18 best triceps exercises not only for beginners

Triceps strength also plays a huge part in your fitness, whether you want to run faster or lift heavier weights . While it may sound strange for some exercisers  that a muscle in your arms can help you run faster, it actually plays an important role in your sprints, since it helps you kick your arms behind your body to propel you forward faster.

Skull crusher with a large dumbbell

>Exercise details

Target muscle: The triceps shoulder muscle

Supportive muscles involved: None

Exercise type: Insulated pressure

 Starting position

Lie on your back (lying down) on a straight bench.

Grasp the barbell with the inverted (top) shoulder-width grip and hold the barbell over your forehead so that your hands are slightly tilted back.

>Exercise

• Keep your upper arms still. Inhale as you lower the barbell towards your forehead in a smooth semicircular motion by bending your elbows.
• When moving back, exhale and push the barbell to the starting position by stretching the elbows.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.

 Comments and tips

Keep your shoulders and upper arms fixed. The whole movement should be in the elbows.

Do not allow your elbows to fly out, as this would allow your large pectoral and anterior deltoid muscles to engage, distracting your triceps.

The point at which you hold the barbell in the starting position above your forehead is suitable for making sure that your arms are slightly tilted back, which will ensure that tension is maintained in your triceps throughout the movement.

For obvious reasons, triceps extensions with a large barbell can be dangerous. Start lightly, gradually add weight and always keep the movement under full control.

Triceps extensions with a large barbell on the bench

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Grasp the loaded barbell with the inverted (top) grip at shoulder width.
• Lie on your back on a straight bench.
• Push the barbell upwards until your hands are fully extended and hold it above your forehead.

 >Exercise

Inhale as you bend your elbows and shoulders as you lower the barbell behind your head.

Exhale when wiping the elbows and shoulders as you lift the barbell back to its original position.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

• To focus on your triceps, keep your elbows close to your head.
• Keep movement in the shoulders to a minimum. Most of the movement should be in the elbows.
• An EZ barbell can be lighter for your wrists.
• Instead of lying down while holding a large barbell, you can lie down and your training partner will give you the barbell.
• Triceps extensions in a large barbell bed should not be confused with a Skull crusher with a large barbell, which is almost the same exercise, unless you if you lower the barbell to your forehead and make sure to keep your elbow fixed. 

 Triceps extensions standing on the lower pulley

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Attach the stirrup (handle) to the rope pulley, which is slightly lower than the height of the chest.
• Grasp the stirrup with one hand and push it up over your head.
• Turn away from the pulley, lean forward slightly, spread your legs to balance, and place your hand behind your back.
• Your elbow should be raised high, the rope should be tight and you should feel stretched in your triceps.

> Exercise

• Keep the elbow close to your head and exhale by pulling your elbow while lifting the stirrup over your head.
• Inhale as you bend your elbow so that you lower the stirrup toward the starting position until you feel a slight tension (tension) in the triceps.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.
• Repeat the exercise with the opposite hand.

 Comments and tips

• Keep your elbows close to your head.
• Keep your body and upper arms still. Only your forearm should move.
• You can use a grip under the touch or over the touch.
•  Triceps extensions with single arms on a sloping bench

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Hold one arm in each hand and sit on a bench tilted at 30 to 60 degrees.
• Lift the single arms vertically and hold them with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).

> Exercise

Keep your arms still, inhale as you lower your one-arms behind your head by bending your arm at the elbows.

Exhale as you push the dumbbells back to their original position by stretching your elbows.

Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.

 Comments and tips

Ideally, your arms should not be perpendicular but should be slightly tilted back. This will ensure that pressure is applied to the triceps throughout the range of motion. Adjust the bench angle as needed.

Keep your arms firmly fixed, elbows close to your head. Only your forearms should move. The farther the elbows are from the head, the more likely it is that the deltoid muscles will also engage in movement.

Triceps push-ups on the bench

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: anterior deltoid, thoracic (lower) large pectoral muscle, key (upper) large pectoral muscle, small pectoral muscle, scapular muscles, scapula lifter, widest back muscle

Exercise type: complex pressure

Starting position

Place two benches in parallel and stand between them.

Place your hands on the inside edge of one bench and your heels on the other so that your butt is hung between the benches.

