By: Chris Gates

If you’re looking for the best exercises to build your triceps, you’ve come to the right place!

In this article, you’ll learn absolutely everything you need to know about triceps training.

And I mean that.

This article is packed with information and education, but I’ve made it simple and easy to understand. By the end, you’ll know…

• How your triceps are formed, and how they function.
• What exercises you should do.
• The principles of muscle growth.
• Key technique pointers to focus on.
• Mistakes to avoid.
• And so much more!

I’ll even map out an example workout plan that you can use to get started with building your triceps today.

Let’s dive in!

The Best Exercises To Build Your Triceps: Need-To-Know Info

Before we dive into the best exercises to build your triceps (coming below!), let’s do a quick overview of the muscle structure and how your triceps work.

Because if you know how your triceps are put together, you’ll be even better at training the muscle.

The triceps serve two main purposes:

1. Straightening your elbow.
2. Extending your shoulder.

And there are three different muscles that actually make up your triceps (hence the “tri” in the word).

1. Lateral, or outer head.
2. Medial, or middle head.
3. Long, or inner head.

All three of them work in tandem to straighten your arm at the elbow. And the long head crosses the shoulder joint, which allows it to assist with shoulder flexion.

When you put all of this information together, bending the elbow joint at various angles will help you to engage and build your triceps.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Triceps: How to Build Muscle

We also have to talk about the fundamental principles of how to build muscle.

Because while doing the best exercises to build your triceps is important, that’s only one piece to the puzzle.

Here are some helpful links:

• For starters, you need to train hard to build muscle. Like, legitimately hard. You should be lifting within 1-3 reps of failure on each and every set.
• Your diet obviously needs to match your goals as well. Most people need to get in a slight calorie surplus with adequate daily protein.
• Sleep is where the magic of muscle growth happens. Try to get somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep on a regular basis to see consistent progress.

The more you’re able to be consistent with those things, the more success you’ll have.

And if you can pair those with the following exercises, you’ll be on your way to building bigger, more defined triceps!

Exercise No. 1: Overhead Cable Extension

The exercises I’ve chosen for you hit all three heads of the triceps at different angles, starting with an overhead extension where your shoulder is more flexed.

Shoulder position is really important for triceps training. The more extended your shoulder is, the more you’ll target the long head of the triceps.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing with this exercise.

The long head of your triceps will carry the brunt of the load with overhead extensions, while the outer and middle heads will play a secondary role.

And you can customize this exercise based on what you enjoy the most, or what feels most comfortable to you.

I favor doing this exercise with a rope, and with two hands. But you don’t have to.

You can also use a rope and train each arm independently, or you could even just grab the cable. A dumbbell overhead extension is another variation that works really.

The important thing is that you’re doing some type of overhead extension.

Form and technique:

• Start with the cable back behind your body.
• Extend your arm(s) fully at the top of the exercise.
• Lower the weight back down under control, and feel the stretch on your triceps at the bottom of each rep.

This exercise is typically best performed in a slightly higher rep range. Anywhere from 8-15 reps per set should work out great and allow you to progress over time.

Exercise No. 2: Triceps Press Down

The triceps press down is going to give you the best opportunity to progressively overload your triceps with weight.

Ideally, if you can do this exercise with a straight, or EZ bar attachment, that will allow you to move as much weight as possible. A bar will give you a bit more leverage than a rope, or other handles.

This exercise will primarily target the outer head of the triceps, and you should think about pressing and extending the weight through a full range of motion.

That means not only pushing the bar all the way down to get a squeeze on your triceps, but also allowing it to bring your arm back up beyond a 90-degree angle, so that you’re able to feel a slight stretch on your triceps.

This may mean your shoulders come forward slightly, and that’s OK.

Form and technique:

• Start with the handle right around shoulder height.
• Push down on the handle until your arms are fully extended.
• Resist the weight on the way back up, and allow your elbow to break a 90-degree angle before starting the next rep.

Lift in the 8-10 rep range, and focus on trying to add small increments of weight to this exercise over time while practicing proper form and technique.

Exercise No. 3: Cable Kick Backs

I’ve mentioned shoulder position a few times throughout this article…

• Exercise No. 1 brings your shoulder up above your body.
• Exercise No. 2 puts your shoulder slightly in front of your body.
• And this third exercise will bring your shoulder back behind your body.

The cable kick back allows you to keep constant tension on the triceps throughout the entire range of motion, and it probably gives you the best opportunity to develop a mind-muscle connection with this muscle group.

You can really feel your triceps “squeeze” on this movement, and that’s important.

Because research has shown the greater you can “feel” a muscle working, the more you’re able to stimulate muscle growth.

Make sure you’re not only kicking the weight back, but that you’re also extending your arm back and up at the midpoint of each rep. And focus on that squeeze.

Form and technique:

• Start with the cable at, or below your waist.
• Bend over, and grab the cable with one hand.
• Get in a stable position, brace your core, and think about pushing that cable back behind you with your fist.
• At the very top of each rep, slightly extend your shoulder backward to feel the squeeze on your muscle.
• Lower the weight back to the starting position under control.

Lighter weight is most appropriate to perform this movement, but don’t let that fool you. That doesn’t mean this exercise will be easy.

