FOLLOW ME
Why You Should Stop Using Dumbbells For This Exercise
The tricep kickback! It is one of my favourites and go-to’s for working the triceps. The secret to nice-looking arms my friends is triceps! While our triceps are on the back of our arms (on the opposite side of our biceps) they make up two-thirds of our arms! Triceps are key for helping you perform pushing movements. So if you’re trying to increase exercises such as your bench press or overhead press,
working your triceps should not be overlooked!
I see a lot of new gym-goers ignore the triceps, or perform a lot of tricep exercises wrong. This basically just means, we’re not getting the full benefit of the time we’re spending in the gym. This is where people get frustrated because they’re not seeing results due to improper form or worse off they can get injured. Additionally, if you understand the basics and purposes of what each muscle in the body helps with you’ll see much better results.
Now, you don’t have to know every single muscle! You just need to know the big ones, in my opinion, so that you can work on your mind-muscle connection and really target those areas that you are strengthening/ growing. More on the mind-muscle connection later!
So we’ve covered what the triceps do. Let’s move on to the nitty-gritty! Why you should STOP using dumbbells for this exercise
and by ‘this exercise’ in this post, I’m specifically going to be talking about the tricep kickback.
I used to do tricep kickbacks with dumbbells all the time, but let me explain why using a cable machine is far superior! Once I had tested it out for myself I could instantly feel the benefits and I was a changed woman!
Here are my top reasons to swap the dumbbells for the cables!
You have greater ROM throughout the movement. ROM is the range of motion. When we’re holding a dumbbell for this specific movement, we run into a problem with the gravity of the weight pulling on our forearm that simply doesn’t allow us to keep a straight and smooth range of motion through the exercise. You always want your weight to travel in the path of least resistance. When we have more ROM and straighter lines were able to create more tension on the muscles that are being worked.
This brings me to my second point! Cable tricep kickback allows us to have more constant tension through the movement. This should be an obvious reason why this is a bonus, but allow me to explain in a little more detail.
A little side note, I never want anyone to feel dumb in the gym
to feel uncertain in a daunting and often intimidating space that can make us feel self-conscious. I don’t wish that for anyone in the gym, this is a place to build yourself and others up. So we’re not here to gatekeep but we are here to share and educate!
Back to my point! The more TUT, time under tension, we can create in the muscle while performing the movement forces our muscles to work harder, it optimizes strength, growth and endurance. All of these are our goals in the gym. Because the cable machine is so fluid by offering such amazing ROM it allows it to stay under load longer!
I find I can control the eccentric and in addition the concentric motion so much easier with a cable compared to a dumbbell.
I’m always in favour of spending more time focusing on the eccentric motions. It is something I talk to my clients a lot about, when we pay attention to that eccentric motion we’re not only then strengthening our muscles but also our connective tissue and mind-muscle connection.
I’m going to make a whole other post on the mind-muscle connection as it deserves an article on its own.
At the end of the day, the dumbbells create a gravity problem and put unnecessary tension on the forearm. It is also important to work the forearms but for the purposes of this, we want to be working the triceps. The cable machine is going to offer you a lot more ‘bang for your buck’ if you will. We want to get the most out of our time in the gym let’s not waste it, we don’t want to be here for hours a day, every day of the week.
I hope you all try this in the gym the next time you go if you’re so used to using dumbells. Swap it out for the cable machine and give it a whirl!
why you should stop using dumbells for this exercise
