7 Triceps Workout Exercises With Weights

The real name of the triceps is actually the " musculus triceps brachii " or " three-headed arm puller ". The muscle lies along the back of the upper arm and - as the name says - consists of 3 muscle heads. Although the long, middle and lateral head of the triceps are all activated when stretching the arms, the focus often differs depending on the exercise.

Below are 7 exercises for a complete training of your triceps.

1. Lying triceps extension ("skull crushers")
2. Standing tricep extension with one arm and cable
3. Overhead tricep extension
4. Triceps kickback with one arm
5. Triceps pushdown with rope or rod
6. Overhead Rope Extensions (with rope leaning forwards)
7. Bench press variations for your triceps

Recumbent triceps extension ("Skull Crushers")
With lying triceps extensions you train mainly the long and middle head of your triceps. This is an excellent exercise to get more volume in your upper arm.

Turn your wrists out, grasp a bar (EZ bar) with both hands and lie down on a flat bench. Stretch your arms above you to start. Then bend your elbows and lower the rod until your arms form an angle of about 90 °. Do NOT move with your upper arms, they remain in the same position. Stretch your arms and return to the starting position.

For the advanced: this exercise can also be done with dumbbells.

Standing tricep extension with one arm and cable
With this exercise, you mainly train the internal medium of the triceps, which ensures that the length of the muscle is emphasized. Handy: with this exercise, you also strengthen the elbow muscle and the stretching muscles of the wrist.

You can perform the standing triceps extension with a private grip. Stand face-to-face with the cable system. Press your upper arm against your body and keep it still during the entire exercise. Grab the handle and bend your elbow. Then stretch your arm and hold that position for 1 second. Bend your arms slowly and return to the starting position.



Overhead tricep extension
An excellent exercise to get a nice alignment on the side of your triceps!

The overhead triceps extension can be executed in various ways. In the first place, you can choose to have your set sitting or standing. We recommend doing the exercise while sitting because you have a little more control over a correct posture.

Secondly, you can do the overhead tricep extension with both arms together or with 1 arm at a time.

Start with one arm stretched next to your head. Slowly bend your arm and lower the barbell sideways behind your head. Make sure your upper arm stays completely still and maintains its position! Stretch your arm and return to the starting position.

The exercise with both hands goes similarly in his work. You take a weight with both hands and stretch your arms above you. Then you slowly lower the weight behind your head as you exhale. Try to keep your elbows shoulder-width in this exercise. The narrower the elbows, the better the triceps are trained.

Make sure that you do not make your lower back too hollow during this exercise. To avoid putting too much strain on your lower back, it is advisable to tighten your abdominal muscles during this exercise.

Triceps kickback with one arm
Again a very effective exercise to nicely define the back of your upper arm! In the triceps kickback exercise, the execution and control are of great importance. Therefore, do not take heavy weights and avoid too much stress on other joints, such as your shoulder.

Hold a light dumbbell with one hand and place your other hand on a stable surface. Lean forward until your torso is almost parallel to the ground. Now bring your elbow to your body height and press your upper arm against your torso.

Start the exercise by fully stretching your arm. Then lower your forearm slowly. Note: the position of your upper arm will remain unchanged and your elbow will always stay at the same height.

Good to know: a variation on this exercise can also be found in our overview with triceps exercises at home.

Triceps pushdown
At the triceps pushdown you grab either a rope or a (triangular, "V-") rod with an overhand grip. Stand straight over the appliance and bend slightly through the knees. Lean slightly forward with your torso, look forward and keep your elbows on your body.

Grab the rope or rod and then stretch your arms. Hold this position for 1 second. Bend your elbows until your forearms are parallel to the ground. From here you repeat this movement about 10 times (depending on your training schedule).

Overhead Rope Extensions (with rope leaning forwards)
The overhead rope extension is done on the same device as the triceps pushdown. In this exercise, however, you go with your back to the device.

First of all, you take the rope with both hands, then you turn your back to the device and lean forward slightly. Your upper arms stretch upwards, in a straight line with the rest of your body. Your elbows keep the whole exercise close to each other. Stretch your arm, hold the position for a moment, and slowly lower your arms again.

Narrow bench press variations for your triceps
Finally, a real triceps killer! You do bench presses in the first place for your chest muscles. But, when you take the rod with a narrow grip it is also a complete triceps exercise. Moreover, you can add a lot of weight to this exercise, which can significantly increase the progress of your training.

Hold the bar with a narrow overhand grip (approximately at shoulder width). You do not bend your elbows aside but parallel to your body (!) When you lower the weight. Even when you push the weight back up, your elbows stay at shoulder width.