Any gym goer wants to build up large and sculpted biceps. But not everyone knows that 2/3 of the volume of the arm falls on its antagonist - the triceps.
Many visitors to fitness centers are familiar with such an exercise as the French bench press with a barbell. What muscles work when performing it and what are the nuances of the technique? How to pump up big and strong arms, what types of French press are there and what can replace it? About this and more in this article.
The French press is one of the main exercises for training the triceps. To better understand the nuances of the technique of this wonderful exercise, you need to understand how it is carried out. Let's look at the main aspects related to the anatomy of the triceps.
The triceps brachii muscle (triceps) is located on the back of the humerus, being an antagonist to the biceps. As the name suggests, the muscle consists of three heads (bundles): long (internal), lateral (external) and medial (middle). The long head originates from the scapula, and the lateral and medial heads are attached to the humerus. All three heads form a single tendon that attaches to the ulna (upper part of the forearm).
As already noted, the triceps account for approximately 2/3 of the shoulder volume, so special attention should be paid to its development. Genetically, the triceps can be longer (with a short tendon) or shorter and more convex (with a long tendon). This feature is congenital and cannot be corrected through training.
Functions of the triceps
Thanks to three heads, one of which is attached to the scapula, the muscle performs several functions:
- forearm extension: straightening the arm at the elbow;
- shoulder extension: lowering the arm in front of you;
- shoulder adduction: lowering the arm to the side.
Let us immediately note that the main movement through which the triceps is trained is the extension of the forearm. The French bench press with a barbell, like other exercises for the triceps brachii muscle, is physiologically an extension of the arms at the elbow joint.
French press technique
The technique of performing the French press with a barbell while standing and sitting is based on the same principles. Let's take the standing option as a basis.
Progress:
- Take the barbell with a grip narrower than shoulder width (choose an individually comfortable grip width) and lift the barbell above your head with your arms almost straight (the elbow joint should always be included).
- As you inhale, smoothly lower the barbell behind your head, but no more than to a right angle between the forearm and the humerus: the movement is carried out exclusively in the elbow joint.
- As you exhale, with a powerful upward movement, almost completely straighten your arms at the elbow joint, keeping your tense shoulders motionless: the movement is carried out exclusively in the elbow joint, which always remains slightly engaged.
- If necessary, repeat steps 2 and 3 until the planned number of repetitions is completed or until the correct exercise technique begins to break down.
Important nuances
- For most people, it makes sense to use a curved bar: its design allows the movement to be performed without kinks in the wrists or hyperextension of the ligaments.
- Inertia should be avoided by performing the movement under control, without jerking.
- It is important to watch your elbows; your arms should not “spread” to the sides. If this happens, then you need to either reduce the weight of the weight or change the regular bar to an EZ (curved) one.
- The weight of the weight should not be allowed to be too large, as this will entail a violation of the technique of performing the exercise and the inability to do the specified number of repetitions without cheating.
- As already noted, the angle between the shoulder and forearm should always be greater than 90 degrees, i.e. don't become sharp.
- If you experience the slightest pain in the elbow or shoulder joints, you must immediately complete the exercise and understand the causes of the pain by contacting a specialist. This will help you stay healthy and avoid injury.
- The standing French press is the most traumatic form of this exercise. If there is the slightest discomfort or a feeling of hyperextension of any part of the body, it is advisable to replace the standing/sitting press with a lying option, which is biomechanically most comfortable.
It is recommended to do a French bench press with a barbell, as mentioned above, if discomfort or pain occurs when performing it while standing or sitting. In its classic form, it is performed on a horizontal bench.
Exercise technique:
- Lie with your back on a horizontal bench, having previously asked your partner or coach to place the pre-assembled barbell on your arms, which are almost straightened at the elbow joint (here the rule about constant engagement of the elbows also applies, as in the option described above).
- While inhaling, smoothly lower the barbell so that at the lowest point of the amplitude the bar is above the forehead; the movement is carried out mainly in the elbow joint.
- As you exhale, with a powerful upward movement, almost completely straighten your arms at the elbow joint, which always remains slightly engaged.
- If necessary, repeat steps 2 and 3 until the planned number of repetitions is completed or until the moment when there is no strength left to continue the exercise technically correctly.
