Diamond push-up

Exercise details

Target muscle: Triceps Brachii

Synergists: Sternal (Lower) Pectoralis Major, Clavicular (Upper) Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid

Dynamic stabilizer: Biceps Brachii (short head only)

Mechanics: Compound

Force: Push

Starting position

1. Get on your hands and knees, with your hands close together and your thumbs and index
fingers forming a diamond shape.

2. Extend your feet backward and straighten your body so that your bodyweight is being
supported by your hands and forefeet.

Execution
1. Keeping your elbows tucked in to your body and your body straight and rigid, inhale as you
lower your chest to the floor.

2. Exhale as you extend your elbows and push your body back up to the starting position.

3. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Comments and tips

Keep your body straight and rigid.

Keeping your elbows tucked in to your body is important to keep the emphasis on your triceps
brachii instead of on your pectoralis major.

The diamond push-up is great for developing the triceps brachii. In one

classic study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that compared the effectiveness of triceps
exercises, the diamond push-up came first! The dumbbell kickback came second and the bench dip
came third.

To make the diamond push-up easier, do it

on your knees .

Also known as the triangle push-up

Dumbbell curl
Exercise details

Target muscle: Biceps Brachii

Synergists: Brachialis, Brachioradialis

Mechanics: Isolation

Force: Pull

Starting position

1. Stand holding a pair of dumbbells by your sides using a neutral grip (palms facing in).

2. Pull your shoulders back.

Execution
1. Exhale as you slowly curl one dumbbell up towards your shoulder. As the dumbbell rises,
supinate your forearm gradually so that your palm faces your shoulder by the top of the curl.

2. Once your elbow is fully flexed, allow your elbow to move forward a little (shoulder flexion), just
until your forearm is vertical.

3. Hold for a count of two and squeeze your biceps.

4. Inhale as you slowly reverse the movement at half the speed and return the dumbbell to the
starting position.

5. Repeat the same action with the opposite arm, and then alternate repetitions.

Comments and tips

Keep your back straight and your body still. Avoid swinging the dumbbells.

The biceps brachii flexes the elbow, supinates the forearm, and weakly flexes the shoulder joint.
The above execution (steps 1 and 2) incorporates all three movements, thus (arguably) promoting
maximal biceps recruitment.

The biceps is the primary elbow flexor when your forearm is supinated. When pronated or in
neutral grip, your brachioradialis is the primary elbow flexor. Therefore, some instructors advise
that you supinate early on the way up and return to neutral grip late on the way down. This, they
argue, ensures that you keep the tension on the biceps instead of the brachioradialis. However,
others argue that if you supinate gradually, as described above, the supination has to fight against
more gravitational resistance, thus making the biceps work harder.

Instead of alternating your arms, as described above, you can complete all the reps for one arm
before performing the reps with the other arm. In this case, start with the weaker arm, and don’t
perform more reps with the stronger arm. This will promote the development of equal strength.

Cable triceps kickback

Exercise details

Target muscle: Triceps Brachii

Synergists: None

Mechanics: Isolation

Force: Push

Starting position

1. Set up a hip-high cable pulley.

2. Remove the stirrup/handle or bar so that there is no attachment.

3. Grasp the clip at the end of the cable and step back until the cable is pulled taut.

4. Lean forward a little and raise your upper arm so that it is parallel with the floor.

Execution

1. Keeping your upper arm fixed, exhale as you extend your elbow until it is fully extended.

2. Hold for a count of two.

3. Inhale as you flex your elbow and return the cable to the starting position.

4. Repeat for more repetitions.

5. Repeat the repetitions with your opposite arm.

Comments and tips

Keep your working arm tucked in to your body.

Keep your body and upper arm fixed. Only your forearm should move.

Adjust the height of the pulley and/or your body position to ensure maximum resistance
throughout the full range of motion.

The cable triceps kickback has two benefits over the much-more-popular dumbbell triceps
kickback . With the dumbbell triceps kickback, keeping your upper arm horizontal when working
with heavy weights is difficult. As such, the amount of weight that you can use is limited. What’s
more, the amount of resistance that you experience throughout the range of motion varies widely,
with less resistance occurring at both the start and end of the range of motion. In contrast, with
the cable triceps kickback, keeping your upper arm horizontal when using heavy weights is not
difficult because the weight is not being supported by your upper arm. What’s more, as suggested
above, you can adjust the height of the pulley and/or your body position to ensure a similar
amount of resistance throughout the full range of motion.

EZ bar curl
Exercise details

Target muscle: Biceps Brachii

Synergists: Brachioradialis, Brachialis

Mechanics: Isolation

Force: Pull

Starting position

1. Stand holding an EZ-curl bar using a shoulder-width supinated grip (palms facing upward). Your
elbows should be almost fully extended, and the bar should be resting against your thighs.

