French Presses?

[GunTotingHipGangster]

You guys do these? i was told it was a must for tri's but i disagree. I also get sharp pains near my elbows, well atleast i did, i havent even tried doing them in over a year.

[J.S.N.]

which type- overhead, flat, decline, incline?

i personally find the overhead variety with a cambered bar to blow up the long head of my triceps like no other exercize.

[Tren Bull]

when doing dumbell and barbell tricep extensions, i like to keep my upper arms at an angle to better target the lower part of my tris

[Papi93]

You guys do these? i was told it was a must for tri's but i disagree. I also get sharp pains near my elbows, well atleast i did, i havent even tried doing them in over a year.

Which do you use on French Presses, db or ez-curl bar?

[GunTotingHipGangster]

barbell are the only ones i could do, dumbells hurt my elbows. i dont do either of them, but if i could get good gains for it i would start.

[Tren Bull]

if you dont really do that exercise, then if you were to make a point of doing at least 5-8 sets every time you hit tris, you would defineately make gains.

[Papi93]

barbell are the only ones i could do, dumbells hurt my elbows. i dont do either of them, but if i could get good gains for it i would start.

French Presses are an excellent exercise for the triceps. They pre-stretch the triceps just like incline db curls do for the biceps. Ultimately, it's better to train pain-free (as far as joints go, that is ).

Is that an ez-curl bar or straight-barbell?

The ez-curl bar with slightly supinate your wrist, bringing it closer to a neutral position. That would be one of the differences between the bars.

Where are your elbows positioned during the exercise? Close to the head or do you let them drift out?

[*Narkissos*]

i personally can't get 'em done..so i stopped trying.

I use Close-grip and reverse-grip benchpresses... overhead dumbell extensions/presses..and bench and parallel bar dips as my main movements.

[Doc.Sust]

french press and skull crunchers can murder your elbow joints, i believe in more close grip work for tri's but i stil do extension movements a well, lighter weight all reps 10 or more , and light enough that i don't feel elbow pain.

[Papi93]

french press and skull crunchers can murder your elbow joints, i believe in more close grip work for tri's but i stil do extension movements a well, lighter weight all reps 10 or more , and light enough that i don't feel elbow pain.

I have a tricep extension exercise, that might allow you to perform this exercise more comfortably. Start with supinated-grip extensions to the forehead. Have a partner take the bar and switch to pronated-grip extensions to the forehead. Finally, switch to lowering the barbell to the nose. You are going from weakness to strongest ROM. The resistance will not be as high but you will still get an effective triceps extension exercise.

[BajanBastard]

Personally i think the exercise is crap. Close grip BP is far superior.

[Flexor]

Personally i think the exercise is crap. Close grip BP is far superior.

I agree. Dips and close grip are far superior. Some types of tricep extensions can be good to stretch the long head of the triceps. But I don't use much weight. If I used any more I would be screwing up my elbows in a big way.

They aren't necessary to build the triceps, that is for sure.

[MASTER]

I only do close grips for tris, dont have the energy to do anything else afterwards!

[Jantzen4k]

if there is a drastic pain its probably due to incorrect form or weight is too heavy

[oldman]

if there is a drastic pain its probably due to incorrect form or weight is too heavy

This is not true. If the joint is week due to a genetic issue or just prior damage it does not matter how much weight you have. I don't do french or skulls as they put too much pressure on the joint.. Close-grip bench is good replacement because the weight does not come back to hyper-extend the joint. Press downs with strict movements can burn your tris also.. lighter weight more reps and you can blast your tris.

Heavier is not always better on single joint movements.


My 2 cents


~Oldman