Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Sam Coleman, Co-Founder
FACT CHECKED
Tris for the guys, curls for the girls! Or something like that! Having a massive set of triceps on the back of your arm can do wonders for both performance and looks.
They will fill out your shirt and improve all of your pressing movements. Sculpting these muscles is pretty easy if you have the correct information, and that's what this article will do. In fact, we will give you an entire triceps workout blaster!
We'll also show you how to optimize your triceps training and even a triceps finisher that anyone can add to the end of their existing program.
Get ready to blast your triceps and tear your sleeves!
The Triceps Muscle
To train the triceps, you must understand the triceps. This means learning about the anatomy of the triceps and how it functions. By learning how the triceps work, you'll be able to optimize your training with the best exercises.
The Anatomy & Function Of The Triceps
Your triceps are a set of muscles on the back of your upper arm, opposite the biceps. A single muscle is actually composed of three muscle heads. The heads originate from your shoulder and run down the back of your arm, where they attach across your elbow.
Collectively, these three muscle heads work as your elbows' primary extensor. They are used in conjunction with the pecs and shoulders to perform pushing movements such as the bench press and overhead press.
However, the triceps function is a bit more complicated than just "extending the elbow." The different muscle heads have various roles, and due to their structure, they have a higher or lesser degree of involvement depending on the exact movement and position of the arm. Underhand, overhand, and overhead are just a few of the variables that can affect muscle activation in the different muscle heads of the triceps.
The triceps comprises three different muscle heads, all on the back of the upper arm. These three heads are:
We will now break down each head and examine how they function.
Medial Head
- Origin: Humerus
- Characteristics: Smallest and least visible, nestled between the other two heads. It's often called the "endurance head" due to its higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers.
- Function: Primarily engaged in everyday movements requiring less force but still contributes during high-force activities.
The medial head originates from the humerus and is positioned between the long and lateral head, making it the smallest and least visible of the three. Much of its structure is covered by the other heads so you don’t get to see its growth. Often referred to as the "endurance head," it contains a higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers. This allows it to primarily handle everyday movements requiring minimal force while contributing to more demanding tasks.
Long Head
- Origin: Infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula
- Characteristics: The longest of the three heads crosses the shoulder and elbow joints, making the triceps a bi-articular muscle.
- Function: Responsible for shoulder extension, stabilization of the shoulder joint, and elbow extension. It plays a key role during exercises like the triceps pushdown by stabilizing the arm.
The long head originates from the scapula and spans across the shoulder and elbow joints making it the only muscle head to do so. This also causes the triceps to be classified as a bi-articular muscle. This length enables the long head to play a crucial role in shoulder extension, joint stabilization, and elbow extension.
It is particularly important during exercises like the triceps pushdown, as it must maintain isometric tension at the shoulder to stabilize the arm while facilitating elbow extension without pulling the arm backward.
Lateral Head
- Origin: Humerus
- Characteristics: It forms part of the "horseshoe" shape of well-developed triceps and a long head.
- Function: Known as the powerhouse of the triceps, it generates the most force and is crucial for lifting heavier weights, particularly in exercises like the triceps pushdown.
The lateral head and the long head create the characteristic "horseshoe" shape of well-developed triceps as they converge at the top of the muscle. Originating from the humerus, the lateral head is often referred to as the powerhouse of the triceps.
It generates the greatest force among the three heads, making it essential for effective movement. As a result, the lateral head plays a crucial role in exercises like the triceps pushdown, enabling you to lift heavier weights.
Variables To Optimize Your Triceps Workout
At SET FOR SET, we believe the best training comes from understanding your actions. Therefore, we'll review some of the variables on which this program is built.
Variation Of Exercises
We hinted at this above when we reviewed the function of the three muscle heads of the triceps. The best training program for any muscle, including your triceps, will include a variety of exercises that target the muscle from different angles.
Even though the triceps is one muscle, it's composed of three muscle heads. Further, each muscle is composed of hundreds or thousands of muscle fibers. When the triceps contracts, the entire muscle doesn't contract. Instead, some of the muscle fibers will contract depending on the need.
Further, depending on which part is more stressed, different parts of muscle fiber can see more or less growth. This can vary depending on the position of the muscle and the movement pattern. In fact, researchers now know that any given muscle can see more uniform growth when it's hit from different angles.
Therefore, to optimize your triceps workout, you'll use a variety of exercises that hit it from different angles.
Range Of Load
Many people have tried to claim you should train a muscle with a load that matches its muscle fiber. Since the triceps are predominantly Type II muscle fibers, some have suggested you should train it with heavier loads; some have even claimed to use heavy singles!
While this makes sense, there's a lot of missing information.
