I tried training like Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds with his trainer’s top 5 moves for big arms
Celebrity trainer Don Saladino reveals his top triceps exercises
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Ryan Reynolds' workout routine has become even hotter property since the release ofDeadpool and Wolverine– hardly surprising when a brawnyMarvelstar dons a skin-tight suit for two-plus hours.
Being a fitness writer, and having already tried one ofHugh Jackman’s workouts, I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. After a bit of digging online, I found five top triceps exercises recommended by Reynolds' long-time trainerDon Saladino, so I strapped on my fitness tracker (you can find the right one for you on ourbest fitness trackerlist) and headed straight to the gym to give them a try.
The exercises were fun, effective and a welcome departure from endless triceps push-downs (a bodybuilding staple which, while effective, can grow tiresome over time). Find out more about each one below, including how to perform them with proper form and why you should consider adding them into your workout plans.
How to do Ryan Reynold’s trainer’s five favorite triceps exercises
Saladino shared these five exercises as alternative options to classics like the triceps push-down, helping you keep your workouts fresh and fun while working thesearmmuscles in new ways. Watch his videos below for a quick demonstration of each one.
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1. Prone kickback
My takeaways
Prone is a fancy way of saying “lying face down”, but comfort isn’t the priority here.
Putting yourself in a prone position, with your chest resting on a sturdy surface like a weight bench, can be a handy way to remove momentum from the equation during certain exercises.
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Swapping bent-over rows for chest-supported rows, for example. In the former, you simply hinge at the hips then row a held weight to your belly button. The latter sees you lie face down on a weight bench set at an incline and row the weights upward from there.
The presence of the bench means you’re unable to jerk the weight upward by moving your torso, so the targeted muscles are forced to do all the heavy lifting. The same applies for the prone kickback, and the results can be humbling—I was forced to drop to a pair of 15lb ‘bells for three sets of 15.
A bonus top tip: Pause for a second at the top of each rep and give your triceps a squeeze to really feel the muscle contracting.
2. Suspension trainer triceps extension
My takeaways
I love gymnastic rings and, by extension, suspension trainers. When gyms shut during lockdown, I exclusively used the former to maintain my fitness, and they proved to be a fun and effective training tool.
I like this exercise because it’s an example of you moving you—when people talk about “functional fitness”, this is it. It delivers a targeted hit to the triceps, and the unsteadiness of the straps will bring smaller stabilizing muscles into play in your shoulders and core.
3. Cross-body triceps extension
My takeaways
The triceps brachii, to give the muscle its formal title, is so named because it has three heads—long, lateral and medial. Combined, they’re primarily responsible for straightening the arm at the elbow, but changing the angle of attack in your triceps training can shift the emphasis between them. So it pays to switch things up with exercises like this one.
This move felt different to others on this list, proving effective even with lighter weights (a pair of 25lb dumbbells, in my case). I felt it more in the long head of the triceps—the meaty part at the top of the arm, on the side closest to the torso.
4. Close-grip push-up
My takeaways
The push-up can be overlooked because it’s so commonplace, but I’m a big fan. It’s an equipment-free compound exercise that recruits muscles across your chest, shoulders, triceps and core—it is a “moving plank”, after all. Better yet, you can do it anywhere (although expect funny looks if you start cranking out reps in the supermarket).
This close-grip variation tweaks the mechanics of the move to demand more pushing power from your triceps and shift emphasis away from your chest. For an added challenge, I tried it with a green 25lb weight plate resting across my shoulder blades, like the shell of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and my triceps were on fire after three sets of 8-12 reps.
5. Single-arm overhead extension
My takeaways
This is my favorite of Saladino’s five exercises. The trainer says he likes this move because it requires a healthy dose of shoulder mobility, as well as being a top triceps-builder.
You’re working the triceps through a large range of motion for maximal muscle activation, and I enjoyed solid mind-muscle connection throughout the movement: in other words, I could feel my triceps working hard as I neared the end of each set.
Be warned though, this exercise is deceptive. For the first three reps I felt like I had chosen a weight that was too light, but by the time I approached my target of 15 reps my arm was shaking with effort enough to register on the Richter scale.
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Harry is a huge fan of picking things up, putting them down again and writing about it, which uniquely qualifies him for the position of fitness and wearables writer with TechRadar.
He’s an NCTJ-qualified journalist with a degree in English and journalism and several years’ experience covering the health and fitness beat. This has involved writing for the likes of Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Fit&Well, Live Science and Coach.
Harry is passionate about all things exercise-related, having spent more than a decade experimenting with a wide range of training styles. He’s used strength training, bodybuilding, Pilates, powerlifting, gymnastics, rowing, yoga, running, calisthenics, CrossFit and more to build a fit, functional body (and have fun while doing it).
When he’s not writing or training, he can usually be found racing his dog Archie up scenic hills in the south west of England or working to complete his NASM-certified personal trainer qualification.
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