There isn’t a bodybuilder alive who doesn’t want bigger, more muscular arms. However, that often means they spend too much time training their biceps and not enough time on their triceps.
This is a mistake!
While the biceps might be the most famous muscle in the human body, the triceps are actually the largest upper arm muscle. Neglecting the triceps can have a significant impact on the size and shape of your arm.
In addition, while everyone can throw up an arm and do a reasonable biceps pose, fewer people can pull off a good triceps flex. Again, that’s a shame because well-developed triceps also deserve their moment in the sun.
In this article, we reveal why you need to learn to flex your triceps and the best triceps poses for showcasing your horseshoes.
Triceps Anatomy Basics
Knowing a little more about how the triceps function may help you flex them better. After all, if you know where they are and what they do, you should find it a little easier to visualize and control them.
So, the full name of the triceps is triceps brachii, which means three-headed arm muscle. This is because the triceps have three origins that come together at a single origin point. All three heads work together, but each one can be emphasized by altering the position of your arm.
The three triceps heads are:
- Lateral head – best worked with your arms by your side, e.g., dips.
- Long head – best worked with the arms overhead, e.g., French presses.
- Medial head – best worked with an underhand grip, e.g., reverse grip triceps pushdowns.
The main role of the triceps is to extend or straighten your elbows. However, the long head also crosses your shoulder joint, so it’s partly responsible for shoulder extension, too.
How to Flex Your Triceps
Now you know why you need to flex your triceps, it’s time to move on to the “how” part of this article. But before we do, remember the following rules of effective posing:
Warm-up
Contrary to what you might think, flexing your triceps can be strenuous. Make sure you warm up your triceps before flexing them to avoid injury. Bodybuilders tend to practice posing after their workouts when their muscles are warm and pumped. Pumping out a few push-ups should be enough to warm up your triceps and get them ready to flex.
Flex hard
Flexing is a form of isometric training. Isometrics involves contracting your muscles against an immovable object. In this case, that’s the tension generated by an opposing limb or muscle group.
The more intensely you flex your triceps, the more they’ll pop, so squeeze your triceps like your life depends on it. Your muscles should feel fatigued by the end of your posing session, and they may even shake while you’re working them.
Use your mind, not just your muscles
The exercises in the next section tell you how to flex your triceps, but this should be more than a physical process. So, don’t just bend or straighten your arms to contract your triceps, but also put your mind in the muscle and visualize it flexing. This will reinforce that all-important mind-muscle connection.
Seek honest feedback
Even if you flex in front of a mirror, you may not be hitting your triceps poses correctly. Seek feedback from someone who can tell you if your triceps look their best. A small change in the position of your arm can make your poses look even more impressive, so let them guide you to improve your performance.
If you don’t have someone to give you feedback, video yourself instead, ensuring the lighting is favorable and that you move around so you can see your physique from all available angles. Use this feedback to improve your performance.
Practice, practice, and practice some more!
No one got good at posing without practicing. While the occasional triceps flex won’t do you any harm, it probably won’t do you any good, either. So, commit to flexing your triceps several times a day, several days a week. Only through repetition will you get any benefits from flexing your triceps.
Try flexing your triceps between sets
One of the best times to flex your triceps is when you are training them. Or, more specifically, between sets of triceps training. This reinforces the mind-muscle connection, makes the most of the fact your muscles and joints are warm, and will give you an even better pump.
And anyway, what else are you gonna do between sets? Flexing is a much better use of your time than texting or social media scrolling.
The Six Best Ways to Flex Your Triceps
There are several different ways to flex your triceps. Depending on your genetics, you may find that one or several make your triceps look their best. Try them all to see what works for you.
And remember, if a triceps pose doesn’t look as good as you’d hoped, this suggests that the head it showcases is not as well developed as it could be. Use this feedback to design your next triceps training plan.
1. Side triceps pose
The side triceps pose is one of eight mandatory bodybuilding poses that all competitive bodybuilders must perform. It’s one of the most straightforward ways to show off your triceps. As well as showcasing your triceps, it also emphasizes your deltoids and pecs.
To do the side triceps pose, put one arm down by your side and then reach behind your back with your other arm and grip your wrist. Next, extend your elbow and press your upper arm into your side to push your triceps outward.
If you’ve done this pose correctly, your triceps will look much larger than usual, and the long head of your triceps should really stand out.
2. Single-arm triceps flex
To do this triceps flex, just extend your arm down by your side and straighten your elbow as hard as possible. Then, push your arm backward to hit the long head of your triceps a little more. Ramp up the muscle tension by flexing your wrist to bring out your forearm muscles.
