The 15 Best Tricep Exercises for Building Muscle | BarBend (2024)

The biceps get too much credit. Don’t get us wrong; training your biceps is a must for bigger and stronger arms. But your triceps make up two-thirds of your upper arm mass and cover the entirety of the back of your arm. That’s a chunk of prime real estate.

With that in mind, here are 15 of the best triceps exercises and provide knowledge on how to train the muscle to help you improve your bench press strength and build a meatier pair of arms.

Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult with a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.

15 Best Triceps Exercises

1. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
2. Parallel Bar Dip
3. Triceps Pushdown
4. Skull Crusher
5. Bodyweight Skull Crusher
6. Floor Press
7. Decline Bench Cable Extension
8. JM Press
9. Overhead Triceps Extension
10. Standing Landmine Press
11. Diamond Push-Up
12. Unilateral Dumbbell Floor Press
13. Push Press
14. Cross-Body Cable Extension
15. Cable Kickback

1. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

This compound triceps exercise has you lift a bar with your hands set shoulder-width apart. This hand placement shifts the load more to your triceps. You won’t be able to lift as much weight withthe close-grip bench press, but you’ll strengthen your triceps.

[Read More: The Bench Press Programs to Build a Bigger, Stronger Chest]

The arms-in form you need to target your triceps will take the onus off of your shoulder joint. More muscle mass on the back of your arms will directly carry over to the lockout, or top portion, of yourstandard bench press.

How to Do It

1. Set yourself up similar to a flat bench press, with your hands set inside shoulder-width and your elbows tucked into the body.
2. Pull the bar out of the rack and stabilize it over your chest.
3. Pull the elbows inwards as the bar descends to the chest.
4. Once you have touched the chest, press through the palms, feel the triceps engage, and lift the weight back up.

Coach’s Tip: The barbell will make contact with your chest lower down than if you used a standard wide grip.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four sets of four to six reps with heavy weight.

2. Parallel Bar Dip

Performing regular dips on a set of parallel bars instead of angled bars or rings will recruit your triceps more as arms will be tucked in, not flared out. Your shoulders should feel better, too, since they’re in a more neutral position throughout the exercise.

You’ll also be more stable as the bars are closer together than angled dipping bars or rings. Lastly, we like dips since they can be done effectively with just your body weight.

How to Do It

1. Grab the parallel bars with your torso upright (with a slight lean forward) as you are suspended.
2. Have your elbows almost fully extended to support this position.
3. With the chest up and shoulder blades squeezed together, bend at the elbows as you lower yourself downward until the elbows reach 90 degrees.
4. Press yourself upwards until you fully extend the elbows and repeat.

Coach’s Tip: Keep your shoulders depressed and away from your ears the entire time.

Sets and Reps: Complete three to five sets of as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with good form.

3. Triceps Pushdown

You can reallyisolate your triceps with the triceps pushdown. To perform the pushdown, you eithergrab a resistance band or a cable pulley, step back, so the band or cable is taut, and then push it downward by flexing your triceps. Since just your triceps are moving the weight, you can better hone in on them.

This is a popular bodybuilding movement as the isolation lets the lifter really feel the muscle contract, which leads to great pumps and more activation.

How to Do It

1. Set the cables or band at a high anchor point. With your body facing the band, place your feet together and elbows to your sides (by your ribs).
2. The chest should be up, and the back flat, with the hips angled slightly forward.
3. Grab the handles or band and fully extend the elbows to push the handles or band down, making sure to keep the elbows slightly in front of the shoulders.

Coach’s Tip: Press the band both down and into your thighs as well.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four sets of 15 to 20 reps.

4. Skull Crusher

This triceps exercise variation has you lower (or dumbbells or cable pulley or kettlebells) to your forehead to stretch the triceps muscle.