Nuances of technology
- All recommendations that were given for the standing/sitting option must be followed.
- In order to shift the emphasis to the long head, you can move your arms back a little in the starting position - the shoulder will not be perpendicular to the body, but forms an angle of 45 degrees with it. Accordingly, in the lower part of the amplitude, the bar descends not to the forehead, but to the crown of the head.
- To shift the load onto the long head, you can perform the exercise not on a horizontal, but on an inclined (up) bench. In this case, the starting position already creates the necessary angle between the body and the shoulder.
Bench press
The barbell bench press is a basic exercise for developing the triceps, as this muscle plays a leading role in the upper part of the amplitude when squeezing the barbell from the chest. But if you use a narrow grip, i.e. If you take a barbell narrower than shoulder width, the load will fall almost entirely on the triceps brachii muscle.
The advantage of the barbell is its widespread availability and reasonable price when compared with the cost of exercise equipment. It is also one of the most versatile sports equipment. Today, many people prefer to purchase a barbell and exercise on their own, setting up a sports corner at home or in the garage.
Both the French and close-grip bench press are among the most effective triceps exercises at home, provided you have the appropriate equipment. But it’s worth considering that it’s always better to practice with a partner who can back you up at any time, which significantly reduces the risk of injury.
Dumbbells
You can perform French presses with dumbbells. You can do it sitting or standing, or lying down. With one dumbbell or two. Since almost everyone can afford to buy a pair of dumbbells, triceps exercises at home with them are practiced by many fitness and healthy lifestyle enthusiasts. Let's consider, as an example, performing this exercise while sitting with one dumbbell, because... This is the most common and safest option.
- Sitting on a bench, with your feet firmly planted on the floor, lift a dumbbell above your head with straightened arms, holding it with the palms of both hands at the top edge.
- While inhaling, slowly lower the weight behind your head until a right angle is formed at the elbow joint. It is necessary to ensure that the elbows do not “spread” to the sides.
- As you exhale, use a powerful triceps force to return the projectile to its original position.
- Repeat points 2 and 3 until the planned number of repetitions is completed or until the moment when there is no strength left to continue the exercise technically correctly.
Let's sum it up
The high effectiveness of the standing French press exercise with a barbell is undeniable. This is confirmed by many athletes. You can also perform the French press with dumbbells, which makes it extremely popular, including among those who prefer to exercise at home.
Most of the shoulder volume (two thirds) comes from the triceps muscle. A common mistake made by beginners is to over-train the biceps, since they are half the size of their antagonist. You should always remember that the main thing on the path to physical perfection is to preserve, or better yet strengthen and increase your health. A good warm-up and proper exercise technique will help with this.
Anyone who has seriously decided to take care of their body and achieve its complete transformation should definitely become familiar with such an exercise as the French overhead press.
Why? Because this is the most effective exercise for training the triceps brachii muscle (triceps), which forms the inner surface of the upper arm.
Standing French press - benefits of exercise
Triceps As already mentioned, the French press is a targeted workout of the triceps brachii muscle.
This exercise is isolated, that is, single-joint: in the process of performing it, only one joint is involved - the elbow. Including it in training allows you to achieve the following effects:
- increase the volume (girth) of the arm;
- tighten the inner surface of the arm, get rid of sagging skin in this area;
- shape (make prominent) the triceps brachii muscle;
- increase stability of the shoulder joint;
- increase the functionality and flexibility of the hands;
- strengthen the shoulder girdle as a whole;
- improve your performance in sports where hand work is of great importance.
The undoubted advantages of this exercise include the relative simplicity of its implementation and a large number of variations that allow you to train the triceps in the optimal way for a particular athlete.
Selecting the correct weight for the French press exercise
In this case, to achieve maximum effect, weights corresponding to the athlete’s level of training are used.
Its weight is selected in such a way that at the moment of extension of the arms, a clear muscle tension is felt. It will indicate that the triceps are working quite intensively. Each last repetition in each approach should be performed with volitional effort. This will indicate that the number of repetitions is selected correctly.
The obvious tension in the arms during extension and the volitional effort on the last repetition indicate that the weight has been correctly selected.