>Exercise

• Inhale as you bend your elbows and lower your body until you feel a slight extension of your shoulders or your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.Exhale by extending your elbows and raising your body to the starting position.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

• Keep your elbows tucked in and your torso extended.
• Do not deflect the elbows at the top of the movement.
• To make the exercise easier, keep your heels on the ground.
• Make the exercise more difficult by placing a loaded large barbell or just a weight disc in your lap (loaded triceps push-ups on a bench).

A study by the American Board of Exercise (ACE) found that clicking on a bench is one of the most effective exercises for the triceps. He placed third behind the triangular crank (otherwise called the diamond crank), which was in first place, and the one-armed kick-back, which came in second. It was found that the click on the bench caused the same amount of activity in the side and long head of the triceps.

Triceps push-ups on a bench with bent knees

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: Anterior deltoid, Upper and lower large pectoral muscle, Small pectoral muscle, Shoulder muscles, Shoulder lifter, Wide back muscle

Dynamic stabilizer: biceps

Exercise type: complex pressure

 Starting position

• Sit on the side of the bench and place your hands on the edge of the bench next to the hips.
• Move your legs slightly forward and slide your butt off the bench so that your arms support your body weight and your knees are bent at 90-degree angles.

 Exercise

• Hold your torso upright and pull your elbows to your body. Inhale as you lower your body by bending your elbows.
• Exhale when lifting your body by wiping your elbows.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

• Only lower your body so that you feel a slight stretch in your shoulders, no more.
• The purpose of keeping the torso and elbows close to the body is to keep the emphasis on the triceps brachii instead of the main pectoral muscle.
• Make the exercise more difficult by stretching your legs farther apart.

Triceps extensions overhead while sitting

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Holding a single arm, sit on a flat bench or chair. Place the barbell on your side on one knee.
• Hold the barbell bar with both hands, one hand over the other.
• Lift the barbell with your knee and place the other end of the barbell on your shoulder.
• Adjust your grip so that your hands are heart-shaped under the disc.
• Lift the barbell around the shoulder and hold it behind your back, arms outright and elbows bent.

 Exercise

• Keep your elbows close to your head and arms upright. Exhale when lifting the barbell by stretching the elbows. 
• Inhale when lowering the barbell to the starting position by bending the elbows.

Repeat

 Comments and tips

• When finished, carry the barbell around your back and rest your lower end on your shoulder. Grasp the bar securely with both hands, one on the other, lift the knee and gently place the other end of the barbell on the knee.
• Keep your elbows close to your head when performing the exercise.  If you have to open your elbows (move them away from your head) to lift the barbell, it means that the barbell is too heavy.
• You must hold your shoulders vertically. If the flexibility of the shoulders does not allow it, sit with your hips forward and lean your back against the chair.
• Try not to lift the one-arm directly above your head, as this can be dangerous. Tilt your head slightly forward and lift the barbell and lower it by the back.

The purpose of sitting is to reduce your ability to cheat by using the rest of your body to lift a barbell.

 Bench press with a narrow grip

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: Chest (lower) large pectoral muscle, Key (upper) large pectoral muscle, Anterior deltoid

Dynamic stabilizer: biceps (short head only)

Exercise type: Complex pressure

 Starting position

• Lie on your back on a flat bench, spread your legs and place your feet flat on the floor.
• Place the barbell using the shoulder-width grip.
• Straighten your wrists.

 Exercise

• Hold your elbows close to your body, inhale as you lower the barbell to your chest.
• Exhale when pushing the dumbbell back to its original position.

Repeat.

Comments and tips

• Using a shoulder-width grip and inserting the elbows into the body is important to maximize the emphasis on the triceps muscle instead of the large pectoral muscle.
• Do not use a grip that is narrower than the width of the arms. Such a grip would not put more emphasis on your triceps brachii. Instead, it reduces your range of motion, puts excessive pressure on your wrists, and limits the weight you can use.
• Never use a false grip (no thumbs or "suicide") on any type of bench press, including a narrow grip bench press.
• For safety reasons, have a spotter (assistant) ready when lifting heavy objects.
• When done correctly, a narrow-press barbell press is one of the most effective exercises for triceps activation and development.

