The triceps are pressing muscles (where the biceps are pulling muscles). You use the triceps in all pressing movements. The purpose of this training is to isolate the triceps by using them primarily to extend the elbow. Guidance for triceps training is very similar to biceps training. The movement is just opposite.

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Triceps — First, Watch This:

Triceps — Setup

1. Exercise selection:

Choose the triceps variation you most enjoy or feel the most work from.

• DON’T choose the exercise that allows you to use the most weight. The more difficult a movement is/ the weaker you feel the greater benefit you will get from the movement.
• Bear in mind there is a huge difference between a movement that is difficult and one that is causing pain. If things cross over to painful then they are also non-productive and will set you back in your training rather than helping progression.

2. Consistency:

Choose an exercise and stick with it for at least 4 weeks in order to see some gains and improvements in movement efficiency. If you switch every week you won’t be able to accurately measure if you were able to do more work than last week.

Triceps — Some Options

• Skullcrusher
• JM Press
• Dips
• Assisted Dips
• DB Skullcrusher
• Cable Tricep Pushdown
• Cable Rope Pushdown
• Bar Skull

Triceps — Execution

1. Range of motion:

Execute full range of motion. DON’T CHEAT.

• Bragging rights go to those that make a workout harder with less weight. That means you are more meticulous and efficient with your movement.

2. Control

Maintain control. NO MOMENTUM.

• Momentum means you aren’t using your muscle. It’s cheating as well.
• If your elbow is causing your shoulder joint to move, you are probably cheating.

3. Breath

Exhale on the contraction (downward movement), inhale on the extension (upward movement).

• If the weight is so heavy you need to brace with your core to prevent cheating, it’s too heavy for you to be using it.

4. Tightness

Keep lats and elbows tight.

• Think lying Port Arms with the rifle in drill..

5. Elbow Isolation

Isolate the elbow.

• The only joint opening and closing should be your elbow.

6. 3 Contractions

1. Concentric: the downward portion when you are opening the elbow angle.
2. Isometric: the very bottom of the movement where there is no movement. Straight elbow.
3. Eccentric: the upward portion, where you are closing the elbow angle. Do this slowly, and focus. This is a huge part of every rep.

Triceps — Coaching Cues

• Breathe with the rep
• Don’t crank on your neck (it won’t help)
• Eyes should remain stationary
• Don’t drop weight (eccentric portion is just as important as the concentric)
• Tight lats and elbows

Triceps — Adjustments

If your triceps hurt, don’t do additional triceps training. These are an ancillary exercise. You get all the triceps stimulation you need to live in the world from pressing movements like the bench press.

If your elbow is bothering you and you refuse to stop training triceps, try switching to a neutral or even pronated grip variation. Often over supination of the elbow is where the issue comes from.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Triceps — Further Resources

• Skullcrusher
• JM Press
• Dips
• Assisted Dips
• DB Skullcrusher
• Cable Tricep Pushdown
• Cable Rope Pushdown
• Bar Skull

It is important to hit your back musculature from various angles and grip widths. Change your horizontal pull of choice every 4-6 weeks. When programming, consider heavy squats and deadlifts as back exercises as well. These large compound movements engage much of the posterior chain (back muscles) in an isometric contraction. The majority of the things we use our backs for are isometric contractions (stability and support).

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Horizontal Rows — Setup

1. Exercise selection

Choose a variation that you like and stick with it for a minimum of 4 weeks.

2. Range of motion

Ensure that you can fully express the entire range of motion comfortable for whichever variation your choose.

Some Options

• Barbell Bent Over Row
• Underhand EZ Bar Row
• Row to Chest
• 1-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Chest Supported Row
• Row Machine
• 2-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Cable Row

Horizontal Rows — Execution

1. Shoulder blades

Allow the shoulder blades to move through their full range of motion.

• Rows are a back exercise with secondary effects on the biceps. If your shoulder blades (scaps) are locked into a position, you are by definition NOT going through the full range of motion for your back muscles.

2. Elbows

Don’t pull your elbows past the torso

• Pulls are a back exercise. When you pull your elbow beyond the torso you are engaging rear delt which isn’t the purpose of the movement. In addition, you’re putting unnecessary stress on the anterior portion of the glenohumeral joint (front of your shoulder).

3. Breathing

• Exhale as you pull the load towards you (concentric phase).
• Inhale as you allow the weight away from you (eccentric phase).

Horizontal Rows — Coaching Cues

• Full range of motion in your shoulder blades
• Breathe with the movement
• Think: Pull to the hip to prevent single arm variations from pulling past your torso
• Maintain control through both the concentric and eccentric phases

Horizontal Rows — Adjustments

Choose a variation that doesn’t cause pain. There are many variations that all do an adequate job.

Back pain is often caused by rocking the upper body during the movement. Lock your core down. Focus the exercise on the intended musculature. If your whole torso is rocking you are cheating your pulling muscles out of gains.

If a particular variation bothers your wrists, switch to a supine or neutral grip variation.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Horizontal Rows — Further Resources

• Barbell Bent Over Row
• Underhand EZ Bar Row
• Row to Chest
• 1-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Chest Supported Row
• Row Machine
• 2-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Cable Row

The Zercher squat is in this programming for 2 reasons.

1. It can be fun and a nice change up from front squat (it works basically the same musculature).
2. It can be a good replacement if you find the front squat too uncomfortable.

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Zercher Squat — Setup

1. Bar height

• Set the bar in the rack about the height of your belly button.

2. Elbows

• Approach the bar and hook the arms under the bar into the crooks of your elbow.

3. Unracking

• Squat the weight up from there and take 2-3 direct steps backwards.

4. Stance

• The stance for the Zercher squat is typically more narrow than the back squat, but this is a personal preference.
• Choose the stance that allows you to reach depth without getting in the way of your elbows or belly
• Your balance point is the midfoot, so the torso angle in the Zercher squat is more vertical than the back squat. Very similar to the front squat.
• Because the bar is on our front, we need a more vertical torso to keep the bar over midfoot.

Zercher Squat — Execution

1. Inhale and squat

• Remember: Full lungs and a tight core are what allow you to protect your spine.
• Breathing is the same as the back squat.
• Exhale at the end of the movement when you are back at the top of the rep.

Zercher Squat — Coaching Cues

• Eyes look just below straight ahead. DO NOT lead the movement with your eyes by looking up at the ceiling.
  • Cranking the neck (cervical spine) is a great way to ensure a future injury in any exercise. Lead the movement with the chest and elbows.
• Keep the knees out.
  • Just like with the back squat and deadlift, the knees should be tracking out over the toes throughout the whole movement.
• Keep the torso erect.

Zercher Squat — Adjustments

Low back pain is a sign of a weak core. The point of these exercises is to point out weak points and imbalances in the body so that you can fix them. You may find that the limiting factor for many movements is a weak core. Take solace in the fact that this is super simple to fix and will have secondary benefits on other aspects of your life. The remedy is to lighten the load and embrace progressive overload. Put your ego away and lift the weight that is appropriate for you on this specific day. You’ll get to the big weights when it’s time. Enjoy the process.

Elbow pain is inevitable when training the Zercher squat. Luckily it is not necessary to do this variation. If you have issues, switch to a different squat variation that produces less stress on the elbows. You can also decide to pad the elbows with a yoga mat or something similar to ease up the elbow pressure.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Zercher Squat — Further Resources

• Tony Gentilcore
• Composure Fitness
• Rogue

The low bar back squat is the ultimate exercise for overall muscular development, it recruits more muscle groups than any other exercise if performed correctly.

