The French press is an exercise for pumping up the triceps. How to do it correctly?

The French press is an exercise for pumping up the triceps. How to do it correctly?

It has many pluses, but it’s important to consider some nuances.

fitness trainer

“The French press is a single-joint exercise. It is considered one of the best in bodybuilding and powerlifting for the development of the triceps muscle of the shoulder. The triceps occupies the entire back side of the shoulder and consists of three heads – long, lateral and medial. Its main function is to extend the arm at the elbow joint. A developed triceps resembles the shape of an inverted horseshoe on the back of the arm.”

How to do the French press correctly: technique and nuances

Technique

• Stand with a flat back position, feet at shoulder width.
• Lower your shoulders down and bring your shoulder blades together. This will create a more correct posture and stiffen the back.
• Grasp a barbell disk, dumbbell or barbell bar with both hands so that your arms are straightened upward. Stabilize your lower back with a neutral pelvic tilt. Do not allow excessive lower back flexion, as this can cause injury or back pain.
• As you inhale, smoothly bend your arms to a 90° angle at the elbows, lowering the projectile behind your head.
• As you exhale, powerfully straighten your arms to the top point. Elbows are parallel to each other.

Perform two or three approaches for 8-12 times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Hone your technique with minimal weights. At first, your task is to learn how to do the exercise correctly, not to pump muscles. Perform the French press with a light weight for 15 repetitions. This will allow you to master the technique of the exercise safely for your health.

Watch the direction of the elbows. Their position should be strictly fixed in a given position throughout the exercise, so that the joints remain healthy.

Control the speed of arm flexion. It is important to do it slowly so that the muscles get all the necessary load.

Extend your arms only at the elbow joints. The humerus should be stationary throughout the exercise. This will accentuate triceps pumping and exclude the other muscles from the work.

In 2007, a study came out in the Journal of Clinical Anatomy that states that the triceps are best trained with heavy weights for 8-12 repetitions. Set the goal of doing the exercise slowly, without jerking or chitting.

Varieties of the French press

The exercise has several types. It can be performed standing and sitting, lying on an inclined bench with head up and head down, on exercise machines, in a crossover, with dumbbells, with a barbell, with a disk.

Everyone has individual peculiarities of body structure. Someone has more mobile joints, someone has a different length of arm bones, so such a large number of variants of the French press allows you to choose for yourself the most comfortable and effective.

How useful is the French press?

1. Requires minimal equipment: dumbbell, kettlebell, barbell, barbell disk of your choice.
2. Simplicity in the technique of performing the exercise.
3. The ability to train one muscle group in isolation. This is important for those who have injuries and limitations in the training process.
4. Effective for both beginners and high-level athletes.
5. Results are noticeable in the first month of training.
6. The cardiovascular system is strengthened.
7. Increases the speed of impact.
8. Increases strength endurance.

Contraindications

We recommend refraining from the French press if you have injuries to your wrists, shoulders and elbows. Be sure to consult with a physical rehabilitation specialist or doctor before you begin exercising.

If you have lower back problems or have had back pain for two months, refuse to perform the standing French press. When you lift the bar above your head, your spine flexes and creates a heavy load, which can aggravate your injury. In this case, do the French press lying down or sitting up with a back rest.

If you want to build a strong shoulder girdle with powerful triceps, include the French press in your training plan. Use different variations of this exercise, but do it no more than once or twice a week to give your muscles time to recover.