Triceps dips (cranks) on parallel bars

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps, large pectoral muscle

Supportive muscles involved: deltoid (front head), broad back muscle

Exercise type: complex pressure

 Starting position

Grasp the shoulder-width parallel bars and wipe your hands

Depending on the height of the handrails, keep your legs crouched at the lower handrails, or you can also stretch if the height of the handrails allows it.

 Exercise

• Keep your elbows close to your body and your back out. Slowly bend your arms at the elbows until you reach a 90 degree angle or a slight stretch of muscle in your shoulder. Inhale during this step.
• push back to the starting position and exale.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.

 Comments and tips

• The elbow is not released from the lower position during extrusion. The elbows should be firmly attached to the body during the entire exercise.
• Keep your back protruding at all times.
• The more you lean forward during exercise, the more you engage the pectoral muscle. The more your body is upright, the more emphasis will be placed on the triceps.
• You can make triceps dips more difficult with a weight vest or belt.
• If you are not yet able to handle the cranks with your own weight, you can make them easier on the machine for assisted cranks.

 Diamond handles

Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: Chest (lower) large pectoral muscle, Key (upper) large pectoral muscle, Anterior deltoid

Dynamic stabilizer: biceps (short head only)

Exercise type: complex pressure

 Starting position

• Lower your arms and knees, hold your hands together and your thumbs and forefingers form a diamond shape.
• Stretch your legs back and straighten your body so that your body weight is supported by your arms and forelegs.

> Exercise

• Keep your elbows tucked close to your body and your body straight and firm. lower your chest to the floor and of course inhale .
• Exhale together with wiping the elbows and pushing the body back to the starting position.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.

 Comments and tips

Keep your body stretched and firm.

Keeping your elbows tucked close to your body is important to emphasize the triceps brachii (triceps shoulder muscle) instead of the pectoralis major (large pectoral muscle).

The diamond handle is excellent for building the triceps brachii. In one classic American Council for Exercise (ACE) study comparing the effectiveness of triceps exercises, a diamond click was in the first place! In second place was kickback with one arm and in third place a triceps click on the bench.

To make the diamond handle easier, do it on your knees.

>Exercise

Keep your arms fixed and your elbows close to your head, inhale as you bend your elbows and lower the EZ bar behind your head in a semicircular motion.

When moving backwards, exhale and push the EZ bar back over your head.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

• Keep your elbows close to your head. Otherwise, your shoulder muscles (deltoid muscles) will engage and the exercise will change to shoulder pressure. If you find that you need to pull your elbows to the sides to push the EZ bar up, it means you are using too much weight.
• Keep your body and upper arms still. Only your forearms should move.
• Do not use a thumb grip (aka suicide grip) for this exercise!
• Using an EZ bar instead of a standard large barbell may be easier for your wrist.
• Of course, you can also perform triceps extensions over your head with an EZ barbell while standing.
• Also known as the French extension with the EZ rod sitting. 

 Kickbacks sitting with one arm

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps shoulder muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Stabilizers: Rear deltoid muscle, Wide back muscle, Middle and lower trapezius muscle, Shoulder muscles, Rear elbow finger flexor, Front elbow finger flexor

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Hold a pair of one-handed grip with a neutral or hammer grip (palms facing the body) and sit on a bench.
• Keep your upper arms firmly on your hips and lean forward until your torso is almost horizontal. The back should be straight.
• Raise your upper arms slightly higher until they are horizontal and bend your elbow to 90 degrees.

> Exercise

• Keep your forearms horizontal, inhale while pulling your arms behind you until your forearms are horizontal.
• Hold until subtraction until one or two.
• Inhale while lowering the one-handed arms to the starting position.

Repeat.

Comments and tips

Only your forearms should move. Keep your arms horizontal and secured on your hips.

While this sitting exercise does not use any synergistic muscles, the muscles listed as stabilizers are stretched to keep your upper arm horizontal.

This exercise is basically the same as kickback with one arms. As already mentioned for one-handed kickback, this exercise is very effective in activating your triceps. In one study comparing the effectiveness of triceps exercises, he placed second, being beaten only by a diamond handle.

Keeping your arms horizontal when you hold a lot of weight can be difficult. Therefore, if you want to lift heavy weights, use kickback on the lower pulley instead.