[Read More: The Best Dumbbell Arm Workouts for Strength, Size, and Time-Saving]

You’ll be able to isolate the triceps with the skull crusher, but in a position that also allows you to move heavier weight than you could with a pushdown. As a result, the skull crusher is a great free weight triceps exercise.

How to Do It

1. Start by lying back down on a bench, with the hands supporting a weight (a barbell, dumbbells, or various cable attachments) at the top of the bench pressing position. The back and hips should be set up identical to a bench press.
2. Pull the elbows back slightly so that they are pointing behind you (rather than directly vertical) as you bend the elbow joint, lowering the bar handle or loads towards your head.
3. The bar should nearly make contact with the forehead. Feel the stretch on the triceps and partially on the lats. Push the bar back up.

Coach’s Tip: Keep the insides of your upper arms pointing inwards at your head.

Sets and Reps: Complete three to four sets of 12 to 15 reps.

5. Bodyweight Skull Crusher

This move is technically a skull crusher, but it hits differently. Your body has to stabilize itself big time as you lower your body, using your triceps primarily, towards a stationary barbell. This lack of balance makes the move very hard but grants you more core strength if you’re able to do it.

[Read More: At-Home Workouts for Strength, Muscle Growth, Power, and More]

Note that this is not a beginner’s calisthenics training. You may find the bodyweight skull crusher too difficult if you aren’t used to advanced bodyweight-only training. Start slow and work your way up.

How to Do It

1. Start with your hands on a barbell that is set at hip height.
2. With an overhand grip at shoulder width, allow the elbows to bend as you let your torso fall forward towards the bar, feeling the stretch on the triceps.
3. The elbows should remain pulled close to the sides of the head.
4. Once your head is under the bar, and your elbows are fully flexed, extend your elbows, pushing your body back into the original position.

Coach’s Tip: Instead of performing additional reps, you can make the exercise harder by slowing your tempo.

Sets and Reps: Complete three to four sets of as many reps as possible with good form.

6. Floor Press

This is a popular bench press variation among powerlifters who need to strengthen the top portion of the lift. Bypressing a barbell from the floor, you’re limiting your arms’ range of motion.

This means you can typically press more weight, which equates to astronger bench press and stronger triceps. The floor press is also a suitable work around if you can’t bench with a full range of motion due to an injury or, even, because all the benches are taken in a busy gym.

How to Do It

1. Lay down in front of a power rack and extend your arms. Take note of where they end and adjust the hooks so that the barbell sits where your hands reach.
2. Get back under the now-loaded barbell and plant your feet firmly on the floor.
3. Grab the bar with your typical types ofbench press grip. Lift the bar out of the rack, and lower the barbell to your sternum. Keep your elbows tucked in at 45 degrees. Press back up.

Coach’s Tip: Think about gently brushing your elbows against the floor.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four sets of six to eight reps.

7. Decline Bench Cable Extension

This isn’t the most practical triceps exercise — since you need to use a bench and a cable machine — but it really isolates the triceps. The cable pulley, compared to a barbell or dumbbell, creates more tension on the muscle.

[Read More: Get Freakishly Strong With the 5×5 Workout Program]

Also, by angling your body at a decline, you’re increasing the exercise’s range of motion. Your arms have to travel further to complete the exercise, and this will create a greater stretch on the muscle.

How to Do It

1. Set a decline workout bench about a foot in front of a cable pulley machine.
2. Set the cable pulley to low and attach a straight or EZ-bar handle.
3. Lay back on the bench and grab the handle with both hands. (It may be easier to have someone hand you the bar.) Now, perform a standard skull crusher.

Coach’s Tip: This exercise also works well on a flat bench if you don’t have access to a decline bench station.

Sets and Reps: Aim for three to four sets of 15 to 20 reps.

8. JM Press

When legendary lifter JM Blakey trained at Westside Barbell and was crushing bench press records, his training partners noticed he was doing this unusual lift as part of hisaccessory routine. The JM press is part close-grip bench press, part skull crusher.

