When you train on your own,
sometimes you have to come up with some pretty inventive
ways to increase the intensity of a movement and to spot
yourself to get more reps.
This is a GREAT one for dialing
up the intensity on lying tricep extensions. You're basically
going to use momentum to your advantage - not momentum in
the triceps but momentum from the LEGS to get weight moving.
You'll see...
First, you'll need to do this
exercise on the floor. Because in between reps, you're actually
going to be setting the barbell down - can't do this on
a bench.
I like to use the EZ bar for
lying tricep extensions - take a fairly close grip in the
center section. Use a weight you could normally get 6 to
8 reps with.
You're going to start by doing
a regular set - no momentum yet. Do as many reps as you
can with the weight you've selected.
Here's what that will look
like:
Now, when you're done on a
regular set, you're going to set the barbell down on the
floor behind your head and raise your legs up like you're
doing a lying leg raise. They don't need to be straight
- just roll up onto your shoulders like so:
Now WHIP your legs down as
fast as you can.
THIS IS THE KEY...as your
feet hit the ground, tighten your abs and transfer that
momentum DIRECTLY into the triceps to launch the barbell
off the ground and up into the tricep extension movement.
Think of it as whipping your
legs down and locking your abs so that the momentum of your
legs whipping down gets transferred through your abs and
into your arms.
You can see exactly how it
works in the video.
Then just lower the bar back
down to the ground, raise your legs up and do it again!
It may sound strange but it
is VERY effective for extending your set and increasing
the workload and intensity on the triceps. Even if you DO
have spotters available, give this version a try. The transfer
of tension through the abs and into the arms has core training
benefits as well!