Tight triceps, symptoms, thoughts?

[dboogie62]

what type of symptoms would you expect someone to experience when dealing with very tight over active triceps?

[robertscott]

what type of symptoms would you expect someone to experience when dealing with very tight over active triceps?

it's unlikely they'd be overactive, but excessively tight and overworked triceps can leave your elbows feeling nasty.

get some manual therapy on your elbows, but bring something to bite down on because it's going to hurt...

[Jungledoc]

what type of symptoms would you expect someone to experience when dealing with very tight over active triceps?

Tell us more!

[dboogie62]

sorry for the delay in responding. To start with I got a massage and the lady made a comment about how tight my triceps were. Normally I would assume that she knew what she was talking about, but I have gotten plenty of massages before and this happens to be the first time anyone has ever mentioned it too me. Also I work a desk job so I spend alot of time hunched over a computer. I have always dealt with nagging shoulder injuries and never really been able to establish a clear cut reason why other than poor posture and using bad form while lifting. I have always had an issue with adding much size to my arms/triceps and the more I think about it the more i struggle with form on tricep exercises, even with very light weight. For example in an exercise like overhead tricep extension I have alot of trouble keeping my elbows in tight and they tend to flare, just as they do with tricep presses or even the bench press. as far as tricep kickbacks with a dumbbell, i cant keep good form with much more than 8-10 pounds, and my endurance is very poor even with a very light weight. I cant say that i am in great shape or have great discipline when it comes to exercise and working out but I have always felt like that my body has a weak link somewhere that was keeping me from taking the next step. I am not sure if its a weak muscle or tight muscle somewhere in the chain but I am sure of it. any thoughts or feelings?

[dboogie62]

also how do the rear delts and triceps affect each other. I feel like if someone was analyzing my physique and critiquing my performance on lifts and physical appearance, the clear weak link would be the rear delts and triceps.

[robertscott]

"tight" doesn't necessarily mean "dysfunction," so just because your triceps are tight it doesn't mean that there's a problem. If you are having elbow pain then it's a different story.

If you have poor posture and shoulder pain then there's more going on than just weak rear delts going on. Your whole upper back needs strengthened; all around your shoulder blades. You need to do LOADS of rows and prone trap raises/prone Ys. Google the exercises you don't know and make sure your form is good. If you can't feel the target muscle working then lower the weight and concentrate on form until you can.

As for your weak triceps, well, they're just weak. Use as light a weight as you need to and keep your form good. Be patient, the strength will come.

And your comment about not having discipline means you have bigger issues than weak triceps.

[stuward]

With regards to discipline, this is a red herring. You will always find time for things that are important to you. Discipline means that you have think about your priorities, consider the consequences of your actions and inactions and make your decisions conciously and follow through as planned. Regardless, you will make decisions and you will act on what you perceive as important, whether you are concious about it or not. If that means playing video games instead of doing face pulls, then you've made your choice as to what's important to you.

[dboogie62]

Thanks for your input. I would not say there isnt necessarily elbow pain. They can be sensitive and inflamed but if I ice them or rest them a few days it normally takes care of it. I really think that's a product of not enough rest and giving them time to recover at times. How often can my back handle hammering away and doing loads of rows 2-3 times a week while going hard? Should I give the other upper body muscles a rest while I take 6-8 weeks to get everything in line in regards to strength training? And focus more on flexibility and ROM for the other groups.

[robertscott]

you can hit your back 3x a week, definitely. As for the rest of your body, just do everything that doesn't cause pain. If it hurts, don't do it. You can still train the rest of your body.

Your elbow problems are probably related to your upper back being weak anyway. A lot of elbow problems are compensation injuries caused by weak upper back.

Your exercise selection for your triceps will make a difference too. Skullcrushers/extensions with a barbell or dumbells are MURDER on the elbows, so consider switching to cables for your triceps work. Cables are much easier on your elbows.