Ultimate Arm Wrestling Blog

Training Tip: Heavy Partials for Ultra-Powerful Triceps

The Issue: How to build ultra-powerful triceps?
Tricep strength is very important for most inside moves. Even if you do not generally try to press but instead prefer a toproll or hook, you are likely to find yourself in a position where you are forced into a press. If you don't have the tricep power to win in the press, you have to develop massive tricep power... and fast!

Heavy Partials (Bench Press): Heavy Bench Press Partials in a Power Rack are the absolute best exercise out there for building ENORMOUS strength in your triceps. Tricep strength is a must for many inside moves, such as the press or shoulder roll.

You should note that this exercise will NOT add tons of muscle to your triceps, because the range of motion is so small. However, this exercise DOES add HUGE amounts of raw power to your triceps, and that is exactly what we are after!

One additional great benefit of this exercise is that it will build extreme power in your triceps that is likely to add 15-20 pounds to your bench press in only about a month! How is that possible, you ask? Your bench will increase, because you will now be able to do more reps in each one of your sets before failing. By building awesome power in your triceps, you will be able to lock your arms out and take a short "rest" at the top of the movement! In other words, when you hit the last rep or two in your set, you can give your pecs a 3-5 second "rest" by locking your arms out at the top of the rep and holding the weight over your chest. This "rest" will lead to your pecs being able to crank out one or two more reps. More reps equals more gains in strength and size! If you don't believe me, then just try it and see what happens!

How to Perform Heavy Bench Press Partials
It is vitally important to go HEAVY on this exercise. You should load the barbell with 125-150% of the weight you could normally crank out for 10 reps on the bench press.

For example, if you can normally bench 300 for a set of 10, then you would want to use between 375 and 450 pounds on this exercise. You should use that weight to crank out between 15 and 20 reps per set.

In the picture below (the start and finish position), notice that the lifter is performing this exercise in a sturdy power rack. He has positioned the safety arms of the power rack so that he is only 4-6 inches away from the top of the lift. This is optimal for tricep development, as the triceps are the primary mover during the top portion of the bench press.

In the picture below (the top position), notice that the lifter has locked out his arms. Notice also that he has only moved the barbell about 4 inches off the safety arms of the power rack. By restricting the range of motion on this exercise, you are able to isolate the triceps and really work them hard!

As an added twist on this exercise, you can try holding the lockout position for 2-3 seconds at the top of each rep. You will REALLY feel your triceps contract when you do this - just be careful that they do not cramp up!!!

Here is the lift from another angle. Notice that you should keep your butt firmly on the bench and position yourself just as you would for a normal bench press, with your feet spread apart and your arms wider than shoulder width.

The picture below shows the top position on this lift. Notice again that the lifter's arms are locked out. This lift will blast your bench press THROUGH THE ROOF! ENJOY!

Safety Issues
Note that because the exercise requires huge amounts of weight, you cannot safely perform this exercise without a power rack. Even having a spotter (or three) will not ensure your safety - only a heavy duty power rack will do the trick.

Training Tip: Heavy Partials for Vice-Like Biceps

The Issue: How to Build Huge Bicep Strength?
We all know that bicep strength is incredibly important to arm wrestling success. While forearm, hand, and finger strength are also very important, you cannot become a champion without vice-like biceps.

The #1 reason why strong biceps are important is the superior positioning that you can achieve using your biceps. Not only do the biceps contribute to backpressure, but they allow you to pry your opponent's hand away from his body. As any experienced arm wrestler knows, this is the single most important advantage that any arm wrestler can achieve!

There are lots of bicep exercises out there that you can perform, including a few arm wrestling-specific exercises we have detailed here.

There is no doubt that the exercises mentioned elsewhere on this site will strengthen your biceps and add size to your arms. But if you want to add huge amounts of bicep strength that will quickly give your arm wrestling a boost, we have the secret weapon you've been looking for!

The Answer: Heavy Partials (Barbell Curls)
Heavy Barbell Curl Partials build the vice-like locking strength in your biceps. Not only will this exercise add some serious mass to your biceps, but it will also give you a major advantage on the table! You'll be able to more easily pry your opponent's hand away from his body and obtain an easy pin!

Here is how to perform Heavy Barbell Curl Partials:

Step One:
Adjust the safety arms of your Power Rack so that they are at the same height as the bottom of your pecs. When you grab the barbell at this height, your forearms will be slightly past parallel with the floor. In other words, you will have passed the "halfway" point on the curl as pictured below. Place the barbell across the safety arms as pictured below.

Notice in the picture above that the lifter's forearm is slightly above parallel to the ground. This is key to the exercise.

Step Two:
Load the barbell with the weight that you would usually use for 4-6 reps on barbell curls. Because you are only performing the top portion of the rep (rather than the whole curl), you will be able to do more reps with this weight than you would with full-rep curls.

Step Three:
Perform the exercise, starting with the barbell at nipple level and curling up to shoulder level. Hold the barbell at the top for a count of three (as this will build the vice-like strength in your biceps and will directly improve your arm wrestling performance). SLOWLY lower the barbell back down, being sure to avoid bouncing the barbell off of the safety arms (this will be the hardest part of the lift). Perform four sets of 6-8 reps, as pictured below:

Start/finish of lift

Middle position of lift:

Here is the lift from another angle:

Notice in the picture below that the lifter curls all the way up to shoulder level. This is very important, as it best simulates the small arm angle that you will want to achieve and lock on the arm wrestling table! Be sure that you don't cheat yourself by making sure that you go all the way up AND HOLD IT FOR THREE SECONDS at the top of each and every rep!!!!

Safety Issues
Note that because the exercise requires large amounts of weight, you cannot safely perform this exercise without a power rack. Even having a spotter will not ensure your safety - only a heavy duty power rack will do the trick.

You should also be sure to stretch before and after attempting this exercise. You will be using more weight than normal, so stretch thoroughly to be safe!