I’ve always been a firm believer in getting your money’s worth, and I strongly believe that getting the most out of your flat weight bench or olympic weight bench is no different.  In this article I’ll be covering some ways that you can target your triceps by using the same bench that you’ll use for your more “tradition” workouts.  The exercises we’ll be covering in this article are designed to target your triceps brachii.

In addition to your triceps you’ll feel this exercise in your upper back and rear shoulder muscles, too, since they keep your shoulders stable as you perform the movements.  All too often we see our clients buy their new weight bench set and start focusing solely on chest exercises in hopes of being able to one day bench press their house.  It’s critical to keep in mind that your triceps muscle makes up close to 60 percent of your upper arm.  So giving your triceps as much attention as your biceps or chest will help you increase your arm size faster than focusing only on the muscles in front.

To get started with this exercise, first, Grab an EZ-curl bar with an overhand grip, your hands should be a little less than shoulder width apart.  Next, lie faceup on a flat bench and hold the bar with your straight arms over your forehead so that your arms are at an angle.  It’s important to keep in mind that your arms should be angled back slightly and completely straight.   And always, always, always keep your feet flat on the floor.

Now, without moving your upper arms, bend your elbows to lower the bar until your forearms are just past parallel to the floor.  Pause, then lift the weight back to the starting position by straightening your arms.  For this exercise to focus on your triceps it’s critical that you keep your upper arms still.

Depending on how and when you want to incorporate this into your workout it can be a great part of your normal workout with a set number of reps or you can add it to the tail end of your workout for a great burnout set.

In addition to the the EZ Bar Laying Triceps Extension there are also several variations of this exercise which each work a different area of your triceps and can all be done utilizing your flat bench press.  Some of these variations include the Incline EZ-Bar Lying Triceps Extensions, Decline EZ- Bar Lying Triceps Extension, Static Lying Triceps Extension and the Lying Triceps Extension to Close-Grip Bench Press.  For yet another type of workout you can swap out the flat bench press for a Swiss Ball and do a variation like the Swiss-Ball EZ-Bar Laying Triceps Extension.