The triceps rank among the body’s most underappreciated muscles. Bodybuilders tend to focus more on the higher-profile biceps, while sport-specific athletes gravitate toward the shoulders and core.
But here’s the thing: The three-headed triceps brachii muscle makes up roughly two-thirds of the mass of your upper arm. So even if you’re attacking the triceps for purely aesthetic reasons, you’ll get huge return on your gym-time investment.
The triceps also play a huge role in the extension of the elbow joint and thus the straightening of the arm, working in concert with the lats to bring the arm toward the body. That means many sports movements—swinging a bat, racket, or club, to name a few—rely on strong triceps. Tennis elbow results in part from weak triceps.
Swimmers have impressive triceps from extending their arms to pull water. Then there’s basketball—an effective jump shot is a product of elbow extension and follow-through, which doesn’t happen effectively without strong and stable triceps. Triceps also support the elbow in everyday movements such as signing your name.
So if you’re, say, LeBron James, those massive horseshoe triceps enable you to shoot deadly jumpers, crush dunks, sign autographs, and look intimidating while doing it all. Form, function, and aesthetics: the triceps provide it all. Whatever your primary goal, this ultimate workout will produce results.
How It Works
By alternating between a push and a pull, we can move continuously between movements with no rest, though a one-minute water break between circuits is permitted.
Directions
Do 10 reps of each of the following six exercises performed in a circuit. Do not rest between exercises.
Do three circuits total. You may take a one-minute break between circuits.
Pete Williams is a N.A.S.M.-certified personal trainer and the author or co-author of a number of books on performance and training.
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Edgar Artiga
Dumbbell Skullcrusher
A triceps exercise mainstay, but underrated for its benefits building coordination between the upper back and tris. Lie supine on a bench and lower the dumbbells until your elbows are bent 90°. Then pull back to starting position.
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Cable Crossover Triceps Extension
Kneel in front of a cable machine holding cable handles overhead diagonally across the body. Pull your elbows down to your sides and then the handles diagonally down and across your body as you straighten your elbows and rotate your palms to face forward. In addition to working the triceps, you’ll get some benefits to the back and shoulders, too. And because it’s a pulling movement, you can do this in between two pushing movements without taking a break.
The instability of the physioball improves core stability by challenging more of your muscles, especially the triceps. Make sure your fingers are pointed down the sides of the ball for best triceps results.
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Westend61 / Getty
Triceps Stretch
Stand with one hand behind your neck and your elbow pointing up. Use your other hand—or, more likely, your other hand gently pulling a rope or towel held on both ends—to pull your elbow down. You’ll likely find this easier on one side than the other.
Unlike a lot of stretches, you can make relatively quick progress on this one if done daily, to the point where you can forego the towel or rope and gradually grasp hands on both sides. Like the ‘X’ pulldown, this stretch breaks up the push-centric nature of a triceps routine, allowing you to continue without resting.
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Per Bernal
Triceps Pressdown
Perhaps the most famous triceps move, but one often executed poorly. They key when pushing the cable (or bar) down into the fully extended position is to maintain good posture with your shoulders pulled back and down, and to return to cable/bar no higher than chest level with each rep.
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mihailomilovanovic / Getty Images
Parallel Bar Dips
So basic, yet so effective, because you’re lifting your entire bodyweight, a much heavier load than a typical isolation exercise. Lift yourself up on parallel bars with torso staying perpendicular to the ground—no bending your knees. Maintain this posture throughout.
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Tara Moore / Getty
Triceps Stretch
Repeat the triceps stretch in lieu of resting between movements.
