Exercise for triceps pumping from American bodybuilder. Learning to do the Tate press

Many inexperienced athletes start to worry about arm volume after a few months of training. Perhaps you, like other beginners, have been working exclusively on the biceps, forgetting about the triceps. Although the triceps muscle occupies the whole back side of the shoulder, and it is it that provides the main relief to the arms.

To achieve what you want, you need to train a lot. And when you reach a good level of training, you can try to add interesting innovations to the program. We continue to talk about different exercises invented by professional athletes. Today it’s the Tate bench press.

What is the Tate press?

Top trainer of the network of fitness studios World Class

“In most cases, it is used by weightlifters to improve the performance of the bench press. It also works the triceps very well.”

This exercise was invented by American bodybuilder Dave Tate. Tate’s bench press is an auxiliary exercise, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a separate element in a workout. It’s just that it was originally designed to improve the performance of the classic bench press. As we have already said, the importance of the triceps is often underestimated, and it sometimes plays a crucial role in strength exercises.

What muscles does the Tate bench press work?

Ekaterina Kravchenko: The triceps is very well involved in this exercise largely because the Tate press uses dumbbells. Therefore, each arm works separately.

The Tate press is narrowly focused, it has only one target muscle, the triceps, and it works all three bunches, but the medial and lateral heads get the most load. The pectoral and biceps muscles get additional load, but you will not be able to fully work them. You will have to supplement your training plan with other exercises.

How to do the Tate press correctly?

To ensure that all muscles are loaded correctly, first familiarize yourself with the technique of execution. Do not neglect preparation, because the effectiveness of your training depends on it. Do not forget to stretch well.

Technique

• Starting position is lying on the bench. Extend your arms with dumbbells in front of you. The hands are at the level of the shoulder joints, the back is tense, the shoulder blades are brought and lowered.
• As you inhale, bend your arms at the elbow joints and lower the dumbbells down, bringing them together so that at the bottom point the elbows look in different directions.
• The trajectory of the movement should describe a semicircle, lower the dumbbells until they touch the middle of the pectoral muscles.
• As you exhale, raise the dumbbells along the same trajectory, tensing the triceps.
• At the top point, fully straighten your elbows.

Ekaterina Kravchenko: be careful here, lower the dumbbells slowly and under control for three counts, and lift them up quickly and stay in the reduced position for one or two counts. The movement should not lead to bending of the wrists.

Variants of performing the Tate press

To perform on an incline bench, you need to bring it to 45 degrees. Unlike the straight bench press, the long head of the triceps works more here, not the medial and lateral. There are no other fundamental differences. If you have the opportunity to perform the Tate incline bench press, you can alternate it with the classic variation.

There is also the Tate press with one hand. It allows you to more qualitatively work each triceps separately. When performing the exercise with one hand, the dumbbell should be lowered to the opposite shoulder, due to which the amplitude of the movement will increase.

What can be substituted for the Tate press?

This exercise is suitable for experienced athletes, helps to improve the performance of the bench press, and also teaches you to rest your feet on the floor, as required by the technique of the competitive version. It is definitely not suitable for beginners, as their elbow joints are less elastic and the exercise will create an unfamiliar load.

If the Tate press is not for you, no problem. There are many exercises that can fully replace it: narrow grip barbell press, push-ups with narrow arm positioning, narrow grip Smith machine press, push-ups on the bars, narrow grip dumbbell press, neutral grip Smith machine press.

As you can see, the choice is as wide as possible, there are many alternatives. You can try all the options and choose the best one for you.