Now for the tip: One of the bigger guys at my gym is also one of the nicest (early 40s, mature dude who has been lifting for 20 years). Did some tricep work with him the other day and he set up the “life fitness” bench press machine with a ex-curl bar shaped cable attachment. Ok so you place the bar across the handles and in front of your chest with the outer curve of ex-curl bar “catching” the “life fitness” handles (-T-----T-) and grasp the ez curl bar with a narrow reverse grip. Proceed to bench —> great tricep workout, relatively safe.
Question: is there a reason why I do not hear a lot of people doing reverse grip close grip benching for triceps? I understand that some may not ahve wrist mobility or spotter to make it easier. I was just wondering if anyone else did a variation of it and their thoughts.
Thanks E2L
My friends do it. It works. Other things work just as well too and allow some people to progress faster.
[quote]eagertolearn wrote:
Now for the tip: One of the bigger guys at my gym is also one of the nicest (early 40s, mature dude who has been lifting for 20 years). Did some tricep work with him the other day and he set up the “life fitness” bench press machine with a ex-curl bar shaped cable attachment. Ok so you place the bar across the handles and in front of your chest with the outer curve of ex-curl bar “catching” the “life fitness” handles (-T-----T-) and grasp the ez curl bar with a narrow reverse grip. Proceed to bench —> great tricep workout, relatively safe.
Question: is there a reason why I do not hear a lot of people doing reverse grip close grip benching for triceps? I understand that some may not ahve wrist mobility or spotter to make it easier. I was just wondering if anyone else did a variation of it and their thoughts.
Thanks E2L [/quote]
I love the triceps exercise you are describing! I do it on a Cybex machine at my gym, but it would work fine with any machine that has neutral handles. It allows you to take a really close grip to hit the triceps more, but it doesn’t bother your wrists like using a straight bar does. I am pretty sure we are thinking of the same exercise.
As for close grip reverse presses, I imagine that they would hit the triceps very well if your wrists can handle it. When I do reverse grip presses, I have to take an even wider grip than a standard bench press, and even then my wrists hurt with heavier weights.
@ Bonez = what do you think works better? Quick list if you do not mind. Just wondering if you have any off the beaten path tricep exercises.
@ bruno = at work so I cannot see the video but I actually use the reverse grip when I do the machine set up as well.
I remember one of the trainers at the World’s In LA I used to train at used to do that with a bar in the machine as well. Big dude, never really seemed to do actual reverse close grips with an actual BB though. My guess was always that he just liked the groove he fell into, and there was no balance issue involved. I used to do reverse grip benches, nice finishing movement, but unracking the weight is always a bit awkward once you get real weight on the bar, and I always felt it shifting more towards my pecs as I went (not a bad thing, but not what I wanted at the time).
S
Seems like a bit of an unecessary risk to me
