3 Best Tricep Workouts to Build Muscle With Steps & Benefits

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March 7, 2022

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Building stronger arms is part of every strength training program. Any arms workout that doesn’t give equal weight to triceps and biceps is not professionally designed. The triceps form a chunk of the muscle mass in your upper arms, which only means that you need to be doing triceps exercises regularly to have strong arms.

After reading this article, you would be a champ at understanding all about triceps. And we won’t just explain what are triceps but also teach you some of the best tricep exercises, their benefits, and a little more. Let’s begin!

What are triceps?

The word triceps comes from Latin and means three-headed muscles. Its full name is short for triceps brachii. The triceps are located at the back of the upper arm. These three muscles include:

Lateral head: This is the smallest of all triceps muscles and is located on the outside of the arm.
Medial head: This is the medium part that is located around the middle of the arm.
Long head: This is the largest part of triceps and it runs along the back of the upper arm.

All these muscles help in the following functions:

Triceps help in extension of your elbow by moving the forearm away.
They also stabilize your shoulders when you carry things overhead.
Triceps also help in moving your arm back by extending shoulders.

If you want to target all three muscle heads, then you should perform to need a range of different tricep exercises and a plethora of different tricep workout. And in case you don’t know which exercises to do, read our next section. We have also shared exercises that allow you to do tricep workout at home too.

Top Three Exercises For The Best Tricep Workouts

Are you ready to start the best tricep workouts? We are too, and that’s why we have listed below the best tricep exercises that will target your triceps from every angle.

And the best part? You can’t just do the tricep workout at gym but home too. All you need are some weights and motivation. So wait no more and select your favourite tricep workout:

Diamond Push Ups

This challenging variation of the classic push ups is specifically designed to target your triceps. In fact, this is the most popular one among all triceps exercises. But in order to perform this exercise, you need to first master the basic push-ups and then move to this tricep workout variation.

This tricep workout also focuses on chest muscles and since it does not require any equipment, you can easily do it at home.

Here are step-by-step directions on how to perform it:

Start with a standard plan or push position with all four limbs on the ground and chest and abdomen in the air.
Instead of keeping a shoulder-wide distance between the hands, bring the, closer to that your thumbs and forefingers touch each other while making a triangle or you can say a diamond shape.
Keep your spine straight, engage the core, and squeeze your glutes as you lower your chest down. Pause and then push back up into the initial position by straightening your arms.
Try to do 3 sets of 15 reps each.

Tip: Try to keep the body parallel to the ground and do not raise your hips or waist too much.

Lying Triceps Extensions or Skullcrushers

The name of this tricep workout sounds quite brutal but when it comes to the benefits it offers, you would love to try it on regular basis. This lying workout ensures higher strength and stability to your body while sculpting the triceps impressively. You can add this exercise to any of the tricep workouts for women and men.

To perform such tricep exercises, you will need weights like dumbbells/EZbar/kettlebell/barbell and a bench if you are doing it at home. In case you can go to the gym, you can also use cable machines. For now, we will tell you how to perform it using an EZ bar:

Lie flat on the bar bench and fix your feet on the ground.
Grab the EZ bar’s inner grips using an overhand grip and extend your arms straight up.
While keeping your elbows fixed and tucked in, slowly lower the bar until it is about an inch from your forehead. Hold this position for a second or two. (Tip: Always keep your upper arms at a 90-degree angle to the floor.)
Now extend your arms and push the bar to the starting position.
Repeat and perform 3 sets of 10 reps each.

Tips: If you are a newbie at this workout, it is suggested that you do it under the supervision of an expert.

Close-Grip Bench Press

Have you ever done a bench press? Well, this one is just a variation of that workout. The only difference is that you have to grab the barbell by placing your hands closer rather than keeping them more than shoulder-width apart. But it is this small change that makes this into one of the best tricep workouts to impact your triceps muscles and push them to work harder. The result is higher strength and muscle development.

To do this tricep workout, you need a bench and weight like barbells or dumbbells. We have used a barbell to explain the tricep workout below:

Lie down on a bench. Make sure your feet are fixed to the ground for stability.
Now grab the barbell with an overhand grip (palms facing outwards) that is shoulder-width apart. A slight closer grip can also work but don’t exceed or you’ll end up getting injured during the workout.
Engage your core and squeeze the shoulder blades as you lower the bar towards your chest. Pause and then press the bar back up to the initial position.
Repeat and try to complete 4-6 sets of 3-5 repetitions

Tip: Focus on the grip and not just the distance of your hands. Your thumbs and fingers should be properly wrapped around the bar to hold its weight.

What More?

If you wish to add more exercises to create unique tricep workouts for women or men, try the following exercises: