Triceps: Understanding Their Role as Push Muscles in Exercise

Are triceps push or pull?

The triceps brachii are definitively push muscles, primarily responsible for elbow extension, which involves moving resistance away from the body.

Understanding Muscle Actions: Push vs. Pull

In exercise science, classifying movements as "push" or "pull" is fundamental to understanding muscle function and designing effective training programs.

• Push Movements: These exercises involve moving a weight or resistance away from the body. They typically engage muscles that cause extension at major joints like the elbows, shoulders, or knees. Examples include pressing movements.
• Pull Movements: Conversely, pull movements involve drawing a weight or resistance towards the body. These exercises primarily engage muscles that cause flexion at major joints, such as the elbows, shoulders, or hips. Examples include rowing or curling movements.

This distinction is crucial for understanding how different muscle groups contribute to various exercises and for structuring balanced workout routines.

The Triceps Brachii: Anatomy and Function

The triceps brachii, meaning "three-headed arm muscle," is located on the posterior aspect of the upper arm. It comprises three distinct heads:

• Long Head: Originates from the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula (shoulder blade). Due to its origin across the shoulder joint, the long head also assists in shoulder extension and adduction.
• Lateral Head: Originates from the posterior surface of the humerus, superior to the radial groove.
• Medial Head: Originates from the posterior surface of the humerus, inferior to the radial groove.

All three heads converge to insert via a common tendon onto the olecranon process of the ulna, which is the bony prominence at the back of the elbow.

The primary function of the triceps brachii is elbow extension. This action straightens the arm at the elbow joint, moving the forearm away from the upper arm.

The Definitive Answer: Triceps are "Push" Muscles

Based on its primary anatomical function, the triceps brachii is unequivocally a push muscle.

• Elbow Extension: The act of straightening the arm at the elbow, which is the main action of the triceps, is a pushing motion. Whether you're pushing a door open, performing a bench press, or executing a triceps pushdown, the triceps are contracting to extend the elbow and move the resistance away from your body.
• Antagonistic Pair with Biceps: The triceps work in opposition to the biceps brachii. While the triceps extend the elbow (push), the biceps flex the elbow (pull). This antagonistic relationship further solidifies the triceps' role as an extensor, and thus a pushing muscle.

Common Exercises That Engage the Triceps (Push Movements)

Understanding the triceps as a pushing muscle helps identify exercises that effectively target it. Here are some prime examples:

• Close-Grip Bench Press: A compound exercise where the triceps are heavily involved in the lockout phase, pushing the bar away from the chest.
• Overhead Triceps Extension (French Press): An isolation exercise where the triceps extend the elbow to push a dumbbell or barbell overhead.
• Triceps Pushdowns (Cable Pressdowns): A popular isolation exercise using a cable machine, where the triceps extend the elbow to push the bar or rope downwards.
• Dips (Parallel Bar Dips): A compound bodyweight exercise where the triceps are key in pushing the body upwards from the bottom position.
• Push-ups: A fundamental bodyweight exercise where the triceps assist the chest and shoulders in pushing the body away from the floor.

Why This Distinction Matters for Training

Recognizing the triceps as a push muscle has significant implications for workout programming:

• Balanced Training: It allows for the creation of balanced workout splits, such as "push-pull-legs" routines. In a push day, you would group exercises for the chest, shoulders, and triceps, as they all contribute to pushing movements.
• Injury Prevention: Understanding muscle function helps ensure that opposing muscle groups (agonists and antagonists) are trained proportionally, reducing the risk of imbalances and potential injuries.
• Targeted Development: For individuals aiming to increase arm size or strength, knowing the triceps' role as a push muscle allows for focused selection of push-oriented exercises to maximize triceps activation and growth.

Conclusion

The triceps brachii is fundamentally a push muscle, with its primary role being elbow extension. This biomechanical understanding is not merely academic; it is a cornerstone of intelligent program design, enabling fitness enthusiasts, personal trainers, and kinesiologists to create effective, balanced, and safe training regimens for strength, hypertrophy, and functional fitness. By correctly classifying muscle actions, you unlock a deeper understanding of human movement and optimize your approach to exercise.