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Back Squat — Setup

1. Grip bar and position

• Set your bar on the squat rack at about nipple height. Facing the bar, grip it with both hands slightly wider than shoulder-width distance–you want to get as close to shoulder distance as possible while still maintaining some level of comfort in the shoulder. The closer together your grip, the more of a shelf you will be able to develop for the bar to rest on your back.
• Keeping your grip on the bar, duck under the bar and set it evenly on your upper back. The bar should be rested on your rear delts (the back of your shoulders)–not on the top of your shoulders, and not on your neck/cervical spine, which will feel terrible (this is a high bar squat which has different mechanics). Squeeze the shoulder blades together.

2. Unrack the bar

• With your feet planted evenly under the bar, “squat” the bar up out of the rack.
• Take 2-3 small direct steps backwards. The bar moves up and then back. Never diagonally.

3. Set feet

• Heels about shoulder width apart.
• Toes pointed at about 30 degrees. Think of your feet as “at attention,” but instead of heels touching they are at shoulder-width distance. Experiment with this to get the most comfortable stance that allows for the best depth. Wider legs and more pointed toes will tend to be better for those with big bellies, long legs, or both.

Back Squat — Execution

1. Breathe and Squat

1. Inhale and brace with the abs. The pressure from the full lungs and tight core are what protects the spine. Spinal protection in the squat has NOTHING to do with vertical back angle. Keep the eyes fixed on a spot on the floor 5 feet in front of you.
2. Squat with a straight bar path. Don’t let the bar come forward or backwards at all. Straight down and straight up. Stay in your ass, with a tight core (see breath above), and make the tailbone move straight up and down: the rest of the body will follow.
3. Don’t let the knees collapse inward. Actively “twist” your knees apart so that they track over your toes. You’ll feel this engage the muscles in the side of your glutes, which may be an entirely novel sensation for you.

2. Finish and exhale at the top

1. Knees and hips should lock out softly at the top. Don’t “snap” into position: be easy on your joints.
2. Every rep finishes with an exhale at the top when you are finished with the movement. Don’t exhale on the way up, as this reduces intra-abdominal pressure and puts your spine in a compromised position.

Back Squat — Coaching Cues

• Breathe at the top
• Knees track out over toes for the entire movement
• Vertical bar path, stay in your tailbone/ass
• Balance is over the midfoot
• Eyes look at the ground 5-10 feet in front of you

Back Squat — Adjustments

The bodyweight squat, the goblet squat, and machine assisted squats can all be less taxing alternatives to the barbell back squat if you are injured or need adjustment.

If you have issues reaching depth due to pain or lack of mobility in the ankles, try the reaching plate squat to learn how to use a counterbalance to keep your balance over your midfoot.

If you have pain in your knees, try warming up with 3 sets of 20 hip thrusts from the floor with a moderately heavy dumbbell. It’s been shown to reduce knee pain.

If you have undiagnosed nonspecific back pain, you need to embrace the process of progressive overload. Perform the movement with an empty or very light barbell. As soon as the weight starts to cause pain during or even after the exercise, stop or go lighter next time. Over the next few months, slowly progress in weight as you’re able. You will more likely than not find that once you learn how to move through the squat pattern comfortably, the pain will go away.

Many trainees experience “growing pains” in the beginning of their first real training plan. Learning to differentiate between your body adjusting to the new training and actual pain due to an issue is an invaluable skill that needs to be developed.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Back Squat — Resources

• The Back Squat: Full-body Exercise King
• WATM: 5 steps to back squat perfection article here
• Shredded By Science
• Military Athlete
• Untamed Strength
• Starting Strength

Dumbbell flys are sometimes looked down on by serious strength athlete. The truth is that flys often help train the movement of the bench better than benching can. The act of squeezing the pecs together in the fly provides a very obvious muscular contraction. That same contraction is what should be felt in the bench press as well. If your press doesn’t feel like you’re squeezing your pecs together the fly movement will fix that issue very effectively.

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Dumbbell Flys — Setup

1. Exercise selection

For the dumbbell fly, choose a light dumbbell that you can maintain perfect form with for the entirety of each set.