You should still be taking each set close to failure, somewhere in the 12-20 rep range.

Bonus Exercise: The Bench Press

The best exercises to build your triceps have been all about isolating that muscle group, and that’s great!

But be aware that many pressing exercises will engage your triceps as well, such as the bench press.

Bench pressing is perhaps the best upper body exercise for progressive overload, meaning you can add weight to it with consistency. And since your triceps assist with pressing the weight, you’ll be able to progressively overload them along with your chest.

Research shows the more weight you’re able to bench press, the more you’re able to stimulate your triceps and build muscle.

A close grip bench press (grip the bar approximately 1 inch closer than your traditional grip) can cause your triceps to be even more engaged with this exercise, as well.

So when you put your plan together to build your triceps, don’t forget that other exercises outside of these top three will contribute to your goal.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Triceps: Avoid Common Mistakes

Now that we’ve outlined the best exercises to build your triceps, as well as the form and technique cues you should be focused on, let’s break down some mistakes to avoid.

Mistake No. 1: Ego Lifting

This is the biggest mistake for most muscle groups, and it applies to triceps as well. We all want to lift heavy, but there’s a fine line between trying to progressively overload your muscles and lifting like a complete jackass.

For the overhead extension, triceps press down, and cable kick backs, there’s ample opportunity to start throwing your entire body into the movement just to add another 5 pounds.

And that’s not going to help you build your triceps. Because the more momentum you use, the less tension you’ll actually place on your triceps.

Mistake No. 2: Pressing Down With Your Shoulders

This mistake is specific to the triceps press down exercise, and it’s one I see happening in the gym all of the time.

Many people stand straight up and push the handle down with their entire upper body, which involves a ton of shoulders and not as much triceps. This also limits your range of motion.

Instead, take a step back from the cable machine, and slightly bend at the hips. This will bring your shoulders slightly forward and your arms away from your body.

And it will force you to use only your triceps to move the weight.

Mistake No. 3: Using Partial Range of Motion

I just mentioned using a full range of motion for the triceps press down, but that point applies to every exercise you do.

Tons of folks cut the range of motion short on triceps exercises. Oftentimes, the big mistake here is not letting your elbow break a 90-degree angle.

To fully lengthen and contract your triceps muscles, you should focus on feeling both a squeeze and a stretch on each rep.

If you fail to work the muscle from it’s maximal starting point to finishing point, you’ll leave potential growth on the table.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Triceps: How Often Should You Train?

Alright, so now you know a lot. You know:

• How your triceps work.
• The key concepts to building muscle.
• The top three exercises to build your triceps.
• Other exercises that help with triceps growth.
• Three major mistakes you should try to avoid.

But how much should you actually do all of this stuff?

I’ll get to a sample workout plan in a second. First, let’s talk about what works best for most people.

Doing somewhere between 10-20 hard sets per week for each muscle group seems to work best for most people, and research confirms that. “Hard sets” means you’re lifting within 1-3 reps of failure on each and every set.

In other words, you have to actually push yourself.

Now, that’s a pretty wide range (10-20 sets). So here’s how to figure out your own starting point:

1. If you’re a beginner, start near the bottom end of that range.
2. If you’re an intermediate, start in the middle of that range.
3. More advanced lifters can lift near the top end of that range.

You can break those sets up however you want in your training program, and I’ll show you one potential way right now.

Example Workout Plan to Build Your Triceps

You’ve pretty much learned everything you need to know.

Let’s put that information into action!

Below, I’ve mapped out an example workout plan to feature your triceps and build as much muscle as possible. I want you to view this as more of a concept, as opposed to an exact training plan. This is one way you could structure things.

It’s not THE ONLY way for you to structure things.

We’ll do a four-day training split since the majority of my clients train around four days a week.

Sample Workout Plan
Day 1: Upper Body, Triceps Focus. This day will be full of upper body exercises, but we’re giving a little bit of additional love to those triceps. It’s the first workout of the week, so you’re fresh. Let’s put all of that energy into the best workout possible! • Close Grip Bench Press: 1 heavy set of 4-6 reps, followed by 3 backoff sets of 8-10 reps. • Next, you can do additional upper body exercises for the chest, shoulders, back, and biceps. • Finish the workout with overhead triceps extensions, 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
Day 2: Lower Body Day. No triceps training. Allow your arms to recover while training your lower body.
Day 3: Upper Body. This is a more comprehensive upper body day, with exercises added in for the triceps. • Start with compound exercises for the chest, shoulders and back. • Add triceps press down for 3 sets of 8-10. • Finish the workout with cable kick backs, 3 sets of 12-15.
Day 4: Lower Body Day. Once again, we’re primarily letting the upper body recover. Between triceps specific exercises and other pulling and rowing movements, you’ve trained those arms enough! Time to recover.

I Hope This Helped!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading this article! Hopefully it helped you get a better idea of how to effectively train your triceps and what exercises are going to get you the most bang for your buck.

If you’re interested in coaching to get customized help with exercises for every muscle group, that’s exactly what I do! I work with people all over the world to build muscle, burn fat, and get healthy with fitness and nutrition.

Head over to my coaching page to learn more.

~ Chris