Are you looking for a back and tricep workout to strengthen your back and triceps? Personally, I think both of these muscles are probably more important than your glutes and legs. Yep, I said it. Not only you will be rocking a toned body, you will also see overall health benefits. We will discuss this later down the article.
The best back and tricep workout exercises are simple, adaptable and effective to build upper body strength and shape.
When I say ‘adaptable’ I mean it can be adapted to any gender, weight, exercise goal and suit wherever you are in your fitness journey.
Scroll on to read my ultimate guide that will give you all the information you need, to look great and be super confident, whatever shape or size you are.
Can you do a back and tricep workout on the same day?
Absolutely, and there’s many reasons for this such as; when training your back, your triceps are not activated, meaning that your triceps will be raring to go when you train them straight after your back.
Common back problems
When considering if weight training is important, here are some common back problems.
- Muscle deconditioning, meaning that your muscles lack strength and stability which can lead to chronic pain in the upper or lower back.
- Poor posture
- Stiffness
- Risk of injury, due to the muscles becoming weak and your joints overcompensating.
Good to know: It’s also important to note that these common back problems could also arise should you dont warm up properly before you lift weights, or lift too heavy.
Benefits of training back
Your back controls a lot of your overall body strength. A strong back provides stability for training other muscles in the body, not only working your back will add shape to your body, but it will also help reduce the risk of injury and massively improve your posture.
How to effectively work your back and tricep
First, let’s cover the back muscles. It’s important to know how your back is made up so you know what muscles to work for a strong back.
Rhomboids: which are found in the mid-upper back. Two muscles called the rhomboid major and minor, work together to pull the scapula inward toward the spine.
Exercises for for Rhomboids:You can work this muscle by performing bent over rows, reverse fly or seated cable rows. If you don’t have any equipment try laying on your stomach, squeeze your glutes and lift your upper back off the floor and down, squeezing your shoulder blades as your rise up.
Trapezius: Known as the traps, which run from your neck to your mid-back. This muscle is largely responsible for your posture, and enables you to move your arms effectively.
Exercises: You can work this muscle with upright rows, shrugs and deadlifts, if you don’t have any equipment, push-ups will do the trick.
Latissimus dorsi: known as the lats. These muscles are found below your armpits and down the sides of your back. This muscle is responsible for rotation movement, and extending your arms and shoulders.
Exercises:You can work this muscle by performing lat pull downs, or if you have no equipment, renegade rows are perfect to target the lats.
Benefits of training triceps
Your triceps make up 55% of your arms total muscle, it’s responsible for stabilising your shoulders, and any task that involves a pulling motion in your day. Another benefit to toning and shaping your triceps is that it will get rid of the dreaded bingo wings.
The 3 muscle heads to work are;
Long Head: The long head of the triceps is the largest part of your triceps and runs down the back of your arm. You can work this muscle with the overhead dumbbell extension or dips.
Medial Head: The medial head of the triceps is found in the middle of the back portion of the upper arm. You can achieve this my competing the overhead tricep bar extension or tricep extension push-up.
Lateral Head: The lateral head of the triceps is found on the outer side. You can target this muscle using the tricep dumbbell kick back or diamond push up.
Directions for the superset back and tricep workout
There are many benefits to weight training superset. Not only this will build greater muscle tone, increase muscular endurance, promote fat burn, but it will also help if you don’t have much spare time.
Put simply, a superset consists of performing two different exercises back to back, with very little rest. Not only this builds strength, but also elevates your heart rate to burn more calories.
Superset 1: preform 8-12 reps of each move with no rest in between exercise moves. Rest 60-90 seconds after both moves are complete. Repeat 2 more times
Superset 2: preform 8-12 reps of each move with no rest in between exercise moves. Rest 60-90 seconds after both exercises are complete. Repeat 2 more times.
It’s important to focus on quality over quantity, choose weights that will challenge you, but also allow you to preform 8-12 reps with good form.
Top tips
- Once you reach 12 reps easily, consider increasing your weight
- For a lean and toned look, consider lifting slightly less weight and preforming 15-20 reps
- To build muscle mass and size, consider lifting heavier weight and preforming 6-12 reps depending on your strength and weight choice.
Superset back and tricep workout plan
Superset 1
- Pull ups
- Cable tricep extensions
Superset 2
- Dead rows
- Diamond push-ups
Back and tricep workout conclusion
Back and triceps are an excellent combination for weight training, particularly for supersetsp as one muscle rests when you work the other. Training this way burns fat and gets you toned fast. This workout can be tailored, no matter what your goal is. If you are looking for muscle mass/size, just increase weight and stick to 8 reps. If you want a toned leaner look, increase the reps to 12 ensure rest is minimal.
Top tips: Remember when weight training to stretch before and afterwards, to speed up recovery and look after your muscles. Try these tricep stretches.
Bad posture? check out the bow pose yoga move here.
Really enjoyed reading this article.