Execution

1. Keeping your upper arms fixed by your sides, exhale as you curl the EZ-curl bar up toward your
shoulders.
2. At the top of the movement, hold for a count of two and squeeze your biceps.

3. Inhale as you lower the EZ-curl bar to the starting position in a controlled manner.

4. Repeat.

Comments and tips

Keep your elbows by your sides. Only your forearms should move.

Keep your body still. Do not sway your body or swing the EZ-curl bar.

Compared with the barbell curl, the EZ bar curl reduces the pressure on your wrists. However, the
camber (bend) of the EZ-curl bar must be minimal. The steeper the camber, the less emphasis you
will place on your biceps brachii and the more emphasis you will place on your brachioradialis
instead. Therefore, if a straight barbell doesn’t feel hard on your wrists, you can use that instead.

Your biceps brachii has a short (inner) head and a long (outer) head. The long head makes up the
majority of the peak of your biceps, while the short head sits on the inner side. Using a regular
(shoulder-width) grip when performing the EZ bar curl or barbell curl will place approximately
equal emphasis on both heads. Using a narrow grip will emphasize the long head and build the
peak of your biceps. Using a wide grip will emphasize the short head and give your biceps more
width.

Triceps rope push-down

Exercise details

Target muscle: Triceps Brachii

Synergists: None

Mechanics: Isolation

Force: Push

Starting position

1. Stand under the cable pulley and grasp each end of the rope attachment with a neutral grip
(palms facing each other).

2. Pull your elbows down to your sides and lean forward a little at the hips, keeping your back
straight.

Execution

1. Exhale as you extend your elbows and push the rope all the way down. As your arms extend,
twist your wrists so that your palms face down at the end of the movement.

2. Inhale as you reverse the motion and return the rope to the starting position.
3. Repeat.

Comments and tips

Keep your elbows tucked in to your sides.

Stay close to the cable to provide resistance throughout the exercise.

In one study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that compared the effectiveness of triceps
exercises, the triceps rope push-down came fifth and proved to be significantly more effective
than the triceps bar push-down. The exercises that came top of the list were the triangle push-up
(which came first),

dumbbell kickback (second), bench dip (third), and overhead barbell triceps extension (fourth).

Dumbbell hammer curl

Exercise details

Target muscle: Brachioradialis

Synergists: Biceps Brachii, Brachialis

Mechanics: Isolation

Force: Pull

Starting position

1. Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand using a neutral (aka hammer) grip (palms facing in).
Execution

1. Keeping your elbow by your side, exhale as you curl one dumbbell up towards your shoulder
until your biceps is fully contracted.

2. Hold for a count of two and squeeze your biceps.

3. Inhale as you slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position.

4. Repeat with your opposite arm.

5. Keep alternating your arms.

Comments and tips

You can perform the dumbbell hammer curl with either both arms at once (see video), one arm at
a time, or by alternating your arms (as described above). The latter two methods will recruit more
muscles in your core for stabilization.

The dumbbell hammer curl targets your brachioradialis, a forearm muscle; it does not target your
biceps brachii, which acts as a synergist, along with your brachialis. That is not to say that your
biceps and brachialis do not get a great workout!

The reverse curl is another exercise that most people think targets your biceps when in fact it
targets your brachioradialis.

Triceps dip
Exercise details

Target muscle: Triceps Brachii

Synergists: Anterior Deltoid, Pectoralis Major, Latissimus Dorsi, Pectoralis Minor, Rhomboids,
Levator Scapulae

Mechanics: Compound

Force: Push

Starting position

1. Mount the should-width dip bars and straighten your arms so that your legs are suspended off
the ground.

Execution

1. Keeping your elbows tucked in and your body upright, slowly lower your body until your elbows
form a 90-degree angle or you feel a slight stretch in your shoulders. Don’t forget to inhale.

2. Exhale as you push your body back up to the starting position.

3. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

Comments and tips

Do not lock out your elbows at the top of the movement.

Keep your body upright and elbows tucked in. If you lean forward and flare out your elbows, you
will place more emphasis on your pectoralis major, and the exercise will become a chest dip
instead of a triceps dip.

Make the triceps dip more difficult by holding a dumbbell between your legs or wearing a
weighted dip belt (weighted triceps dip).

Make it easier by using an assisted dip machine, or by bending your knees and getting someone to
hold your legs.

In a study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the bench dip , which is very similar to the
triceps dip, was found to be the third most effective triceps exercise after the triangle push-up
(aka diamond push-up, which came first) and the

dumbbell kickback (which came second). The bench dip was found to elicit equally great activity in
both the lateral and long heads of the triceps.