Are you still trying to increase the size of your guns? You might have massive biceps but what about your triceps? Believe it or not, the triceps muscle makes up about 60-percent of your upper arm’s musculature. That means that if your strength in chest and arms seems to waning, it could be your triceps, not your pecs, that are weak.
If you want to increase the girth of your arms and the strength of your push and pull, then it’s time to concentrate on getting killer triceps.
Are you ready to torch those triceps? With these 7 exercises, your triceps are going get great gains.
1. Triceps Cable Pushdown
3 sets x 10 reps
Rest: 60 seconds
To do: You will need to attach a rope to the top pulley of the cable station. Next, grab the handle. Keep your elbows tucked into your sides, engage the core muscles, and start to lower your hands down towards your hips. Keep going until your arms are fully extended against your sides. With control, return to the starting position.
Note: Make sure that only your forearms are moving. The triceps squeeze against the body.
2. 45-degree Incline Dumbbell Chest Press
3 sets x 10-12 reps
Rest: Superset with Skullcrushers.
To do: Put the bench to a 45-degree angle. From there, grab your dumbbells and lie back. The weights start at shoulder height. Palms are away from you. Exhale and press up through the arms. Lock out the arms overhead then squeeze the chest muscles before returning to your starting position.
Note: Perform No. 2 and No. 3 (dumbbell chest press and skullcrushers) as a superset. Merge both together, transitioning as quickly as possible. Rest 30-60 seconds between the superset.
3. Skullcrushers
3 sets x 10-12 reps
Rest: Superset with above exercise.
To do: Stay on the bench from the second exercise. Grab the EZ bar by the inner grip and, using an overhand grip, raise your arms straight up. Keep the elbows fixed in place and tucked inward while slowly lowering the bar until it is an inch from your forehead. From there, breath out and slowly extend the arms back to the beginning position without locking the elbows.
Note: The elbows are completely motionless in this exercise. Don’t let them move. Also, select the right weight. Since you are doing supersets, you don’t want to go too heavy on these and drop the EZ bar on yourself.
4. Bench Triceps Dips
3 sets x 10-12 reps
Rest: 60 seconds
To do: Facing away from the bench, grab hold of the bench with both hands, about shoulder-width apart. Extend both legs out in front, straight or bent. Slowly lower down by flexing at the elbows. Once you reach a 90-degree angle between elbow and forearm, engage the triceps to lift yourself back to starting position.
Note: Dips are King when it comes to training your triceps. Not only does this exercise target the 3 insertion heads of the triceps muscle, it also works the chest, shoulder, and traps to help form well-rounded muscles that can work from all angles. Remember that you can either do the dip machine (parallel bars) or the bench, but you should always use your full range of motion.
5. Diamond Press-Ups
3 sets x 15-20 reps
Rest: 60 seconds
To do: Get into a press-up (push-up) position. Place your hands together so that the space between your index fingers and thumbs makes a diamond. Keep the back straight as you lower down. Once your chest almost touches the floor, push back through the arms to starting position.
Note: Technique is key. Keep your body straight, maintaining a strong plank position. Don’t let the back sag, and do not let the hips hike up. If you struggle to push-up from the floor in this position, you can begin with a modified version and place your knees on the floor.
6. Standing Overhead Cable Triceps Extension
3 sets x 10-12 reps
Rest: Superset (No. 6 and No. 7)
To do: Attach a rope handle to the top pulley at the cable station. Hold the handle, turning away from the machine with hands at shoulder height. You should be facing away from the machine as your arms fully extend forward and up, over your head before returning to the neutral triceps extension position.
Note: Do not rest. Immediately go from the standing overhead cable triceps extension exercise to the straight arm cable pull-down. Once you complete the superset, rest 10-20 seconds before starting the next set.
7. Straight Arm Cable Pull-Down
3 sets x 10-12 reps
Rest: Superset (No. 6 and No. 7)
To do: Grab the rope handles on the top pulley on the pull-down machine. Palms face one another. Bend 30-degrees at the waist. Fully extend the arms. While keeping the arms straight, pull the pulley down by contracting your lats until your hands are next to your thighs. Return to starting position while inhaling.
There you have it: 7 triceps exercises that are going to build massive arms. Now you can grow and get stronger.
Did we leave out any of your favorite triceps exercises? Have questions? Let us know!
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