Some of you live in perpetual pain from inflamed elbow tendons. Elbows have rarely bothered those who avoided the exercises that aggravate them—which unfortunately include nearly every type of triceps extension performed with free weights. Once you acquire tendinitis of the elbow, your elbows are never quite the same again. To avoid that disheartening state of affairs, take extra care to prevent injury.
Never jump right into heavy training for any of the pushing muscles: chest, shoulders or triceps. With triceps in particular, warm up thoroughly with at least two or three 15-to-25-rep sets of cable push-downs before starting work sets. Never bounce, or rebound, out of the bottom of a rep to cheat a couple more reps or even use more resistance. You may want to consider wearing neoprene elbow sleeves, available at any sporting goods store, to keep your elbows warm and tightly supported. Just don’t buy them too tight or wear them too long, or you’ll find your hands going numb from blocked circulation. In all seriousness, though, take good care of your elbows and never skimp on warmups. A key factor in getting bigger triceps is your ability to train them heavy with a wide variety of movements, something only possible when you have healthy joints and connective tissues.