- Some people have different make-up for muscle fibers.
- Studies are unclear if this is even a thing¹.
- Volume is still key, and it is working to failure.
That said, you will use a range of loads, including heavy, moderate, and light. Problem solved!
We will say that we believe most people miss out on triceps growth by neglecting heavy compound exercises geared towards triceps growth so this will be a component of your training.
Use More Triceps-Centric Variations
When most people think about a "triceps workout," they immediately think about isolation exercises. While this is definitely a part of building your triceps, it's just that—apart. If you really want to build mass in your triceps, you need to use proper form in big, compound movements.
This includes things like the bench press, dips, and pushups. However, we can take these awesome triceps exercises and alter them to focus on the triceps even more!
This is primarily done by using a close grip and tucking the elbows into the body more. First, it causes more flexion in the elbow, which requires more extension. As the triceps is the primary elbow extensor, it's used to a higher degree.
Second, It mitigates the involvement of the chest. The chest's primary function is horizontal shoulder adduction (arm coming across the body). Compared to a bench press in which the elbows should be tucked at a 45-degree angle, tucking the elbows towards the body requires shoulder flexion. The chest still controls shoulder flexion but is weaker; Arnold would let his elbows flare considerably during dips to isolate his chest.
The Most Effective Triceps Exercises
As we said, this workout will be a total triceps workout. This means it will essentially be a pushing workout. However, everything in it will be geared towards targeting your triceps. This means it won't just consist of various isolation movements but rather a combination of compound and isolation exercises.
We’ll review the exercises quickly to give you an idea of why you're using them.
1. Triceps Dips
As the name implies, the triceps dips are a dip variation that concentrates on the triceps. You do this by maintaining an erect torso while keeping the elbows tucked as you descend. As you go down, the elbow should remain stationary as the body lowers until it is flexed at 90 degrees. You then propel the body up by extending the elbow. Studies have shown that this version causes greater activation in the triceps then other dip variations such as using a wider grip².
2. Close Grip Bench Press
The bench press is an excellent triceps workout, assuming your arms are tucked at a 45-degree angle. However, to isolate the triceps more, we want to use a closer grip and tuck the arms even more.
When we say "close grip," we don't mean your hands touching like you sometimes see. That's unnecessary and likely suboptimal. Rather, you'll use a slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip and let the elbows drop close to the body when you come down. Studies have shown that these narrower grips, when paired with tucked elbows, place a greater load on the triceps³.
3. Close Grip Pushups
Close grip pushups will use the same rationale as the bench press. In fact, you'll be using these as a superset with the close-grip bench press.
You’ll perform the close-grip pushup by placing your hands narrower than shoulder-width apart. Studies have shown that using hand placement of 50% of shoulder width causes the greatest activation⁴.
Some also like to use a triangle push-up as these have shown awesome triceps activation but assuming you keep your elbow tucked during the close-grip, we would guess activation would be very similar⁵.
4. Skull Crushers
Skull crushers are a classic triceps builder. They manage to isolate the triceps while allowing relatively heavy weight. You can use many different variations, and all of them are valid.
In general, a barbell skull crusher allows heavier loads and could be better for strength gains. In comparison, dumbbells are a bit lighter and are generally used with lighter weights.
In reality, you should alternate through the variations and loads. Below, we are going to link a video on how to do dumbbell skull crushers.
5. Dumbbell Pullover
The dumbbell pullover is a classic chest exercise, and it's known for that. However, it's also a great exercise for training the long head of the triceps. Remember that the long head is involved in shoulder extension, which is what the pullover is.
You will superset this with the skull crushers because they are in the same position and have similar movements. In the workout, you'll be training until failure, so don't be too concerned with reps as long as you use good form.
6. Overhead Triceps Extension
The overhead triceps extension is a fantastic triceps exercise to hit the long head. It takes advantage of what's known as"stretch-mediated" hypertrophy⁶. This just means that a muscle sees more significant growth when it's trained in a stretched position, and by raising the arm overhead, it "pre-stretches" the triceps to maximize growth.
7. Reverse Triceps Extension
The reverse triceps extension involves performing a triceps pushdown with a straight bar but using a reverse grip. When you perform these, be sure to keep your wrists straight! Due to mechanics, we usually use lightweight for higher reps. You'll perform this at the end of your workout and be training to failure.
Related: Best Cable Triceps Exercises
Triceps Workout Blaster
We're now going to go into your actual triceps workout. Technically, this is a triceps and chest workout, as you will be using some traditional chest exercises. However, you'll be using the triceps variation of these and there are a greater number of triceps exercises so it’s definitely triceps centric.
Keep in mind that this is a lot of volume for your triceps, so beginners probably don't need to blast their tris with this training. However, if you're trying to spice things up, this triceps workout will get it done.
