California Press: A Shock To The Triceps

If you are looking to shock your triceps into growth by trying a triceps exercise quite unlike anything you have tried before, I have just the thing for you: The California Press. Be warned, however, these aren’t for the feint hearted: They give an enormous stretch under tension which means days of quite substantial – but worthwhile – discomfort (the good kind) in the days that follow. Still up for it?

California presses are a weird exercise to look at, and even weirder to perform. They are somewhere between an upper-chest level laying triceps extension and a close grip bench press – but not quite either.

You perform California Presses like this:

1.      Position yourself on a flat bench and take hold of a barbell around shoulder width.

2.      Unrack the barbell and hold it above your chest just as if about to bench.

3.      Lower the barbell by gradually bringing your elbows towards your waist whilst simultaneously ‘folding’ your forearms down towards your biceps until they are almost parallel to your torso and the bar is touching your upper chest.

4.      Once in this position, you should feel a great stretch, and simply reverse the movement back up.

It can feel quite strange when you first get started with this exercise, but you’ll soon find your groove and reap the benefits. If you notice the huge stretch at the bottom and the ‘healthy muscle pain’ in the days afterwards you’ll know you’ve done it right.

A few tips:

• Keep your grip neutral throughout to avoid wrist strain.
• Avoid the temptation to drop your elbows under the bar and bench press the weight back up.
• Start with a low weight until you get the hang of the movement.