Lying Triceps Extensions

Design Horizontal Triceps Press

Choose a flat bench and lie on your back with your feet placed on the floor. You should preferably lie high up on the bench so that your head is just above the bench (i.e. higher up than our video above), but the upper part of the back should be stably placed against the bench cushion. Squeeze the shoulder blades and pull them slightly down to stabilize the shoulders and shoulder blades. Also press the elbows together so that they do not sway outwards.

Choose a barbell with a suitable weight that you can control and grip with a relatively narrow overhand grip. Lift up the barbell so that you have it just above your face, i.e. your arms should tilt slightly upwards. The reason for this is that your triceps should always be involved in the exercise. If you have the arms 90 degrees straight up from the body, the load on the triceps will be disconnected and they will then rest.

It is important to also hold the barbell with straight wrists throughout the movement, do not bend them.

By bending your elbows, you let the barbell go down over and behind your head in a controlled manner. If you lower the bar too much against your face instead of over your head, your elbows will bend too much and they can easily be injured. When you have come all the way down behind the head, push the bar up in the same motion back and finish with your arms diagonally up. As I said, never go all the way up to a 90 degree angle with your arms because then your triceps will rest, keep the pressure on the triceps. Remember to perform the movement slowly downwards and a little more explosively on the way back.

If the exercise feels scary with a barbell, you can run with dumbbells that you bring to the side of the head. Either you run the hammer grip at all times or you can rotate your hands so that the palms point towards your feet when you are at the top.

Guide Lying Triceps Extensions

• Keep your wrists straight throughout the exercise to avoid forearm injuries. If you bend your wrists, you strain both them and your forearms.
• Press your elbows against each other. You should not go out and flutter with them to the sides, they should be in line with the rest of the arms throughout the up and down movement.
• Put the barbell behind the head, not against the face
• Never keep your arms at 90 degrees to your body (then the triceps rest) but rather start with your arms tilted across your face.
• Hold on to the weight on the way down
• Slowly lift the weight, do not jerk
• If you go too far back in the movement, you will engage your back muscles (lats). Do not do this, instead stop when the weight is just behind your head