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|
| Triceps Dips | 4 x 6-8 | 2:00 Rest |
| Close Grip Bench Press + Close Grip Pushups | 4 x 6-8 + Failure | |
| Skull Crushers + Dumbbell Pullover | 3 x 8-12 + Failure | |
| Overhead Triceps Extension | 3 x 8-12 | 1:00-1:30 Rest |
| Reverse Triceps Extension | 3 x 10-12 | 1:00-1:30 Rest |
During your supersets, use 20-30 seconds between the two exercises then 1:30 between sets.
Two Tips To Improve Your Triceps Training:
Some people may be happy with their current workout, or the triceps workout blaster above just doesn't fit into their workout program. We wanted to give this population a triceps-specific workout that they could fit into any program. But first, we also want to give 2 basic tips on how to improve your own triceps training.
When creating your own triceps workout, we strongly recommend you consider a compound triceps movement like the ones listed in this article. We believe this is necessary for anyone who wants to build big, powerful triceps. In fact, we think this is where most people miss out on a lot of growth. That means to regularly perform dips, close grip bench or close grip pushups.
The second tip is to concentrate on the long head. The easiest way to do this is by performing at least one overhead extension. This hits the long head but also utilizes stretch-mediated hypertrophy to really increase growth. The long head muscle is the biggest muscle on your triceps so concentrating on hitting it is a must.
When it comes to the medial and lateral head, they get hit sufficiently with traditional triceps exercises so you don’t need to really use a “special” exercise.
With all that in mind, here’s what a regular triceps workout could look like that would allow you to add in chest and shoulders.
- Dips 3X6-8
- Close-Grip Pushups 2Xfailure
- Overhead Extension 3X8-12
- Triceps Pushdown 3X8-12
Triceps Finisher:
Here’s another variation of a triceps workout that you perform at the end of any workout. You’re basically training a variety of movements until failure.
You'll do 2 rounds of the following circuit with 15-30 sec rest in between each exercise. No rest between rounds. For weight, aim to use a weight that has you use anywhere from 6-12 reps. However, the most important part is you’ll train to 90% failure the first round and failure the second.
- Close Grip Pushups
- Reverse Triceps Extension
- OH Extension
- Triceps Pushdown
Strength Finisher:
If you’re trying to increase strength, this has become a popular finisher. As we spoke above, some people believe that you should train the triceps with heavy weight. We also said how this general advice falls short. However, it does seem as though you’re able to repeatedly perform heavy singles with minimal rest.
We like to perform this with a triceps pushdown..
- Perform a 5 rep max
- Rest 10-15 seconds
- Perform until failure
- Repeat process
You’ll continue giving yourself minimal rest and then performing sets of low reps. Eventually you’ll just be doing singles so you’ll continue until you can’t perform any more singles. The first time you do this, you’ll likely be surprised how long you can go.
Related: Full Bodybuilding Workout Plans
Final Say On Training The Triceps
While anecdotal, from our experience, the triceps can take a beating. Have you ever woken up after a workout and thought about how bad your triceps hurt? What about your biceps? If you’re like most people, there’s probably no comparison. We’re not saying this gives you the right to use 100 sets, but we do think that blasting them every once in a while will definitely help with their growth. Or, you could use this workout as a regular part of your training; you just need to train and see how your body responds. With that said, we do believe you’re sleeves are gonna be getting tight real soon!
References:
- Campos, G., Luecke, T., Wendeln, H., Toma, K., Hagerman, F., Murray, T., Ragg, K., Ratamess, N., Kraemer, W., & Staron, R. (2002). Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 88(1-2), 50–60. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-002-0681-6
- chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://www.joper.org/JOPER/JOPERVolume2_Issue2_4_6_2015_35.pdf
- Lehman, G. J. (2005). The Influence of Grip Width and Forearm Pronation/Supination on Upper-Body Myoelectric Activity During the Flat Bench Press. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19(3), 587. https://doi.org/10.1519/r-15024.1
- Kim, Y.-S., Kim, D.-Y., & Ha, M.-S. (2016). Effect of the push-up exercise at different palmar width on muscle activities. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 28(2), 446–449. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.28.446
- Boehler, B. (2011, May 4). Electromyographic analysis of the triceps brachii muscle during a variety of triceps exercises. Minds.wisconsin.edu. https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/53487
- Warneke, K., Lohmann, L. H., Lima, C. D., Hollander, K., Konrad, A., Zech, A., Nakamura, M., Wirth, K., Keiner, M., & Behm, D. G. (2023). Physiology of Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy and Strength Increases: A Narrative Review. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01898-x
Garett Reid
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