• For the cable fly, choose a weight that you don’t need to cheat with on the final reps and that you don’t slam back into the stack like an egomaniac.

Dumbbell Flys — Execution

1. Tight back

Lay on your back in a similar set up to the bench press, scapulae drawn in together.

2. Starting position

Start with the weights at the top of the movement with arms perpendicular to the ground, shoulders externally rotated (fingers facing midline).

3. Eccentric portion

Open the arms to the side in a “fly” motion, in a slow and controlled movement that engages the muscles eccentrically.

• Breathe in as the weights move down (the eccentric portion of the movement).

4. Concentric portion

When you feel the maximum stretch response at the bottom of the movement with soft elbows, begin the concentric portion of the movement by bringing the arms back to the starting position, up until just before perpendicular.

• Breathe out as your contract your chest while the weights are traveling upwards (the concentric portion of the movement).

5. Constant Tension

Maintain tension throughout the entire set and don’t bounce in the bottom portion of the exercise.

Dumbbell Flys — Coaching Cues

• The goal is constant tension throughout the entire movement.
• Don’t rest at the top
• Don’t rest out the bottom
• Full range of motion is exactly where you feel the chest engaged.
• Too far open allows you to rest
• Perfectly perpendicular to the ground at the top is a rest (because the joints are stacked).
• The arms don’t have to be perfectly straight.
• Conduct the movement with soft elbows.

Dumbbell Flys — Adjustments

If you find flys particularly difficult, switch to the pec dec.

These are an ancillary exercise and can be switch out for any other chest exercise that you prefer more.

Remember the primary chest developer in this program is the bench press. If you don’t feel that this variation is making you better/stronger in the bench press, then choose another variation.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Dumbbell Flys — Further Resources

• Bodybuilding.com
• Renaissance Periodization
• Incline Dumbbell Fly
• Cable Fly
• High Cable Fly
• Machine Chest Fly
• Cable Incline Fly
• Pec Dec Fly

When it comes to pull-ups and all the variations, it’s important to hit your back musculature from various angles and grip widths. Change your vertical pull of choice every 4-6 weeks. If pull-ups are a job requirement for you ensure you are hitting some variation at least twice a week.

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Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown — Setup

1. Exercise selection

Choose a variation that you like and stick with it for a minimum of 4 weeks.

• Ensure that you can fully express the entire range of motion comfortably for whichever variation your choose.

Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown — Execution

1. Breath

Your breath is intrinsically linked to core tightness. Nothing ruins a pull-up more than extra movement or swinging. The best way to prevent extra movement is to keep your core tight and locked down. This means you should:

• Inhale and brace at the bottom
• Execute a rep, or 2, or as many as you can on one breath.
• Take a breath at the bottom and repeat.

If you are good at pull-ups or the weight is very light you can:

• Exhale on the concentric (when you are traveling toward the bar or the bar is traveling towards you).
• Inhale on the eccentric (when you and the bar are parting ways).

2. Range of motion

Allow the shoulder blades to move through their full range of motion.

• Rows are a back exercise with secondary effects on the biceps. If your shoulder blades (scaps) are locked into a position you are by definition NOT going through the full range of motion for your back muscles.

3. Momentum

Don’t use momentum

• Especially with pull-ups, the goal of this plan is to work the lats so you can be stronger at pulls. It is not to do as many bullshit shitty McShit shit pull-ups as possible. You can do those in Crossfit class or during your next PFT. Don’t steal precious time from yourself to get stronger.

Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown — Coaching Cues

• Full range of motion in your shoulder blades
• Breathe with the movement
• Maintain control through both the concentric and eccentric phases

Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown — Adjustments

Choose a variation that doesn’t cause pain. There are many variations that all do an adequate job.

