Exercises for triceps – exercises, training, rules and tips

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Beautifully sculpted arm muscles require proper training. You can find many triceps exercises on the Internet. However, in order for them to bring the expected results, it is necessary to engage the entire triceps muscle. The best solution is to include in the training plan both triceps exercises with dumbbells and without equipment or on TRX bands. Check out the most effective exercises.

Exercises for triceps should be included in any training plan that builds not only strength, but also muscle mass. Unfortunately, many people often forget that the triceps is the strongest shoulder muscle. See how to build nicely defined muscles and learn about effective triceps exercises.

Exercises for triceps – structure of the triceps

“Triceps brachii” is the anatomical name for a group of triceps muscles. By breaking down and analyzing this name, which comes from Latin, we can reveal important information about the anatomy of the triceps.

The “triceps” are divided into “tri” and “ceps” which mean “three” and “heads” respectively. “Brachii” means “shoulder”. This tells us that the triceps brachii is, quite literally, the triceps muscle of the shoulder. The “head” of the muscle is the starting point of the muscle.

The three heads of the triceps brachii include:

1. long head – This is the inner head of the triceps. It is responsible for the extension of the elbow, but also plays a role in the extension and adduction of the shoulder. The long head is most pronounced when the arm is extended above the head (or in the case of, for example, extending the forearms in the upper pulley, when the arm is extended forward).
2. side head – This is the outer head of the triceps. Responsible for extending the elbow. The lateral head is the triceps head that lags the most. This is emphasized in triceps exercises, where the bar is below shoulder height and where the elbows can be bent, such as the triceps pushdown. However, you can also emphasize the side head by doing a bench press in a tight grip with your elbows parted (not recommended as it can strain your shoulders and wrists).
3. medial head – Responsible for extending the elbow. The best way to emphasize this head is to use the top lift line and perform arm straightening with the undergrip.

Triceps complex exercises (e.g. push-ups on bars, bench press with a tight grip) tend to make the 3 heads work relatively evenly.

See also: Muscles – structure, operation and types of muscles

Exercises for triceps – dumbbells

The most effective exercises for triceps with dumbbells are:

1. French bench press – this is the most popular exercise for triceps, it can be performed lying down or with the arms above the head;
2. extending the arm backwards in the torso drop – the body should be positioned as for rowing with a one-arm dumbbell. For the exercise, we use a straight bench, on which we lean our knee and hand. In the other hand, we hold the dumbbells and make the movement only in the elbow joint, guiding the arm next to the body. To be bent at an angle of 90 degrees.

See also: Exercises with dumbbells

Exercises for triceps – gym

We often perform triceps exercises in the gym, mainly due to the large amount of exercise equipment. In the gym for triceps exercises, we can use, for example, upper lift lines. We can use them to straighten the arms with an overgrip, undergrip and with a line held by a hammer.

See also: Strength training – only in the gym?

Triceps exercise without equipment

Usually, when we want to carve a particular group of muscles, we try to reach for an additional load. However, it should be remembered that many effective triceps exercises are performed without additional equipment or weight. We then use, for example, the weight of our body.

If we are looking for triceps exercises without additional load, a backward pump, i.e. the so-called triceps pump. Importantly, we can make it on the floor or use the edge of a chair or bed for it.

Another popular and very effective exercise for triceps is the so-called Swedish pump. It is also called a dip bar or a handrail pump. This exercise will involve not only the entire triceps muscle of the shoulder, but also the front of the deltoid as well as the lower chest. When doing this exercise, remember to keep your elbows close together and not lean forward.

Exercises for triceps – training plan

At the beginning of our adventure with training, many people reach for ready-made training plans. When we get to know our body and its capabilities better, you can set up a training plan yourself.

Be intelligent when deciding on the proper role of triceps training in your training plan. The context of certain factors must be considered, such as:

1. Experience level;
2. Current training plan;
3. Goals and our priorities.

Triceps training plan strategy for beginners

If we’re in the beginner stage, let’s do ourselves a favor and forget about any special triceps exercises. This means no dedicated triceps or arm workouts.

Professionals often advise beginners to stay away from triceps exercises in isolation – unless it is done as outlined below, for the stated purpose:

Experts agree that there is no problem with about two sets of light to medium triceps exercises at the end of each workout. As long as it does not affect our recovery after training. The goal is to satisfy the indulgent desire to do direct shoulder work – which is an incredibly common tendency among beginners – without actually interfering with our progress.

See also: Training plan for the gym. How to plan exercises well?

Triceps training plan strategy for intermediate to advanced exercisers

If we are an intermediate or advanced practitioner, we have broader options to consider. Here are two approaches to triceps training for Intermediate and Advanced:

Division into body parts. Doing 4 or 5 days of workouts by different muscle groups is the best training approach to prioritize building bigger triceps. The downside is that it is not conducive to gaining strength like other types of training plans. If we choose this approach, 1 or 2 days are recommended for arm training, with an emphasis on the triceps over the biceps and shoulders. If we decide to do two arm workouts, one training session should be more intense. The second should be less intense but still demanding. We should also remember that the arm training should be separated by 3-4 days to allow the muscles to regenerate as much as possible. Regardless of whether you are doing 1 or 2 weekly arm workouts, try to perform a total of 10 to 15 series of triceps exercises.

