KEY AREAS: All 3 Heads of the Tricep, adding upper body strength and improvement of arm aesthetics
START POSITION: Pick up a single dumbell and lean forwards while stabilizing the rest of your body. It’s probably better to kneel with one leg on a flat bench for added stability, but it’s up to you and depends on your environment. The goal is to have the upper arm horizontal at the start position with the forearm hanging loose vertically from the elbow joint.
NOTES: Nothing else moves, except the arm from the elbow joint. No swinging or rocking is allowed. From the start position you should move only from the elbow. The Tricep Kickback is one of those exercises which really benefits greatly from the use of a full length mirror (if you have one of these in your workout environment).
I would say that for beginners a mirror is essential for this exercise, unless you have a training partner who can check the angles for you. If you have no partner and no mirror, then you just have to guess from the feel.
Light weights and higher reps are essential in order to get the maximum overall benefits from this exercise. Pause for a split second right at the point of full extension, and here you will feel a massive contraction on the tricep muscles.
If you are using silly heavy weights (perhaps to massage your own ego or to impress the girls), then you will find that the required amount of pause is impossible, and your form will bend and rock and twist so that you look like some kind of demented and drunken dancing monkey. Be true to yourself, and please have respect for the esoteric and mysterious art of perfect form.