When working on the triceps, men strive to make its shape sculpted and voluminous, so they subject it to significant loads and more often practice the French press while standing with a barbell or heavy weight dumbbells. When working in the gym, you also perform a French press on the lower block while standing.
Women more often set less ambitious goals: they just need to get rid of “chicken” wings, make their arms more toned and slender. To do this, it is enough to perform the French dumbbell press - standing or lying down, it doesn’t matter, but in this case we will only consider the “vertical” option.
French bench press with a barbell - execution technique
The essence of this exercise is that the athlete carefully, without making jerking movements:
- Place your hands behind your head.
We lower them by bending the elbow joint.
We raise our hands up, above our heads, by extending our arms at the elbows.
The sequential execution of the exercise looks like this:
Technique for performing the exercise “French press with a barbell” (video):
How to properly perform a standing French press, watch the video:
French press with a barbell
This option involves using a barbell with weights or one barbell as a weight. Typically, a zigzag bar is used, which is easier to grip.
The advantage of this exercise is the ability to place your hands at different widths. By varying the width of your grip and the depth of lowering the bar, you can choose the optimal way to perform the press to achieve maximum results. In this case, you need to focus on your sensations and the degree of tension in the triceps brachii muscle.
French standing dumbbell press (female version)
This option is widespread among girls. It does not involve changing the width of the arms, but allows you to change the weight of the dumbbell and the number of repetitions.
— We place our hands behind our heads with dumbbells. We hold the dumbbell by grasping its upper part.
Step 1 "dumbbell" — We begin to carefully straighten our arms at the elbows.
Step 2 "dumbbell" — We straighten our arms as much as possible.
Step 3 "dumbbell" When performing this version of the exercise, you need to ensure that your elbows are on parallel lines. If they are directed in different directions, the effectiveness of the training will decrease.
When performing the “standing dumbbell press” exercise, make sure that your elbows are on parallel straight lines. When lifting the dumbbell up, your arms should be fully straightened.
Technique for performing the exercise “standing dumbbell press”
This exercise serves as a good complement to the classic French press and includes two types of movements.
First: give the body an inclined position. You can lean on the back of a chair, table, or exercise machine with one hand. Hold the dumbbell with your other hand and lower it down. Using your hand, pull the dumbbell up, then return it back.
At the lowest point, the elbow always remains slightly bent; we do not fully extend the joint. When you feel tired, change hands.
Do you want to have huge arms, but your triceps are telling you that you'll have spaghetti arms for the rest of your life? Don’t trust this asshole, don’t trust your brain, but do what you need to do – .
This exercise will give you the volume in your arms that you have always dreamed of. It uses the part of the triceps that is most responsible for the volume of the arm.
The triceps add volume to the arms as they are the largest muscle. If you deprive it of load, your arms will look useless, even if your biceps are well developed. So, why the French press, how to do it, what is it and why is it so indispensable?
French bench press and not bench press at all
– It is not clear why this exercise was included in the bench press group.
After all, these are ordinary arm extensions, and it doesn’t matter whether you do it standing, sitting or lying down. By the way, it was described on the site earlier. Follow the link and add more information about this exercise.
In another basic exercise for the triceps - the close-grip barbell press - the triceps also actively work, however, in this case, just like with the classic one, this muscle is only partially connected, including the outer and middle heads in the work, practically without loading the long inner one. bun.
The inner head of the triceps gives the main volume to the muscle, however, it is used extremely rarely. This part of the muscle works only when the arms are turned with the palms facing you, or when the elbows are above the head.
I hope now you understand why, without the French bench press, you can forget about normally developed triceps.
The French standing press, in my opinion, can be replaced with variations or a bench press with a narrow grip with your palms facing you.
Types of standing French press
– The differences lie only in the choice of shells and the nature of the execution.
This movement has four variations:
- Dumbbell extensions with two hands.
- One-arm dumbbell extensions.
- Extensions with an EZ bar (or straight bar).
- Synchronized extension with two dumbbells in each hand.
Which of these options is better? Essentially, none of them are better or worse. The essence of this exercise is technique, and it is practically the same for all its variations.
See for yourself what to do. Try all the options, choose the one that is most convenient for you. But remember that they all need to be viewed through the prism of technology.
That is, when choosing the type of French bench press for yourself, perform all options with ideal technique. This is the only way you can objectively assess the advantages of one type over another.
