The man who wants bigger triceps cannot live on pressdowns alone. Too often, guys in the gym — and maybe you’re one of them — work their triceps to death at the cable pressdown station. Ten sets, 15 sets… whatever it takes to get them sore.

But what the pressdown-happy masses don’t seem to realize is that this exercise emphasizes the lateral (outer) head of the triceps. So if that’s all you do, the other two heads of your tri’s are going to be underdeveloped and you’ll never get the kind of growth you’re hoping for.

There are other versions of this favorite you can use, plus a few exercises and techniques that you are probably neglecting, that will help your cause. Here, you’ll find a comprehensive plan—boiled down into five tips—that can help you build balanced, thick triceps in no-time flat.