I'm a big fan of bodyweight exercises...they're
among THE most effective exercises for building functional strength
and mass.
But what do you do when bodyweight
just isn't enough to keep on getting growth and strength increases?
One of the ways I like to tackle that is to find ways to actually
add weight to exercises that would normally only be bodyweight.
For triceps, close grip push-ups
are great. So I figured out a way to add weight to the exercise
- without using a weight vest and without using a spotter.
All you need for this is a power
rack and a barbell (a Smith machine would also work well for
this exercise - probably even better, actually - I just don't
have one as they're generally not good for a whole lot other
than calf raises and partial exercises because of how they lock
your joints into the straight up and down movement pattern).
I like to use a barbell pad on
the bar as well, for cushioning and for keeping the bar in place
better.
First, set the safety rails to
about 18 inches off the ground or so. You'll have to experiment
with height once you see and feel how the exercise works. Move
the bar right up against the uprights of the rack - this will
help stabilize it in at least one plane of movement as you do
the exercise.
Here's what the setup looks like.
Your next step is to kneel down
in front of the bar.
Now set your hands on the ground
like you would do for a close-grip push-up and duck your torso
under the barbell (this is where the pad comes in handy). The
bar should be just below your shoulder blades - balance can
be a bit tricky and this gives you the best "shelf"
to rest the bar on.
The main difference between the
position for this and the regular close-grip push-up is that
you won't be straightening your legs. You'll stay on your knees
for balance purposes. You can always add more weight to the
barbell as you need to.
Keep your elbows in close to your
sides as you do this exercise. At the bottom, your elbows should
be quite bent and your torso angled down. Adjust the safety
rail height as you need to in order to get good range of motion.
So now that you're in position,
just straighten your arms and push yourself up! It's sounds
very simple but you'll also have to balance the bar on your
back as you push up.
This
is where pushing the bar up against the rack uprights is critical.
If the bar is free, it'll just roll down and right over your
head when you start to push up. But when it's up against the
uprights, it stops and is somewhat stabilized in the vertical
plane.
But believe me, the side-to-side
balancing is plenty! When you first raise the weight off the
rails, you may need to adjust yourself under the bar to make
sure you're dead center so the bar doesn't tip to the sides.
When you push youself all the
way up, you'll notice a HUGE contraction in your triceps (the
big benefit of bodyweight exercises is the increased activation
of muscle fibers, hence the greater overall contraction). So
with this, you're taking advantage of the increased fiber activation
AND the increased resistance.
It may look crazy but it's a GREAT
exercise for building triceps, especially if dips hurt your
shoulders.
Side note - set the bar back downon
the rails after each rep. It's much easier to balance that way
as you can "reset" yourself under the bar if you need
to.
Here's the side view of the exercise
in action:
Just fyi, I've got two 25 lb plates
on the bar and got a great tricep workout from it. You don't
need a whole lot of weight to make this an effective exercise!
