OnFitness Magazine - March/April 2022 - 67

67 WWW.ONFITNESSMAG.COM | VOL 22 NO 5 | 2022
DUMBBELL
KICKBACK
Jesse Cavaliere
D
umbbell kickbacks are one of the best
isolation exercises for the triceps. They're
comparable to triceps press-downs but with
more emphasis on the lockout.
That's where most of the benefit of this exercise
lies: in the lockout. And for this reason, it makes a
perfect second movement in a triceps superset.
Two favorite triceps supersets are parallel dip
machine super-setted with kickbacks, and close-grip
bench press super-setted with kickbacks. The first
movement is a compound exercise working more than
your triceps, and the second movement is an exercise
isolating your triceps. On the compound movement
go relatively heavy for eight to ten repetitions with
very slow negatives and not quite locking out.
On the kickbacks, go for higher repetitions,
twelve to twenty, keeping the repetitions going until
your triceps start to burn.
Continue with this routine going further and
further into the burn with more and more repetitions,
stopping short of muscle spasm. Be careful not to get
too much burn too soon, as this will be quite
uncomfortable.
Kickbacks strongly work the middle head of your
triceps and also affect the lateral and posterior heads.
This exercise is one of the best, maybe the best for
developing and defining the horseshoe shape of your
triceps.
By itself, the kickback is limited in producing
complete triceps development, and that's why a
compound movement must precede kickbacks; or, a
triceps extension exercise must precede kickbacks.
One favorite is the one-arm dumbbell extension
followed by the one-arm dumbbell kickbacks.
Lying face down on a sixty-degree incline, hold
two dumbbells in a neutral grip position over your
chest, and then with your upper arms and elbows in
that position, extend the dumbbells straight backward
and return slowly.
Light weights and high repetitions are called for.
Super-set this exercise with dumbbell pullovers since
pullovers also hit the posterior triceps.
Another way to do kickbacks is with a cable. The
position for this is the same: bend forward at your
waist, grasp the cable, and with your upper arm
parallel to your body, extend it backward and
hold it in this position for a moment before
slowly returning the handle to starting
position.
A cable might give better tension
than a dumbbell throughout the
movement, especially at the start because
the horizontal motion of the exercise isn't
limited by gravity. Also, rubber cables are
very good for this effect since they're
not affected by gravity at all. Z
Switch jump
variation
If you've been doing
switch jumps (also
known as alternating
jump lunges or scissor
jumps), you've
probably been doing
them on the ground.
Here's a different spin:
use a bench for the
forward foot. The
forward foot lands on
the edge of a standard
weightlifting bench
instead of on the
ground. This will be
awkward at first, so
proceed slowly to
acquaint your body
with this variation in
hip/leg positioning.
If this is too difficult to
sustain switches, then
use a lower platform,
perhaps a step
aerobics platform.
Kickbacks are a
valuable exercise
for outlining and
defining your
horseshoeshaped
triceps.
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OnFitness Magazine - March/April 2022

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