[Read More: The Best Full-Body Bodybuilding Workout for Beginner to Advanced Lifters]

Since the chest comes into play, you canload up more weight than in a standard triceps isolation movement. The elbow position makes the JM press a real triceps killer.

How to Do It

1. Set up exactly as you would for a close-grip bench press, but make sure the bar is fixated above your upper chest.
2. Lower the barbell downwards while slowly flaring the elbows out to a 45-degree angle.
3. As you lower, allow the bar to drift back towards your face.
4. At the bottom of the repetition, your forearms should be somewhat parallel to the floor.
5. Once your elbows are pointed forward (instead of downwards), revere the motion and press back up.

Coach’s Tip: This one serves as a great follow-up exercise after bench pressing.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets of six to 12 reps.

9. Overhead Triceps Extension

Triceps extensions are performed with a variety of tools and in a variety of postures. When performing overhead triceps extensions witha resistance band, the extra stretch on the band provides ample tension from the get-go and only gets harder as you extend the elbows.

This movement is great for both muscular hypertrophy andlockout strength. It’s also one of the only ways to emphasize the long head of your triceps.If you prefer cable triceps exercises, you can do this one with a cable instead.

How to Do It

1. With the band underneath the middle of both feet, step forward with one foot and bring the handles of the band up behind your ears.
2. Standing tall and keeping your elbows tucked in, extend the elbows until lockout, and pause for a second.
3. Slowly lower down to the starting position and then repeat.

Coach’s Tip: Try to get your upper arms exactly perpendicular to the floor for max triceps engagement.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four reps of 15 to 20 reps.

10. Standing Landmine Press

If you can’ttrain your triceps pain-free, the standinglandmine press can come in clutch. The nature of the implement used increases scapular stability and control.

The grip and upper arm position will also likely allow you to train around elbow or shoulder discomfort and still get a good session in.

How to Do It

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the end of the barbell just in front of your shoulder. Brace your core and lats and grip the barbell tight.
2. Then, press to lockout by extending the elbow and reaching forward at the end of the movement. Slowly lower back down and repeat.

Coach’s Tip: Resist any twisting at the torso while you perform your reps.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four sets of eight to 12 reps.

11. Diamond Push-Up

Like the close-gripbench press, the hand placement of the diamond push-up shifts more of the emphasis on the triceps. Due to the narrower base of support, you’ll get increased core stability while training the chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Because of this, you may not be able to do as many reps as in your usual push-up, but your triceps will love it. You can also utilize diamond push-ups as an at-home triceps exercise.

How to Do It

1. Making a perfect diamond with your hands is not necessary, but the idea is to keep your hands close to focus on the triceps. Adjust your hand position to see what works for you.
2. Perform a push-up with control while keeping your core andglutes tight to keep your spine neutral.
3. Keep your elbows tucked alongside your ribcage, without flaring, during the entire movement.

Coach’s Tip: If this movement is tough on your wrists, consider a pair of wrist wraps.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to five sets of as many reps as possible with good form.

12. Unilateral Dumbbell Floor Press

Using dumbbells instead of the barbell allows you to change your pressing angle, which is great if you have shoulder issues when pressing with the barbell. The barbell locks your wrists and shoulders into one position, which some lifters may find limiting.

The reduced range of motion, combined with pressing one side at a time, will iron out imbalances while focusing on the triceps. Plus, the dumbbells are harder to stabilize, which slows the lift down and thus providesmore time under tension.

How to Do It

1. Roll to one side and grab a dumbbell with both hands. Press it up to extension, and then place your free hand on the floor out to the side.
2. Bend your knees or leave your legs flat on the floor. Slowly lower the weight until your upper arm grazes the ground, and then press back up to lockout.

Coach’s Tip: You can hold another dumbbell at arm’s length for some extra isometric tension on your non-working triceps.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets of eight to 12 reps per side.

13. Push Press

With enough weight on the barbell, just about any pressing movement can be considered a triceps exercise as well. Overhead pressing is fantastic for overall upper-body strength, but your performance may not be limited by your triceps specifically.

By using your leg drive to power through the first half of the lift — where your shoulders do the most work — the push press helps you apply tons of mechanical tension to your triceps. Sets of five reps have never felt so hard.

How to Do It

1. Unrack a barbell from a squat rack and hold it in the front rack position with a loose grip and your feet planted under your hips or slightly wider.
2. Dip into a half squat; sink down until your knees come in line with your toes, but not much deeper.
3. Aggressively reverse the motion and push into the floor hard as if you were going to jump.
4. Your entire lower body should extend, at which point tilt your head back and allow the bar to fly off your shoulders.
5. As the bar passes your head, press with your arms to lock it out firmly overhead.

Coach’s Tip: Avoid pressing with your arms early. Allow your legs to do the work of getting the bar past eye level before you use your arms.

Sets and Reps: Do three to four sets of four to six reps.

14. Cross-Body Cable Extension

When it comes to triceps training, cables are your best friend. While free weights are in no way inherently dangerous, plenty of folks find it easier and more comfortable on the elbows to perform high-intensity training on the arm with exercises like the cable cross-body extension.

Bodybuilders in particular adore this movement for its hypertrophic potential; few exercises will allow you to apply so much stress to your triceps with such little weight. You also get the benefits of working each triceps separately during a simultaneous double-armed set. This saves time while not allowing one arm to pick up the slack of the other.

How to Do It

1. Stand between two cable trees with each shoulder-height attachment in your opposite hand; your right hand should hold the left attachment, and vice versa.
2. Take a step or two backward to pull the plate stack up and apply some tension to the cable. Your forearms should be crossed in front of your body forming an “X” shape.
3. From here, extend your elbows while keeping your upper arms tucked to your sides or slightly behind your body.

Coach’s Tip: You can play around with torso angle or arm position to find the posture that does the most damage to your triceps.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets of 12 to 15 reps.

15. Cable Kickback

The dumbbell triceps exercises go, the kickback is less than ideal. Its biggest hindrance is the inconsistent resistance curve; your reps are very easy at the beginning and inordinately difficult at the end of the range of motion.

Working with cables instead of a dumbbell resolves this issue and transforms an otherwise mediocre movement into a killer triceps exercise. Use this one to cap off your next arm workout and see for yourself.

How to Do It

1. Set a cable fixture at around waist height and grab the attachment in your palm. Use your non-working arm to brace yourself against the cable tree itself.
2. Tip over so your torso is roughly parallel to the floor and stagger your feet.
3. Tuck your upper arm back and against your torso.
4. Use your triceps to extend your elbow.

Coach’s Tip: Keep your upper arm parallel to the ground as you perform your sets. Reduce the weight if you need to. Squeeze your triceps hard at the top of each rep.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets of 12 to 15 reps per side.

4 Triceps Workouts to Incorporate

Yes, your triceps will get plenty of action from your best chest exercises and shoulder exercises. But when you’re aiming to bust through some next level shirt sleeves, try the best triceps workouts out there to give your arms the boost they need.

Triceps Workout for Beginners

As a beginner,targeted arm trainingmay not be necessary to reap some gains in the gym. That said, if you’re looking to add triceps mass specifically, remember as a beginner that it is important toprioritize frequencyand mindful practice overlifting the heaviest weights possible. Strength training is a long road, so set yourself up for success by building good habits early.

[Read More: The Ultimate 10-Week Powerbuilding Workout Routine for Mass and Strength]

Perform this workout with higher training frequency and less intensity (meaning weight on the bar) for at least three to four weeks of consistent training. You can do this workout two to three times per week with the rest of yourworkout split.

