Tricep Gifted?!

[GetSwullll]

Man, my arms have always been noticed first, or mentioned first, and seen first but those who comment on my lifting physique. My triceps are my strongest and most genetically given body part. Biceps grow average with rest of me.

SO GUESS WHAT..my chest is a biotch to build. And I've about tried it all besides grabbing my Anasci-Fam to see specifically whose got this issue too, helped a friend with it, etc. mind to muscle on chest only goes so far..the them tris come knocking.

 

[Magnus82]

I'm the same way. My tris for some reason are way stronger than my other body parts. It's not uncommon for tri dominant people to have weaker chests. I listened to John Meadows when he said when conventional list don't work "you just have to get freaky with it". Here are some lifts that I have found work better for me. Keep in mind NONEof of these are ego lifts but very very controlled and isolated.

Guillotine flat bench keeping arms flared to 90°.
Decline
Reverse grip wide grip incline on Smith machine lowered to upper chest
Dips with weighted chains around neck, leaning forward, arms flared
Push ups weighted with the Smith machine
TRX band flyes, great for burn out sets and for DC stretches, don't touch handles but keep constant tension through restricting the ROM.

 

[GetSwullll]

I'm the same way. My tris for some reason are way stronger than my other body parts. It's not uncommon for tri dominant people to have weaker chests. I listened to John Meadows when he said when conventional list don't work "you just have to get freaky with it". Here are some lifts that I have found work better for me. Keep in mind NONEof of these are ego lifts but very very controlled and isolated.

Guillotine flat bench keeping arms flared to 90°.
Decline
Reverse grip wide grip incline on Smith machine lowered to upper chest
Dips with weighted chains around neck, leaning forward, arms flared
Push ups weighted with the Smith machine
TRX band flyes, great for burn out sets and for DC stretches, don't touch handles but keep constant tension through restricting the ROM.

Thanks Magnus: I'll def start incorporating some of these and test reactions.

 

[Magnus82]

The guillotine bench may work better for you on the Smith machine along with a suicide grip. Being very fluid and squeezing is key. Never lockout or stop

 

[Sully]

Guillotine flat bench keeping arms flared to 90°.
Decline
Reverse grip wide grip incline on Smith machine lowered to upper chest
Dips with weighted chains around neck, leaning forward, arms flared
Push ups weighted with the Smith machine
TRX band flyes, great for burn out sets and for DC stretches, don't touch handles but keep constant tension through restricting the ROM.

Agreed on most of those. Haven't done them all, but several of them have worked for me.

Funny thing about that list, 3 of those exercises are almost the same movement. Decline bench, front leaning dips, and push-ups are all variations of the same anatomical movement. They're all a variant of a movement that puts the arms moving outward at a negative angle. There is a growing body of research that shows that decline chest movements activate more of the chest muscle than other movements. They also help to isolate the chest from the tricep. And I believe they are also shown to be easier on the shoulder joint than the flat or incline bench style movements.

Also try one arm fly's on the peck dec or fly machine. Keep the weight low, and really focus on a strong contraction at the top.

And when trying to balance body parts, adding more volume to the lagging body part can help. Keep the regular workout the same, and add another day per week that isolates the lagging body part. It's tougher to do to for chest, but easier for evening out a left vs. right bicep imbalance for instance. Maybe add a day, or even 2, where you do 3-6 variations of fly's. It doesn't have to be a complete failure day, you can even try going to a higher rep, lower weight scheme on those days. It's just about increasing the total volume of muscle work for the week.

 

[GetSwullll]

Agreed on most of those. Haven't done them all, but several of them have worked for me.

Funny thing about that list, 3 of those exercises are almost the same movement. Decline bench, front leaning dips, and push-ups are all variations of the same anatomical movement. They're all a variant of a movement that puts the arms moving outward at a negative angle. There is a growing body of research that shows that decline chest movements activate more of the chest muscle than other movements. They also help to isolate the chest from the tricep. And I believe they are also shown to be easier on the shoulder joint than the flat or incline bench style movements.

Also try one arm fly's on the peck dec or fly machine. Keep the weight low, and really focus on a strong contraction at the top.

And when trying to balance body parts, adding more volume to the lagging body part can help. Keep the regular workout the same, and add another day per week that isolates the lagging body part. It's tougher to do to for chest, but easier for evening out a left vs. right bicep imbalance for instance. Maybe add a day, or even 2, where you do 3-6 variations of fly's. It doesn't have to be a complete failure day, you can even try going to a higher rep, lower weight scheme on those days. It's just about increasing the total volume of muscle work for the week.

Agreed, and I've been a casualty of NOT doing this. Always switching my splits up, and giving my chest a day of its own at times to destroy it...left me with little rest room to incorporate a second day of chest. But this idea of few extra eccersise one more day seems beneficial. Maybe even do before shoulders on a shoulder day?

Thanks all!