of your hands for your desired reps.
5. Resistance band Tricep Pull-Apart
- Start by standing with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Grasp your band from its ends. The width of your grip should be a little wider than your shoulders (just outside them is also fine).
- Lift your arms straight in front of yourself.
- Next, bend your elbows and bring them to your sides so they would be both parallel to your body and at a 90-degree angle.
- Make sure the band is tight, and there isn’t any slack in it.
- While keeping your elbows fixed, extend both of your hands outwards by bending them from your elbows until they are completely straight.
- Lock your elbows and squeeze your triceps.
- Hold it for a second. Then while still keeping your elbows fixed, slowly return them to the bend position. Repeat this movement for your desired repetitions.
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