Breakdown into upper / lower body parts. A 4-day upper and lower body workout is another best choice for effective triceps training. This includes 2 days in which we include several series of triceps exercises. Workout plans are recommended, with one of the upper body workouts devoted to hypertrophy (more isolation work, about 7-12 reps per set) and the other devoted to strength (more composite work, about 4-6 repetitions per set). Five to seven sets of triceps for each upper body workout is a good starting point.

While not as optimal as the options above, it is certainly possible to integrate a significant amount of triceps exercises into other types of training plans. There are several things that can be done when training with a full body 3-day training plan.

1. Add a series of triceps exercises to each workout.
2. Modify the exercises to better direct the triceps (e.g. bench → close grip bench; overhead presses → push-ups with legs raised).

See also: Exercises for the arms. What are the effects?

Triceps exercises – tips and tricks

Here are some tips for triceps exercises that will help us strengthen the back of the arms in the shortest possible time.

Exercises for triceps – warm up properly

The elbows and triceps are often injured areas, so warm them up thoroughly. For example, you can start with easier exercises with the use of the upper pulley. Then it is easy to lock the elbows in place by pulling the weight and safely warm up the muscles before moving on to other exercises, such as the French press, which are potentially more dangerous for the elbows, tendons and triceps.

Triceps exercises – Pay attention to every part of the triceps

Triceps is a seemingly simple muscle group if we focus only on its primary function: extending the arm. It is actually quite a complex muscle as it has three separate heads and each exercise “hits” those heads in a different way. For example, straightening the wiper arm is felt mainly in the outer heads, but the extension of the T-Lanyard arms is mainly in the inner heads. Some people, for example, do the prone French press with two dumbbells instead of a barbell and feel them working in the lower part of the triceps closest to their elbows. It’s best to do different exercises in different ways to exhaust every aspect of the triceps.

Triceps exercises – always remember the correct technique

There is no reason to cheat with your triceps exercises. Doing so will only increase our chances of getting injured. The key to any triceps exercise is keeping your elbows as still as possible. Our elbows are straight hinges and can only bend in one direction and in a straight line. Lock your shoulders, elbows, and wrists in place and only move your forearms.

See also: Do you train Here are the five most common injuries that can happen to you when you play sports

Triceps exercises – focus on blocking the movement

Many people make the serious mistake of straightening and flexing muscles without stopping while exercising. This “stop” is the most important part of the triceps exercise as the triceps only tense 100% when the arms are fully extended. Stop in the lock position of each rep for a few seconds and squeeze your muscles. Then the negative lifting phase should be slow. Don’t think in terms of one repetition, two repetitions, etc. Instead, the pattern should be “one, pause, two, pause”. This way you really focus on your triceps.

Exercises for triceps – pyramidal training

Pyramid training means that with each successive set, I increase the weights and decrease the number of repetitions. This helps to warm up the triceps and get them used to increasingly heavy sets. Training for triceps does not have to be particularly hard, but it is still worth “pyramiding” each exercise. For example, on a moderate training day, start with 15 repetitions using the pulley of the pulley. Then slightly increase the weight for the second set and do 12 repetitions. Finally, increase the weight again for the last set and do 10 repetitions. Pyramid training is the safest and most effective way to build strength and size of our muscles.

Exercises for triceps – changes are good

Professionals propose to perform two different workouts, a moderate training session and a harder training session, and alternate them from week to week. However, it is not only the number of repetitions that should change. Also, do different exercises on a moderate training day than on a hard day. These alternating weeks naturally diversify our routine. Even so, change everything from time to time and do a completely different exercise to keep your muscles in check and mobilize them to grow. You can’t expect to make amazing changes to your body by doing the same exercises over and over again.

Exercise for triceps – until you are out of breath

Choose a heavy enough weight so that your muscles are almost exhausted after the last few repetitions. These last repetitions make the difference. The first repetitions simply strain the triceps enough for you to reach the last reps and let your muscles drain completely. In order to develop, you have to force your body to strain until you can no longer walk.

Exercise for triceps – Avoid overtraining

Remember that triceps also work during other exercises, such as pressing a barbell on a horizontal bench, which also engages other muscles (in this case, for example the chest). For additional protection against overtraining, train your triceps only once a week. Also, remember about the number of sets and repetitions, especially when you want to train until your muscles fail. Professionals advise you to train your triceps intensively by doing several series once a week, then giving them plenty of time to rest and develop.

Exercises for triceps – pose

In the case of the triceps, posing brings out the details in the three heads and also strengthens the mind-muscle connection. For these reasons, even if you are not planning on entering the stage, you should flex your triceps during training for 15-20 seconds at a time.

Exercises for triceps – take notes

Keep a training diary and record everything about your workouts. This is what the greatest of the greatest do. This way, they know exactly what they did before: what exercise for what weight and how many repetitions. It makes them constantly try to improve their score and become, and also helps them monitor what’s working and what’s not. This applies to any other part of the body as well as to triceps training. Such a note-taking is one of the most valuable tools anyone can have. If you can see where you have been and know exactly where you are, you will get where you want much faster.