Pull-ups are a skill as much as a strength exercise. If these are in your job description you need to do them. In order to get the most out of your pull-up training start implementing eccentric pull-ups, and assisted pull-ups into your workouts. Check out this article to get a free pull-up programming plug-in to ensure you get to that max rep set of 23 on the next PT test.

Back pain is often caused by arching the chest into the bar as you close the distance between you and the bar. Don’t do that.

If a particular variation bothers your wrists, switch to a supine or neutral grip variation.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown — Further Resources

• Tony Gentilcore
• Ripped Body
• Composure Fitness
• Overhand Pull up
• Parallel Pull up
• Underhand Pull up
• Wide Grip Pull up
• Assisted Overhand Pull up
• Assisted Parallel Pull up
• Assisted Underhand Pull up
• Normal Grip Pulldown
• Parallel Pulldown
• Underhand Pulldown
• Wide Grip Pulldown
• Narrow Grip Pulldown

Calf exercises are to build size on the calves. The calves are used to carrying you for miles and miles, so they take a while to fatigue, and we can program them for higher repetitions.

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Calf Raise — Setup

1. Exercise selection

Choose your variation and ensure there is enough clearance for you to be able to move through the entire range of motion.

Some options:

• Calf Machine
• Stair Calves
• Leg Press Calves
• Smith Machine Calves

Calf Raise — Execution

1. Concentric portion

Press the weight away as your ankle goes into plantar flexion.

• Exhale with plantar flexion

2. Isometric portion

Hold at the top of the movement for a split second.

3. Eccentric portion

Let the weight down slowly as your ankle enters dorsiflexion.

• Inhale with dorsiflexion

Calf Raise — Coaching Cues

• Don’t bounce the reps.
• Pause at top and pause at bottom to prevent bounce
• You’re stronger at this than you think
• This is one of the few exercises I advocate starting heavier than you initially think appropriate.
• Execute full range of motion.
• There is no benefit to shortened ranges of motion, unless you are already doing another variation of a movement at full ROM and are using a partial range to strengthen a weak spot. This is what bodybuilders do. Not you.

Calf Raise — Adjustments

Lighter weight will alleviate most issues.

If you roll your ankle running or playing drunken chicken with shopping carts in a parking lot, this is a great exercise to restore range of motion and to help keep blood flow to the area constant.

Abstain from calf raises if the pain is unbearable, as they are an ancillary exercise.

Point your toes in different directions to hit the muscle differently. Try duck footed, pigeon footed, and parallel stances

Calf cramps are common on these, so be prepared for that potentiality.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Calf Raise — Further Resources

• Calf Machine
• Stair Calves
• Leg Press Calves
• Smith Machine Calves

The front squat is much more quad dominant than the back squat due to the more closed knee angle and more open hip angle. There is less musculature involved here, therefore you will be weaker on the front squat than the back squat.

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Front Squat — Setup

1. Grip

Start with the bar racked at nipple height. From this position, there are a number of different grips you can use.

• Clean style is how you see olympic lifters come out of the bottom portion of the clean and jerk, with the palms facing forward, hands at shoulder distance. Two fingers on the bar will generally be more comfortable than all four fingers on the bar.
• Bodybuilding style is with the forearms crossed over each other, and the palms facing downward.

Both methods require high elbows to develop a shelf with your chest and front delts for the bar to rest on.

2. Unracking

• Just like with the back squat, unrack the bar vertically and then walk backwards to take your stance. No diagonal bar movement.

3. Stance

• The stance for the front squat is typically more narrow than the back squat, but this is still a personal preference.
• Choose the stance that allows you to reach depth without getting in the way of your elbows or belly.
• Your balance point is the midfoot, so the torso angle in the front squat is more vertical than the back squat.
• Because the bar is on our front, we need a more vertical torso to keep the bar over midfoot.

Front Squat — Execution

1. Inhale and squat

Remember: Full lungs and a tight core are what allow you to protect your spine.

• Breathing is the same as the back squat.
• Exhale at the end of the movement when you are back at the top of the rep.

