French press tips - By: Ania

The French press is a great exercise to develop the triceps and add mass to it. But it is only beneficial to it when performed properly. Follow these tips to really grow your triceps from the French press and avoid common pitfalls.

What is the French press?
First make sure you know how to execute the French press correctly. It is done lying on a bench with a barbell in a very similar fashion to the bench press that works the pectorals. The main difference in this exercise is in the grip. Grasp the barbell over you with a very narrow grip, not wider than your shoulders. As you lower the bar, keep your elbows close to your body. Push up when the bar reaches your chest.

Focus on the triceps
The biggest mistake that people make with this exercise is to point their elbows out. Because this exercise is very similar to the bench press, many unconsciously fall into this exercise whilst doing the French press, especially when they are struggling to get the weight up. By pointing the elbows out, you are shifting the focus of the exercise from your triceps to your pecs. It might help you lift a little heavier but it does not help your triceps as they are doing less work.

As you lower the bar to just below your nipples, the natural motion is not a straight up-and-down one but akin to that of the bench press – as you push up, the bar goes over your head in this inverse J form. In order to keep tension on your triceps throughout the exercise, do not let the bar fall or rebound on your chest. Instead keep the bar under control throughout its descent and pause very briefly at the bottom just enough to change direction. It’s not just the part of the exercise where you contract your muscles, push or pull, the concentric or positive part, that counts but also the descent. This is why there is such a technique called negative reps where the focus is on the eccentric side of the motion. Make every rep count.

The best grip is the one that feels most natural to you and that keeps your forearms vertically straight. But it’s good to vary it from time to time.
Don’t go beyond shoulder width as the pecs will start to get recruited too heavily. If you go very narrow with your hands touching each other, you will have to balance the bar carefully.

So remember to grip the bar correctly, keep the descent under control and natural, your elbows close to your body at all times and you will reap the maximum benefit from this exercise and build bigger muscles.

About the Author

The French press is one of the best exercise to add mass to the triceps.

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