Tate Press Overview
The tate press builds strong, thick triceps. Your triceps are the muscles on the back of your upper arms. This move works them hard. It also works your shoulders a little. You lie on a bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Then you lower and press with your elbows flared out. The tate press is a good pick to grow your triceps. The odd angle hits them in a new way. This can help a stuck muscle grow again. It is best once you know basic triceps moves. Use a light to medium weight and go slow. Use the tate press on arm day or push day.
What Is The Point of the Tate Press?
The tate press targets your triceps with a unique elbow-out position. This move builds serious arm strength and adds size to the back of your arms.
How To Do The Tate Press
- Grab a pair of moderate dumbbells and lie flat on a bench, using your legs to help kick the weights into position. Press them up over your chest with your palms facing your feet.
- Set your shoulder blades down and back into the bench and plant your feet flat on the floor. Brace your core so your torso is stable, since this is a strict triceps isolation move.
- Position the dumbbells over your chest with your palms facing forward and your elbows flared out wide to the sides. The wide elbow position is what makes the tate press hammer the triceps.
- Take a breath and lower the dumbbells by bending only at your elbows, keeping your upper arms roughly in place. The weights travel down and inward toward the center of your chest.
- Lower until the dumbbells lightly touch or come close to your chest with your elbows still flared wide. You should feel a strong stretch through the triceps at the bottom.
- Keep the movement slow and controlled, taking about two seconds to lower. Do not let the weights crash into your chest or let your shoulders roll forward.
- Press the dumbbells back up by extending your elbows while keeping them flared out to the sides. Drive through the triceps and squeeze hard as your arms straighten.
- Lock out just short of the top to keep tension on the triceps, then lower again. This is a feel focused movement, so use moderate weight and aim for 8 to 15 reps.
Tate Press Form Tips
- Keep your elbows flared wide the whole time.
- Bend only at your elbows. Your upper arms stay put.
- Lower the weights until they nearly touch your chest.
- Press straight up. Squeeze your triceps at the top.
- Keep your back flat on the bench.
- Keep your feet planted for a strong base.
- Move slowly both ways. No fast drops.
- Keep your wrists straight and firm.
- Breathe in as you lower. Breathe out as you press.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Tate Press
- Letting the elbows drift in as you press. If your elbows tuck toward your body, you lose the unique angle that makes the tate press so effective for the triceps. Keep your elbows flared wide the whole set so the triceps stay in their stretched, working position.
- Using too much weight. The tate press is an awkward, feel based movement, and a heavy dumbbell forces you to cheat and risks your elbows. Pick a moderate load you can lower slowly and press with control, because form matters far more than load here.
- Turning it into a regular dumbbell press. Bringing your shoulders and chest into the movement takes the work off the triceps. Keep your upper arms relatively still and move only at the elbow so the triceps do the lifting.
- Rushing the eccentric. Dropping the dumbbells fast toward your chest wastes the stretch and endangers your elbows. Lower over about two seconds under control and feel the triceps lengthen at the bottom.
- Slamming the dumbbells into your chest. Letting the weights crash down removes tension and can bruise you. Lower them to a light touch or just short of your chest and keep the triceps loaded.
- Losing the shoulder blade set. If your shoulders round forward as you press, you destabilize the joint and lose your base. Pin your shoulder blades down and back into the bench and hold that position throughout.
- Cutting the range short. A shallow tate press that never lets the triceps stretch skips the best part of the movement. Lower the dumbbells fully toward your chest each rep to load the stretch.
- Flaring the wrists back under load. A cocked back wrist leaks force and strains the joint on an already awkward movement. Keep your wrists stacked and firm so the triceps do the work.
- Letting the dumbbells wander apart. If the weights drift wide instead of tracking toward your chest center, you lose the intended path. Guide them down and inward toward the middle of your chest each rep.
- Locking out hard at the top. Snapping into a full lockout dumps tension off the triceps and onto the joint. Stop just short of straight arms to keep the triceps loaded the whole set.
- Holding your breath through every rep. Locking your breath on a fussy isolation move just makes you tense and lightheaded. Breathe out as you press and in as you lower to stay steady.
Tate Press Workout Tips
- Use the tate press to hit the triceps from a unique angle. The flared elbow path loads the triceps in a stretched position that standard extensions and pressdowns do not reach.
- Keep your elbows flared wide the entire set. That wide position is the whole point of the movement, so guard it carefully and do not let the elbows tuck in.
- Use moderate weight and chase the feel. The tate press rewards control and the mind-muscle connection far more than heavy loading, which just tempts you to cheat.
- Emphasize a slow, controlled eccentric. Lower the dumbbells over about two seconds into the stretch, since that loaded stretch is a strong stimulus for triceps growth.
- Keep the reps in the 8 to 15 range. This is a finisher style movement where higher reps and a strong squeeze work better than low rep grinding.
- Program the tate press after your heavy pressing. It works well as a triceps accessory once the muscle is warm, following bench, dips, or close grip work.
- Add a brief pause at the stretched bottom for a few sets. Holding for a beat where the triceps are lengthened kills momentum and forces them to work from a dead stop.
- Guide the dumbbells down and toward your chest center. Keeping the path consistent lets you actually feel the triceps stretch and contract each rep.
- Squeeze the triceps hard at the top of every rep. A deliberate contraction where the arm is nearly straight reinforces the connection and gets more from each rep.
- Match effort on both arms. Even with two dumbbells, a stronger arm can quietly do more, so keep the tempo and path identical on each side.
- Do not let the tate press replace your heavy triceps work. It is a great accessory, but real triceps size still comes from progressive overload on presses and dips.
- Film yourself from the side occasionally. Video shows whether your elbows are staying flared and your upper arms staying put, which is hard to judge by feel.
- Warm up your elbows before loading. A light set grooves the awkward path and gets blood into the joint, which matters on a movement that stresses the elbows.
- Add weight only in small, honest jumps. Progressive overload drives growth, but on the tate press you must keep the flared elbows and full range as the load climbs.
- Superset the tate press with a pressdown for a strong finisher. Alternating a stretched movement with a peak contraction movement floods the triceps with blood.
- Be patient and consistent. The triceps make up most of your arm size, so steady, quality work on accessories like this over months fills out the back of the arm.
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