POSEDOWN #3 - Bodybuilding Mandatory Poses, How to do the Side Triceps Pose

In the third instalment of POSEDOWN we are going to look at how to perform the side triceps pose. Out of all of the mandatory bodybuilding poses, the side triceps pose is probably the least complicated.

First you choose a side that you feel will display the best of your physique. A couple things to consider when selecting a side is the look of overall muscularity, not just the triceps, and how it makes your waist look. Most people have a side that will make their waist look a little thicker or narrower than the other side, as nobody is perfectly symmetrical. You want your waist to appear as narrow as possible. You can do this by sucking in your stomach and puffing up your chest if you need to.  Also for the heavyweights in particular, you do not want to “disappear” from the side, so if you have a choice between one side that has bigger triceps than the other, or the opposite side that has a slightly smaller triceps but appears thicker in the chest and shoulders, it is just my opinion that the side that demonstrates the most overall muscularity is the better choice. If you have to choose between overall muscularity and a narrow waist, then you might want to use conditioning as a tie breaker, as sometimes one arm or leg can be a little more cut than another. Just remember that when all things are considered, choosing the best overall package is more important than any single component.

Like all the poses it is easiest to begin from the bottom up so we will start with the feet. The positioning of the feet and legs is the exact same as if you were to perform a side chest pose.  For specific directions please review the post below on how to perform the side chest.  Another variation of the foot position that can be used on these 2 poses, is keeping your display leg mostly straight, but slightly bent, and spiking the toe of your rear leg out behind you. The only time I would recommend this stance is if you have obviously large hamstrings from a normal standing position, where you do not need to “squish” them with your back knee to make them appear large, AND... you have genetically gifted calves. The point of this stance is to display a freaky set of calves without taking away any size from the legs.

Once you have your feet and legs in position, it is time to display your triceps.

There are no rules to the grip position in the triceps pose. You can grab your wrist if you can reach it, the side of your palm,  or I personally find it most comfortable to lock fingers, with the display arm being palm up with the grabbing arm being palm down, or you can do the opposite. Choose whatever is the most comfortable for you personally.

Try and straighten out your front arm as much as possible, and pull your shoulder back. Pulling your shoulder back will give your an appearance of more width, and also show the definition of the abdominals, serratus, and intercostals.

Finally turn at the waist into a half-face position. This slight twist will give more of a “V” taper to your upper torso, making the waist appear smaller, and the shoulders broader. Don’t forget to show all of the judges, from side to side. When you show the judges, it is ok to rotate the arm back and forth slightly so they can have a good look at the long head of the tricep.

This is a photo of the current Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, using the interlinked finger grip as described above.

Below is a photo of Lisa Aukland using a wrist grab technique.  Please note that by flexing the wrist such as Jay does here, it makes the arms appear shorter and wider, whereas with Lisa’s wrist grip, it gives the appearance of length. Most men desire a look of thickness, while most women desire long lean lines, but there are no rules to gender, this can vary on the individual physique.