3. Double front triceps flex
This pose lets you show off your deltoids, triceps, and forearms at the same time. It not only makes your triceps look thicker, but it’ll also highlight the striations in your shoulders. Flexing your wrists will also bring out your lower arms.
Stand with your arms by your sides. Clench your hands and point your thumbs down toward the floor to make your forearms pop. Rotate your arms inward and then straighten your arms as hard as possible to flex your triceps. This ensures that the lateral head is at its most visible.
4. Double rear triceps flex
While most pushing exercises work your chest and triceps together, when it comes to flexing, the back and triceps are a great pairing. This flex is awesome for showing off your entire rear body, including the traps, lats, rear delts, and, of course, those all-important triceps.
Stand with your arms extended out to the side at about 45 degrees. Straighten your elbows, flex your triceps, and push your arms and shoulders back. Squeeze the entire back of your body hard to make your muscles stand out.
5. Cross-body chest and triceps pose
You’ll need good muscular development to pull off this pose. But if you’ve got the arms and chest for it, it’s certainly a unique way to flex your triceps. This pose was originally popularized by the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger and has been copied by many bodybuilders.
To do it, stand side-on to your audience and raise your arms so they’re slightly different heights. Keeping your arms slightly bent, flex your chest, biceps, and triceps to really inflate your entire upper body.
Needless to say, this pose requires excellent muscle control, so be prepared to practice.
6. Static triceps pushdown
If you are struggling to flex your triceps without resistance to press against, this is the exercise for you. Holding the bottom position of a triceps pushdown makes it much easier to engage your triceps and practice flexing them.
Do a set of cable pushdowns as usual but then, on the last rep, pause with your arms straight and extend your elbows and shoulders so you feel your triceps contracting. Squeeze so hard that there is a danger that you might cramp up. Hold for 10-15 seconds, and then relax.
Try to replicate this sensation whenever you flex your triceps. Experiment with different grips and handles to see which positions allow you to flex your triceps the hardest. A rope handle is especially effective for this exercise.
The Benefits of Flexing Your Triceps
Flexing your triceps might seem like a pointless endeavor. Still, it could actually be quite beneficial and improve your performance and appearance. Here are the top reasons for working on your triceps flexing.
Improved mind-muscle connection
Bodybuilders often talk about the mind-muscle connection and its importance for effective workouts. This is no myth, and establishing a better link between your brain and your muscles can have a profound effect on your training and performance.
You cannot expect to build a muscle you cannot control properly. Also, the more mental force you can direct into a muscle, the more powerfully it will contract. Can’t feel your lats during lat pulldowns? You’ll never build a big back until you can. The same is true for your triceps.
Flexing forges a stronger link between your mind and your muscles. The sooner you learn how to contract your triceps, the more productive your workouts will become.
See how your triceps training is progressing
While big arms look great, shape also matters. Think about a bodybuilder’s arms and the arms of someone who is overweight. Both potentially share the same circumference, but they look entirely different.
Flexing your triceps will reveal the shape of your muscles or the lack of it if you are carrying too much body fat. If you can’t see the outline of the three heads when you flex your triceps, you should take this as an indicator that it’s time to stop bulking and start cutting.
Better photos
If you like sharing photos on social media, you undoubtedly want to look your best. Learning to flex your triceps will make your arms look bigger and better conditioned than just letting them hang relaxed at your sides.
Sure, you could improve triceps separation with some sneaky photoshopping, but that often comes out looking fake. Flexing your triceps will save you time and ensure your arms look their best naturally.
For competition
Pro bodybuilders know that competitions are not won and lost in the gym but on stage. Presentation matters, and it’s not always the biggest guy who carries away the trophy. As their next competition approaches, savvy bodybuilders spend increasing amounts of time working on their poses. Posing is a skill that all bodybuilders need to master.
You need more than a good double biceps, lat spread, and side pec pose to win a bodybuilding show. You also need to be able to flex the hell out of your triceps if you want to stand on the podium.
How to Flex Your Triceps – Closing Thoughts
While you need to do more than flex your triceps to make them grow, practicing some triceps poses certainly won’t hurt your arm development. Flexing will reinforce your mind-muscle connection, which will, in turn, make your workouts more productive. Flexing your triceps for photos will make them more Instagram-worthy.
The great thing about triceps flexing is that you can do it anywhere and anytime. Warm up with a few easy push-ups, and then get to work.
Pay as much attention to your triceps as you do your biceps, and you’ll be well on your way to building arms you can be proud of!