Front Squat — Coaching Cues

Keep the elbows up. This will keep the upper back in slight extension, which will do 2 things:

• Keep the shelf the bar rests on more comfortable
• Keep the torso more upright

Look just below straight ahead.

• DO NOT lead the movement with your eyes by looking up at the ceiling.
• Cranking the neck (cervical spine) is a great way to ensure a future injury in any exercise. Lead the movement with the chest and elbows.

Keep your knees out.

• Just like with the back squat and deadlift, the knees should be tracking out over the toes throughout the whole movement.

Front Squat — Adjustments

Mobility may prove to be an issue for some. The front squat requires more ankle mobility than the back squat. If you are lifting with flat shoes and can’t reach depth, put a 2.5 or 5 lb plate under each heel. Giving your heel a lift will remedy most issues.

Low back pain is a sign of a weak core. The point of these exercises is to point out weak points and imbalances in the body so that you can fix them. You may find that the limiting factor for many movements is a weak core. Take solace in the fact that this is super simple to fix and will have secondary benefits on other aspects of your life. The remedy is to lighten the load and embrace progressive overload. Put your ego away and lift the weight that is appropriate for you on this specific day. You’ll get to the big weights when it’s time. Enjoy the process.

Wrist issues can be adjusted for by trying the alternate grip or using wrist wraps as handles on the bar.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Front Squat — Further Resources

• Eric Cressey
• Renaissance Periodization
• Renaissance Periodization (Alternative Grip)
• OmarIsuf

The single leg RDL is one of the great equalizers in the gym. Very strong men can suck at these no matter what their max deadlift is. They also show any imbalances between the left and right side of the body.

If you start with the strong side, you are allowing your weak side to become even weaker. The first side is always better, so start with the weak side to cure any imbalance you may have.

Like the deadlift, RDLs are a hip hinge, with one major difference: you start at the top of the movement. So really, they aren’t “dead” at all.

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Single Leg Romanian Deadlift — Setup

1. Resistance selection

For this variation of the RDL, you will hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift — Execution

1. Weak side

Balance on your weak side leg by lifting your strong side leg behind you.

2. Eccentric portion

With a strong neutral spine, hinge at your weak side hip until you feel a stretch response in your weak side hamstring.

• Allow the arms and the weights they are holding to be “dead weight”. As you hinge they can naturally swing out as they will want to.
• This is contrary to the traditional barbell RDL and the deadlift where you are keeping the bar in contact with your legs the entire time.
• The weight acts as a counter balance. You will find that this exercise is actually easier at a slightly heavier weight that can adequately counter the weight of your leg.
• Keep a neutral spine throughout the entire movement.

3. Concentric portion

Squeeze your glute and hinge back up to the starting position.

4. Rep it out

Repeat on the weak side for the prescribed number of reps.

5. Switch

Switch to your strong side and repeat.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift — Coaching Cues

• Stay locked in your back so that the entire hinge is in your hips.
• Full ROM is when you feel the stretch response in your hamstring, not when the weights touch the floor
• Keep the knee soft
• Let the hands hang heavy
• Allow the weights to act as a counter balance

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift — Adjustments

The single leg RDL is difficult for coordination reasons. If you have balance issues rest your non-working leg on the ground in between each rep. To further adjust, hold onto a pillar or wall with the non-working side arm to maintain balance.

The Single leg RDL is what I would call a corrective exercise as well as a ball-buster. If it is causing you issues, you are probably trying to load it too heavy. Lighten the load.

If there are any major issues with it, simply switch to the Dumbbell RDL with both legs on the ground.

Caveat: This exercise guidance should never usurp the advice of your medical professional. If there is a question in your mind as to the suitability of this exercise for you confer with your doctor. WATM is not liable if you do something ill-advised after reading any of our fitness content.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift — Further Resources

• Syatt Fitness
• Tony Gentilcore