Irrefutably one of the best ways to add size to your triceps is to perform triceps extensions. If you’re like most who’ve been working out for a year or more, you’ve tried various extension movements. More-over you probably like performing extensions, whether overhead or lying, but your elbows hurt when you use any appreciable weight for a period of time.

Are you tired of elbow pain getting in the way of progress when performing effective exercises like triceps extensions? Are your triceps lagging behind in size? have you reached a plateau in arm development? Are you looking for an exercise to stimulate growth?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I have the exercise for you. In an article discussing the ten best exercises, the California press is mentioned as being one of the best triceps exercises for size and strength. I’ve been using this particular exercise on and off for many years and can attest for it’s effectiveness.

I’ve always attained great gains from performing triceps extensions, especially lying supine, but had to stop performing them due to pain. No matter what angle or bar I would use, as soon as I would start using heavy weight, it always resulted in pain in the triceps tendon. As a matter of fact, I developed tendinitis several times, which I’m sure many of you know, can be difficult to get rid of.

Once I started to incorporate the California press into my triceps workout, I found I got the benefit of lying extensions without the wear and tear on the elbows. In fact, you’ll soon find the California press is a much more effective exercise than extensions because you can use a much heavier load; this will result in a much greater stimulus, which will yield a greater adaptive response.

If you’re interested in trying the California press go to bullz-eye.com.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and lie back on a bench with your arms locked out above your chest [1]. Bend your elbows until the dumbbells touch your shoulders, then “roll” your shoulders back so that your elbows go beside your head and you feel a stretch in your triceps and your lats. Reverse the motion by contracting your lats and triceps simultaneously to pull your arms forward and lock out your elbows [2]. That’s one rep.

Why It Works Essentially a combination of the lying triceps extension and pullover, the rolling extension allows you to use more weight as a result of the involvement of the lats. Perform the exercise for 10-12 reps, as going too heavy for low reps can be stressful on the elbow joint. Do not explosively lock out your elbows. “This is best used at the end of your workout,” says Ferruggia, “as a finisher after dips or bench presses.”