For me, EZ barbell extensions are a viable option as they are easy to control and hold. The disadvantage of this variation is the shortened amplitude, compared to the same exercise, but with dumbbells.
Standing French press technique
– Whatever variation of this exercise you do, remember three main rules...
- The spine should be strictly perpendicular to the floor.
- Keep your elbows parallel to each other.
- The shoulders also need to be kept in the same plane.
To properly perform a standing French press, it is extremely important to keep your back straight and not deviate from the vertical. This means that you must keep your spine perpendicular to the floor at all costs.
To make this easier, take a stable position with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
The elbows must be kept parallel to each other in order to minimize shoulder work and transfer maximum load to the triceps.
Lower the projectile behind your head as low as possible, while moving your hand only at the elbow joint. The shoulders or upper arm must be fixed.
As you extend your arms upward, straighten them completely so you can achieve peak triceps contraction.
As you do rep after rep, remember to breathe. Exhale when extending your arms, inhale when bending.
Technique Example: Standing French PressEZbarbell
Stand straight, spread your legs shoulder-width apart. Take a barbell and press it overhead. Keeping your elbows parallel to each other, as you exhale, bring the bar behind your head as low as possible (usually somewhere at ear level), thus stretching the target muscle.
As you exhale, press the barbell overhead. Make sure that the movement occurs only in the elbow joints. You need to extend your arms completely without leaving any angles.
Don't chase the scales
The French press is a rather traumatic exercise; you should not expose yourself to additional risks - work with moderate weights.
Work in medium reps
The triceps “love” high weights with few repetitions, but given the danger of this exercise, you have to find a compromise. Do 3-4 sets of 7-10 repetitions.
Don't spread your elbows
As already mentioned, your elbows must be kept strictly parallel. Otherwise, the risk of injury increases sharply, and the effectiveness of the exercise decreases. 
Avoid sudden movements
Throughout the approach, make sure that the movements are smooth and controlled. Jerking and throwing weights are unacceptable.
Don't stop at the bottom
Delaying the movement at the lowest point when bending the arms is not only meaningless, since there is no muscle contraction, but is also dangerous.
Conclusion
The standing French press is an effective exercise for developing triceps. Without it, there is no point in hoping that you will ever have one. Of course, you can do extensions on a block, but this exercise has its own specifics, which will be described in the following articles. That's all. I hope this post was helpful to you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please reflect them in the comments.
- this is the most “basic” version of the French press, which allows you to work out the target muscle group in the most accentuated manner. Pump up your triceps This exercise is easiest because the elbows are in the most comfortable position, which provides better isolation of the triceps bundles, and also allows for better stretching of the muscle fibers. At the same time, the standing position allows you to swing the weight a little if the athlete is already ready for “cheating”, although the correct one, of course, is always better.
The standing French press is also good because a comfortable position of the joints provides not only better muscle pumping, but also wears out the joints themselves less, which, of course, is most important in the long term! Despite the fact that the exercise is performed standing, the spine is completely safe, because the athlete does not use very large training weights.
Here you should pay attention to the fact that the standing French press is an isolating exercise, although it is often performed as a “base”, which can cause injury to the elbow joint. In any case, the wear and tear on the elbow joint will greatly increase, so to avoid this, you should first do the bench press with a narrow grip, which will tire the triceps.
Work of muscles and joints
The standing French press, as noted above, provides a very comfortable position for the elbow joint, which makes it possible to very well emphasize the load on the triceps bundles. Also, since the entire load falls exclusively on the triceps, it is possible to use all its bundles, which is especially important for us, since it is usually difficult to load the internal bundle.
In addition to the effectiveness of the French standing press, there is also such a factor as safety, which is ensured by a number of things, but primarily by the fact that the bar does not press from above, but pulls the arms down, due to which the joints wear out less. But it is also important that it is much easier to maintain the position of your elbows while standing than lying down.
French bench press - diagram
1) Stand with the barbell, holding it at waist level, with your legs in a scissors position.
2) Squat down a little and throw the barbell over your shoulders, from where you should squeeze it out, as when doing a military press, this position is the starting point.
3) Turn your elbows parallel to each other so that they look forward and bend them slightly.
