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5 Biggest Triceps Training Mistakes

Avoiding these common training errors will better isolate the triceps, prevent injury and lead to major gains in size and strength.

2. Positioning Your Hands Too Close

Close-grip bench presses require you to position your hands fairly close together to put greater emphasis on the triceps and reduce the stimulus on the pecs, but many lifters take that thinking to the extreme. Besides losing stability to balance the bar, especially when heavy weights are involved, a very close grip can cause tendon strain or bone bruises to the wrists (bending your wrist toward your little finger is called ulnar deviation), as well as the elbows. What’s more, research shows you don’t get any extra muscle fiber recruitment when taking a very close grip. The solution, then, is to use a grip just inside shoulder width so that your hands are about 8–10 inches apart.