6 Best Triceps Workouts for Guys

Make your triceps grow with workouts that fit your goals. Among the 6 proposed programs, everyone will find the one that will give the result!

Author: Bill Geiger

Triceps is not as popular among the people as its cousin on the opposite side of the humerus, but in the iron world it is valued no less - and maybe even more! Whether you're a bodybuilder, or just a guy who wants to push more weight, it's time to add mass to the back of your shoulder.

You can create hundreds of options for training triceps, you just need to change the exercises, the order in which they are performed, the range of repetitions, the intensity, the volume of the training load and the pauses between sets. But instead of sitting down at the table and trying to figure out the perfect formula for yourself, read the article. I've done all the paperwork for you and put together six easy and effective triceps workouts.

Each workout has features that take into account training experience and current tasks. Each has movements from the big family of triceps exercises—close grip bench press, dips, overhead press, french press, overhead extension, and bent over arm extension—targeting one, two, or three heads (lateral, long, and medial). Of course, it will not be possible to completely isolate a certain head, but you can place accents by changing the position of the hand and body.

Choose a workout that you enjoy, do 4-8 weeks, and then return to your regular schedule or try another one from the suggested list. Include it in your split for maximum efficiency and share the results in the comment section!

Although you train your arms, the general principles of mass building that you use for the chest, legs, back or shoulder girdle remain the same. You need to start with the heaviest movements in which you can lift the maximum weight.

Don't even look in the direction of the extensions on the block. As I often write, multi-joint exercises that involve more than one joint allow you to use more weight. With triceps, their list is relatively small, and it includes push-ups (push-ups on parallel bars, push-ups in the simulator, push-ups from the bench) and bench press with a narrow grip. If it's hard to balance the barbell, try bench presses in a Smith machine.

So, you need to start with multi-joint movements, but there are a couple more points that you have to consider when compiling workouts. Since the long head of the triceps muscle (located just above the medial) starts above the shoulder joint, you need to raise your arms above your head to fully stretch it during movement. An incompletely stretched muscle cannot fully contract.

For maximum development of the long head, be sure to include overhead arm movements in your workout. But the exercises in the style of the arm at the seams are the most expensive for the lateral bundle, so they should also be included in the training protocols.

To better isolate the triceps and minimize the involvement of the deltoids and pectoral muscles, do not allow the elbows to go to the sides during the extension. This rule applies to all triceps exercises. Keep your elbows close to your body as tightly as possible.