Everybody has an opinion on the best triceps exercise.
With pushdowns and close grip bench press, most people presume they have found the best tools for the job.
If you pushed most people on their answer, many would opt for the often used rope pushdown as the true king. It's ability to zone in and create an extreme burn in the arms is truly uncanny.
But according to the latest science, there is one clear winner in this category and it is none of the above!
But if you follow bodybuilding, you will know that there is one move which was conveniently left off the list above. Triceps kickbacks. That's right, the one you usually leave until the end of your workout or, even worse, dismiss as an exercise intended for the girls. Surely there is some error.
Indeed, it is number one.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
Thanks to a clinical 2012 study from the University of South Carolina Upstate, we now know the definitive answer. Researchers chose to put subjects through every major triceps technique in a bid to find out which one created the most muscle activity. As the subjects moved through the routine, the researchers looked on intently, recording activity from within the muscle cells.
Despite losing the popularity contest by a long shot, kickbacks turned the tables when it came to actual productivity. In a direct comparison against pushdowns, they activated over 50% more muscle fibers in the lateral head of the triceps, making the the ideal choice for any bodybuilder looking to pack size on to their arms.
This comes despite the fact that a lighter weight was used.
Sometimes, using a lighter resistance can pay dividends and that was the case in this particular study. With subjects training with light dumbbells on this exercise, they were able to focus on hitting the muscle without the distractions of a heavy load to control. All this made for fresh results.
So dust off those 1980's magazines, break out the home fitness dvd's and find a pair of dumbbells. If you want to pack size on to your guns in the gym, this is one old school move you should definitely not be overlooking from now on.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
With pushdowns and close grip bench press, most people presume they have found the best tools for the job.
If you pushed most people on their answer, many would opt for the often used rope pushdown as the true king. It's ability to zone in and create an extreme burn in the arms is truly uncanny.
But according to the latest science, there is one clear winner in this category and it is none of the above!
But if you follow bodybuilding, you will know that there is one move which was conveniently left off the list above. Triceps kickbacks. That's right, the one you usually leave until the end of your workout or, even worse, dismiss as an exercise intended for the girls. Surely there is some error.
Indeed, it is number one.
Not only did they prove themselves to be the true kings of the jungle when it came to arm exercises, they were confirmed to be streets ahead of their more popular main rivals.
Thanks to a clinical 2012 study from the University of South Carolina Upstate, we now know the definitive answer. Researchers chose to put subjects through every major triceps technique in a bid to find out which one created the most muscle activity. As the subjects moved through the routine, the researchers looked on intently, recording activity from within the muscle cells.
Despite losing the popularity contest by a long shot, kickbacks turned the tables when it came to actual productivity. In a direct comparison against pushdowns, they activated over 50% more muscle fibers in the lateral head of the triceps, making the the ideal choice for any bodybuilder looking to pack size on to their arms.
This comes despite the fact that a lighter weight was used.
Sometimes, using a lighter resistance can pay dividends and that was the case in this particular study. With subjects training with light dumbbells on this exercise, they were able to focus on hitting the muscle without the distractions of a heavy load to control. All this made for fresh results.
So dust off those 1980's magazines, break out the home fitness dvd's and find a pair of dumbbells. If you want to pack size on to your guns in the gym, this is one old school move you should definitely not be overlooking from now on.
Despite their lack of popularity, dumbbell and cable kickbacks have now been accepted as the best triceps exercise and are a very useful tool for anybody looking to tone up their arms.
About the Author:
Some of the best muscle building techniques are still unknown by the masses. Discover more about the effectiveness of exercises like dumbbell kickbacks by following health author Russ Howe PTI and his blog online.
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