• A1.Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 x 10-12 reps
• B1. Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 x 15
• C1.Cable Triceps Pushdown: 3 x 15

Triceps Workout for Muscle

To elicitmuscle growth, you want to perform this workout with relatively high intensities and at a frequency of up to three times per week. That said, you’re only able to train as hard as you can recover, soprioritize your nutritionand rest so you canproperly recoverbetween intense workouts.

• Skull Crusher: 3 x 12-15, followed by 2 x 8 – 10 at a slightly heavier weight
• Weighted Dip:3 sets at anRPE 8with a moderate weight
• Cable Overhead Extension:3 x 15
• Cable Single-arm Kickback:3 x 15
• Push-Up: 3 sets of as many repetitions as possible

Triceps Workout for Strength

You’ll hit twostrength-focused workoutsper week. In total, you’ll accumulate 29 sets for your triceps. You’ll also be lifting in a combination of rep ranges — six to 10 so you’re handling larger weights, and then 12 and up to ensure you build a fatigue resistance.

Assuming you want stronger triceps for a bigger bench press, the first two movements of each day are a bench press variation. Specificity is king, so if you want a stronger bench press,you need to bench press.

Triceps Workout for Bodyweight

You’ve got options when it comes to building your triceps on anyfree weights. You’ll rely on high rep sets to near-failure since adding more weight to the bar isn’t an option.

Pick one workout and perform it a few times per week — minimum two times, maximum four times. “RIR” stands for reps in reserve and seeing “2 RIR” means you should stop two reps short of mechanical failure. As you progress, aim to add reps to your sets. Ideally, you can do more reps while still feeling as though you’re two reps from failure.

Triceps Warm-Up

Especially if you’re going to do a heavy triceps workout, make sure you’re not going in cold. Even if you’re going to focus mainly on your chest or shoulders, your triceps will need to be ready for a hefty ride. Here’s a solid triceps dynamic warm-up to integrate into your program before your upper body workouts.

• Banded Triceps Pushdown: 1 x 20-25
• Triceps Kickback: 1 x 12-15 per side
• Close-Grip Push-Up: 1 x 10-15

How to Train Your Triceps

If you’re aiming to do triceps workouts on their own (in addition to the bigger muscle groups), make sure you’re not overloading yourself with so much training volume that your triceps never get enough rest. Depending on your workout split, you’ll want to either include short triceps-specific workouts at the end of days focused on bigger upper body exercises or simply take an extra rest day while you’re in the process of building your arms.

Triceps Exercise Selection

Your triceps will get plenty of stimulating from big barbell exercises like the bench press and overhead press. But when you’re aiming to specifically target your triceps, think about your goals. Are you hoping to make them maximally strong? Prioritize compound movements like the close-grip bench press and dips. These moves will also help make your triceps grow, but when hypertrophy or endurance are your primary concerns, opt instead for smaller moves like overhead extensions and pushdowns.

Triceps Sets and Reps

With compound exercises, you’re more likely to be able to lift heavy for few reps. Think three to five sets in the the four to six rep range when you’re aiming to increase strength. With dumbbell exercises, you will often opt for slightly higher rep ranges, perhaps between three to four sets of eight and 15 reps depending on the intensity of the movement and your goal. With cables, you’ll often take advantage of the cable machines and choose higher rep ranges, between 12 and 20 reps for three to four sets.

Triceps Training Tips

There isn’t much mysticism to arm training, but that doesn’t mean you can sleep your way through your triceps workouts, either. If you want to maximize your results, utilize these training tips.

Choose Your Volume Carefully

It’s easy to overdo it in the weight room, especially when it comes to training smaller muscles like your triceps. The right amount of volume — that is, how many difficult sets you perform on a session-by-session, or week-to-week basis — can make or break your gains.

Most evidence-based recommendations regarding optimal training volume fall between 10 and 20 “working” sets per muscle, per week. (1) If you’re used to hitting it hard in the gym, this may seem like a light load.

