Your triceps are the largest muscle in your arm and play a huge role in making your arms look full and complete. They are responsible for extending the elbow joint and are essential for movements such as pushing and lifting. Strengthening your tricep muscles can improve upper body strength and stability, and can also help to prevent injuries. There are a variety of exercises, which we’ll get into below, that can be performed using bodyweight, dumbbells, or other equipment to build your triceps.
1. Tricep Pulldowns
Tricep Pulldowns are one of my favorite exercises. It’s extremely effective due to its simplicity and isolation of the tricep. The movement is easy and compact; pull the rope down to your chest with your arms pinned to your sides, and then pull down on the rope until your arms are fully extended. You can also do this exercise with a V-shaped bar, lat pulldown bar, or just the cable with one hand at a time. Each variation works the muscle a little differently, so it's good to mix it up from time to time.
Recommendation
3 sets of 8 reps
2. Skull Crushers
Skull Crushers are another effective exercise in isolating and targeting your triceps. You can either use an EZ bar, or dumbbells depending on what you prefer and/or have access to. Lay down on your back on a flat bench with either an EZ bar or dumbbells raised above your head. Then lower the weight bending at the elbow until the weight is directly in front of your face. Now, just extend back up, pushing the weight towards the ceiling while keeping your elbows tucked in, to ensure your triceps are doing all of the work.
Recommendation
3 sets of 8 reps
3. Dips
Dips are a great bodyweight exercise that target the triceps, as well as the chest. It’s one of the best bodyweight chest exercises you can do. To perform dips, you just need a set of parallel bars that can support you. Almost every gym will have something, but if not, you can always do Bench Dips. Basically, you just grab onto the bars and straighten your arms so your body is off the ground. Then, lower your body, until your elbow is bent at a 90 degree angle and when you extend your arms, it will bring you back up to the starting position.
Recommendation
3 sets of 10 reps
4. Upward Tricep Extensions
Tricep extensions are a great exercise for targeting the tricep muscles. Strong tricep muscles are essential for maintaining good posture and upper body strength. For this exercise we just use the cable without any attachments. It’s a very simple movement; with the cable secured at ground level, pull the cable up, extending it overhead until your arm is fully extended. It’s one of my all around favorite exercises.
Recommendation
3 sets of 8 reps
5. Close Grip Bench Press
The close grip bench press is a great exercise for targeting the tricep muscles as well as the chest and shoulder muscles. It is a compound exercise that involves pressing a weight upward while lying on a bench. To perform it, lie flat on a bench and grasp the barbell with your hands close together; much closer than for a regular bench press. Then perform the exercise using your chest and tricep muscles to control the movement.
Recommendation
3 sets of 10 reps
6. Tricep Kickbacks
Tricep kickbacks are another great exercise for targeting the tricep muscles. Start in an athletic position, with a dumbbell in one hand. Then bend your arm slightly and extend your elbow, straightening your arm behind you. Avoid swinging the weight or using momentum to lift it. Instead, focus on using your tricep muscles to control the movement.
Recommendation
3 sets of 8 reps
In conclusion, tricep exercises are an important component of an upper body strength training program, and a vital part of the best bulking workout plans. It is important to start with a low resistance and gradually increase the intensity as the muscles become stronger, and to always use proper form to avoid injury. By incorporating tricep exercises into your routine, you can strengthen and tone your upper body, and improve your overall physical fitness.
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