 Triceps extension of the upper pulley isolated on the knee

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Grasp the caliper (handle) of the upper pulley with a tactile grip.
• Kneel under the pulley on your knee, which is on the opposite side of your loaded hand.
• Rest your left hand on the inside of your thigh.
• Place your free hand as a support on your hip or thigh.

 >Exercise

• Exhale as you stretch the elbow of your loaded hand until it is straight.
• Hold until two and squeeze the triceps.
• Inhale as you bend your elbow back to its original position.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.
• Repeat the exercise with the opposite hand.

 Comments and tips

• Keep your back straight and your upper arm fixed to the inside of your thigh.
• Do not allow your elbow to rotate on the upper thigh. Support it under the upper thigh.
• Be sure to kneel in such a position and position to ensure optimal resistance throughout the range of movement of the exercise.
• Triceps extensions of the upper pulley isolated on the knee is a one-sided exercise (ie an exercise in which you exercise only one side of the body at a time). As with all one-sided exercises, start with the weak side. To support the same strength on both sides, do not perform more repetitions with a stronger side.
•  Pulling the upper pulley under the touch

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Stand under the high upper pulley.
• Grasp the stirrup with the reverse (under-tactile) grip.
• Push the elbow to the side.

 >Exercise

• Keep your elbows still at your side, exhale with your elbows out, and push the stirrup down until your hand is almost fully extended.
• When bending the elbow, inhale and let the stirrup rise to the starting position in a controlled manner.
• Repeat the prescribed number of repetitions.
• Repeat the exercise with the opposite hand.

 Comments and tips

Adjust to a position that provides resistance throughout the range of motion.

Fixing the elbow to the side is important for triceps isolation.

Your triceps has three heads: a long head, an outer head and an inner head. It is very common for instructors to tell you that pulling the upper pulley underline touches the inner head. You can also hear some instructors say that this exercise emphasizes a long head. 

However, according to Per A. Tesch's book Target Bodybuilding, in which he assessed muscle activation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), exercise induces the same activation of all three heads of the triceps. The only problem with exercise is that the relative weakness of the wrist extensors limits the weight you can use to overload the muscle.

Other exercises that, according to Tesch's book, activate all three triceps heads include triceps dips, triceps bench push-ups, French supine pressure, pulling the upper pulley with rope, pulling the upper pulley with a v-bar, and triceps extensions with the upper neutral grip of the one-arm .

 Narrow handles

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: Chest (lower) large pectoral muscle, Key (upper) large pectoral muscle, Anterior deltoid

Exercise type: complex pressure

 Starting position

• Lie on all fours with your hands either directly under your shoulders or closer together.
• Stretch your legs back and straighten your body.

>Exercise

• Keep your body outstretched and elbows tucked in, inhale and place your chest on your hands.
• Exhale when pushing the body back to its original position.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

To make the push-ups easier, do exercises on your knees or place your hands on the edge of a raised surface, such as a bench or even a table.

To make the exercise more difficult, either put on a weight vest, load yourself with a chain wrapped around your torso, or place your hands closer together.

The most difficult variation on a narrow, no-load handle is the triangular or diamond handle, which involves placing your hands close together to create a diamond shape with your fingers and thumbs. In one study, a diamond click was ranked among the most effective triceps exercises.

If you want to get more involved in the center of the body, do the crunches closely on the medicine ball. This exercise is better known as clicking medicine ball.

 Removing the upper pulley

>Exercise details

Target muscle: triceps muscle

Support muscles involved: none

Exercise type: insulated pressure

 Starting position

• Stand under the upper pulley and grasp each end of the added rope with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
• Pull your elbows to your hips and bend your hips slightly, your back outstretched.

> Exercise

• Exhale by stretching the elbows and push the rope all the way down. When your hands are outstretched, turn your wrists so that your palms face down at the end of the movement.
• When moving backwards, inhale and return the rope to its original position.

Repeat.

 Comments and tips

• Keep your elbows tucked to your sides.
• Stay close to the pulley to provide resistance throughout the exercise.
• In one study by the American Exercise Council (ACE) that compared the effectiveness of exercise on the triceps, pulling the upper plus was in fifth place and proving to be significantly more effective than triceps pulling the bar. The exercises that took first place on the list were a triangular crank (which was first), a kickback with one arm (second), a triceps crank on the bench (third) and an extension above the head with a large barbell (fourth).