The triceps kickback goes under the radar when it comes to the usual tricep exercises done on push day. The favourites for that muscle seem to be locked in a constant loop of tricep pushdowns, skull-crunchers, dips and overhead extensions. But adding the kickback, which doesn’t need a lot of weight and is one of the most useful exercises when it comes to isolating the triceps can be a gamechanger. It can be done with dumbbells, kettlebells and even on the cable machine with certain variations, the kickback can be turned into a group of exercises operating on the same fundamentals rather than be seen as just one move.
The one thing one must remember, though, is that the kickback does not work on its own, but is a great add-on exercise to the other ones mentioned. But adding these easier exercises can help one get the best from their main set. They are also best done with a lower weight which means they can be married very well to heavier sets in case you’re super-setting and arms workout. This also makes it a great finisher.
“[But] most gymgoers are going about the exercise the wrong way. They do the kickback much too lazily, or they use weights they can't handle and depend too much on swinging their arms to create momentum to power their movements once they move past the first rep. If you're not paying attention to the small details when you're performing the triceps kickback, you might be missing out on the valuable gains you're hoping to achieve,” says a Men’s Health piece titled Why You Need to Do Triceps Kickbacks With Less Weight.
The basic kickback, done with dumbbells, is the easiest one where you lean into the weights rack and pull the arm up as if doing a single arm back row. That is the starting point of the exercise: Elbow stuck to the side of the body with the hip hinged, ready to send the arm backwards until it’s in full extension and perfectly hits the triceps with every rep. The same Men’s Health piece uses a very good term to describe the effects of this exercise, saying that it is very good for “carving some detail” into the arms. And if the body is a monument, then the heavy lifting is as important as carving the details.
The crossarm kickback is an exercise I like more than the basic one. Done on the cable extension machine, this allows a constant resistance, which is a good mechanism for a small muscle like the triceps. Stand with the body parallel to the cable and hold the cable and hand against the opposite chest with the elbow firmly stuck to the side of the body and pull the arm out to the side. This mimics the same movement of the kickback, but done against the body, with some support means using a higher weight.
Now comes the change in grip and how it affects the different parts of the triceps. The kickback doesn’t always need you to lean as well. It can be done with one hand and lower weights in a regular position as well which can help one choose the grip: underhand, side-hand and overhand. This will hit different parts of the triceps, getting the most out of the routine move of pushing weight away from the body with the elbow locked in position.
Using an underhand grip (palms facing up) will hit the medial head. If done with the palm facing down on the grip, the lateral head of the tricep will be the most worked. And if done with a side hand grip (palms facing each other),
There are other advantages as well, which makes the kickback a friendlier exercise than other moves is the safety of it. “Throughout the tricep dumbbell kickback, your wrists remain in a neutral position. In other words, there is no rotation or added stress placed upon your wrists. Some people find that heavier straining exercises like the close-grip bench press or weighted dips can be uncomfortable or can cause irritation and pain in their wrist joints. If this sounds like you, try out the tricep kickback and take the tension off of those wrists,” states an Anabolic Aliens article titled, Tricep Dumbbell Kickback 101: Form, Benefits And Variations.
All of these factors make the kickback more than just another exercise you do once in a while. With limited moves available to work a muscle which also supports the size of the bicep, this is the one exercise, when added effectively, could make a big difference to how the arms look and feel.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.