4) Exhaling, slowly lower the bar as low as possible, but do not linger at the bottom point.
5) Having reached the limit of muscle stretching, with a powerful push, while exhaling, straighten your arms to the starting position, but leave your elbows slightly bent.
French Press - Notes
1) During the exercise, the back should be slightly bent back and the shoulder blades should be brought together. This is necessary not so much to remove the load from the spine, since the weight of the bar is not large, but so that you better control the distribution of the load.
2) The previous technique completely allows you to isolate the triceps, but, nevertheless, you cannot apply force with your shoulders, so they should be fixed in one position.
3) Don’t move your neck, your head should look forward all the time so that you don’t lose your breath.
4) The standing French press should be performed in the 12-15 rep range, which can cause muscle failure, so ask your partner to back you up so you don't have to drop the barbell.
5) The knee joints should also be bent so that the load is distributed over the quadriceps, which, again, is important not for the safety of the joints, but for better stability.
Anatomy
From an anatomical point of view, the standing French press is a very convenient exercise. Firstly, it isolates the triceps from other muscle groups, which allows you to better load the lagging bundles, primarily the internal triceps bundle. Secondly, the weight of the barbell stretches the muscles and joints, rather than putting pressure on them from above, which provides greater safety and diversifies the load compared to other exercises. In addition, the standing position allows you to “swing” the weight and “finish off” the muscles in the last rep failure.
The joints also benefit because the French standing press allows you to choose the most comfortable body position without limiting the athlete to the size of the bench or anything else. Together with the light weight and other advantages, this exercise can be called the safest for the elbow joint, along with
French press– one of the best exercises for developing triceps. Every athlete wants to have massive arms, most of which are triceps. This muscle group works in any press, so its development is very important for an athlete. There are many variations of this exercise, but we will talk about the French press.
The standing French press is a very effective exercise in terms of human anatomy. It isolates the target muscle group, which allows you to more effectively work out the lagging triceps bundles, namely the internal bundle. Also, the light weight of the barbell stretches the muscles and does not put pressure on the joints, which makes the exercise safer. The standing press allows you to swing the weight on the apparatus, so you can finish off the triceps on the final reps with a little cheating. Also, this version of the triceps press does not limit you to the size of the bench or other conditions; you can choose the most comfortable position and grip for doing it.
Technique for performing a standing French press
- Hold the barbell at waist level, feet shoulder-width apart;
- Bend your knees slightly and throw the barbell over your chest, then you will need to press it above your head, as when performing a standing barbell press, this will be the starting position;
- Place your elbows parallel, bend slightly;
- Start slowly lowering the barbell, but do not hold it at the lowest point;
- Having lowered the apparatus and feeling the stretch, begin to lift the barbell or dumbbell and gradually return to the starting position.
Video clip that will answer all questions regarding the technique of performing the standing French press
When performing the French bench press, you need to follow some principles:
- During execution, your back should be straight, your shoulder blades should be brought together, your feet should be shoulder-width apart - this is necessary for better weight distribution and stability.
- Try to turn off the work of your shoulders to focus more on the triceps.
- Look straight ahead for better coordination, do not move your head to the sides so as not to lose your breath.
- Ask your partner to back you up, as you may not be able to hold the barbell during the last reps of the standing French press.
- Bend your knees slightly for better stability.
- The weight on the apparatus should not be too large so that the technique does not suffer. It is better to focus on the triceps and do it correctly from a technical point of view, than to cheat, jump, and increase the likelihood of injury with heavy weights.
Standing Press Variations
You can perform a standing French press with a barbell or dumbbells. We recommend using dumbbells alternately and here's why:
- The likelihood of spinal injury is reduced (although it is already minimal when performing this exercise) due to the reduction in weight on the apparatus;
- It’s more convenient to work with dumbbells; you can choose a comfortable position and angle;
- By doing a standing French press with dumbbells, you increase the range of motion;
- The dumbbell press puts more stress on the long head of the triceps than the barbell press.
The standing French press will be more effective if you combine it with some other exercises. We recommend starting triceps training with basic exercises, such as close-grip bench press or dips. After this, you should perform our standing French press, and then arm extension in the simulator. This combination of exercises will fully load your triceps, which will definitely make them bigger. By the way, on our forum there is
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