Favorite Lifts: Cross Face Lying Tricep Extension & Cable Face Pulls
In getting settled in here at WB Fitness, I’m going to start of with a loose series I’ll be doing for the site. Every few posts I’ll post some lesser known lifts and workouts I’m doing, offer a video, an explanation, and why I’m using them. WB provides me with my base workout, but in having different muscle groups that respond differently, you have to adjust to attack your weak points. Arnold himself said that you had to focus on your weak points if you wanted a fully sculpted physique. Lets get to it.Cross Face Lying Tricep Extension
This lift comes directly from Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. As with all guys who lift, arm size is important. What most fail to realize is that your triceps play a huge role in the overall size of your arm. There are hundreds of triceps workouts that you can do, but I’ve found that the Cross Face Lying Tricep Extension is one not to be taken lightly, okay maybe it is, more on that later.
Things
like Cable Triceps Pulldowns and Triceps Kickbacks are pretty routine,
this lift seems to be one you don’t see very often, and I’m not sure
why. This lift absolutely kills your triceps on the lower end near your
elbow, but you fell it in all three triceps heads. Go light, because
at around rep 20, you’ll really be burning if you don’t do them
regularly. I’m using these with other triceps workouts to get size and
definition in my triceps as I feel they need more work.Lift:
- Lying on the bench, start with a dumbbell in your hand, arm stretched out straight
- Bring the dumbbell across your face, keeping your shoulder steady, until its almost touching the opposite shoulder
- Bring back to the starting position. Be sure to really flex and focus on only moving your triceps during this lift.
Video:
Cable Face Pulls
This is a more well known workout, but still one of my absolute favorites. This lift is done to develop the traps, and back but hits the delts a bit too. Throw these in to your shoulder day if you want. I like to do a set of 4×20 after doing barbell shrugs. You should really feel the sting of the reps after around rep 15. I find that my traps and back feel huge after doing these.
Lift:
- Set the weight pin and use the rope handle on the cable machine. I set the height at about eye level
- With palms facing each other, pull the weight and open your arms so the rope clears your face until it cannot anymore, hold for a count of 2.
- Slowly return to the staring position
Reminders
As with all of our lifts, you should be doing them slowly, focusing on the contraction and flex of the muscle at the peak of the motion, and slowly returning to neutral. Don’t rush or do a weight so heavy you are cheating it.Trust The Process
-J. Nyx
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