[Read More: The Best Online Workout Programs For Coaching, Cardio, Value, And More]

However, the good news is that you can probably get the same, or better, arm gains without committing to multi-hour workouts. Mind also that compound lifts do factor into this benchmark; if you perform plenty of heavy bench or overhead presses twice a week, you probably don’t need 15 sets of triceps extensions on top of it all.

Find the Right Angle

It pays to be flexible in your pursuit of eye-popping, shirt-busting triceps. Yes, you need good mobility in your elbows and shoulders for some arm exercises, but you should really open yourself up to a wide array of exercises and angles during your workouts if you want to maximize your gains.

As a three-headed muscle, certain sections of your triceps will work harder than others on certain exercises based on your posture and leverages at any given moment. (2) For example, the long head of the muscle gets the most love when your arm is extended behind your head. Look beyond standard free-weight extensions like the skull crusher and diversify your movement selection.

Go Overhead, Often

The long head of your triceps is actually the largest of the muscle’s three compartments; emphasizing it will give you the most bang for your buck, appearance-wise. However, it is also more difficult to isolate than the other two heads.

Some compelling research has shown that overhead extensions, when your arm is raised up behind your head, can be more effective at both long head emphasis andoverall triceps growth — even more than traditional press downs. (3)

Mix in at least one overhead-based triceps exercise every time you train your arms and the results will likely speak for themselves.

Benefits of Training Your Triceps

Bigger, stronger triceps make you, well, bigger and stronger. You aren’t going to win and bodybuilding shows if your guns are only loaded in the front. Your triceps may also be the limiting factor the next time you try to test your 1-rep max on the bench press. There are plenty of good reasons to prioritize your triceps in the gym.

Better Pressing Strength

Your triceps fight half the battle on all pressing movements, whether you’re on the barbell bench press or working with dumbbells. If your elbow extensors are underdeveloped or weak, don’t expect to lock out any of your max-effort reps. Some extra triceps work is a great way to safeguard yourself against missing a max attempt.

Balanced Physique Development

Well-developed arms may not win bodybuilding shows on their own, but if your triceps are lacking on the physique stage, it can bring down your entire physique. Even if you don’t have competitive aspirations, doing nothing but biceps curls and neglecting your tris is no way to build an impressive physique.

Your triceps make up the majority of overall muscle in your upper arm, and that’s before training. That means plenty of untapped hypertrophic potential. If you want to look symmetrical and proportional, carving out those horseshoes is an absolute must.

What Muscles Make Up the Triceps

The triceps are made up of three muscles (hence the name, tri-ceps): The lateral head, the long head, and the medial head. All three of these muscles attach to your elbow and are responsible for extending your arm.

The triceps are involved in the back half of most pressing exercises. Think about how you bench press. Your pecs work hard at first to get the barbell off of your chest, but once your arms break 90 degrees, your triceps flex to extend your forearms and fully extend your arms. The same is true for an overhead press.

[Read More: The Best Post-Workout Supplements For Muscle Recovery, Mass Gain, And More]

Notably and due to how it attaches to your scapula, the long head of your triceps also assists with shoulder extension; the action of bringing your arm down and in line with your torso. This is why you need to do overhead triceps extensions for complete muscular development, or why you might feel your triceps working on exercises like the straight-arm pulldown.

More Triceps Training Tips

Here are some more articles that can help you add size and strength to your triceps and improve your pressing strength.

• 8Great Triceps Exercises You Probably Aren’t Doing
• 14 Triceps Exercises to Improve Your Bench Press and Overhead Strength

References

1. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sports sciences, 35(11), 1073–1082.
2. Kholinne, E., Zulkarnain, R. F., Sun, Y. C., Lim, S., Chun, J. M., & Jeon, I. H. (2018). The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica, 52(3), 201–205.
3. Maeo, S., Wu, Y., Huang, M., Sakurai, H., Kusagawa, Y., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H., & Isaka, T. (2022). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European journal of sport science, 1–11. Advance online publication.

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