Triceps Exercises: Effective Training Principles and Programs * Crossfit

The triceps brachii is a massive muscle group that occupies approximately 2/3 of the arm's volume and has significant potential for hypertrophy and strength gain. In the article, we will find out which triceps exercises are the most effective and how to properly train this muscle at home and in the gym.

Working muscles

Any triceps exercise in one way or another involves all three of its beams:

Lateral.
A long.
Medial.

The more you stretch the triceps - for example, when lowering a barbell or dumbbell during the French press, the more intensely the long and medial beams work. If the emphasis of the exercise is precisely on the constant contraction of the triceps, as in the bench press with a narrow grip, extension of the arms on the upper block or push-ups on the uneven bars, then the lateral bundle will work stronger.

In all multi-joint basic movements, the load also falls on the anterior bundles of the deltoid muscles and the pectoral muscles. Also, the press performs static work in almost all triceps exercises.

Triceps training tips

A few basic guidelines for doing triceps exercises:

Choose the right working weight and determine the rep range. For massive triceps, combine both strength work (8-12 reps) and pumping (15-20 reps) in your training schedule. But remember that exercise will be ineffective if you don't feel the muscles working. You should feel the triceps contracting and stretching with each repetition.
Gradually increase the weight of the additional weights when doing push-ups on the uneven bars. This is one of the most traumatic elbow exercises. It is better to put this exercise closer to the end of the workout and work with a relatively light weight.
When doing French presses, it is fundamentally important to focus on stretching the triceps during the negative phase of the movement (when lowering). It should be 2 or even 3 times longer than lifting the projectile up. The whole benefit of this exercise lies precisely in this. In other movements, you will not be able to stretch the medial head as much. Although the emphasis on the negative phase should be done in all exercises for this muscle group.
Minimize cheating (body swing) when doing upper block extensions. The buildup deprives this exercise of all meaning and removes all the load from the triceps muscle of the shoulder.
Use all available ways to increase your training intensity. Triceps is a relatively small muscle group: if you want to see noticeable progress, you need to exhaust it to the fullest. Do partial reps after failure, ask your partner to help you do a couple of extra reps, and lightweight after each heavy set — all work great on the triceps. But don't overdo it. This muscle also actively works during chest and delta workouts. Too much triceps exercise can ultimately lead to overtraining and lack of growth.
Take advantage of your rest time between sets: stretch your triceps. The more flexible your muscles are, the more comfortable you will be doing exercises at full amplitude. It will also improve pumping and neuromuscular communication, stretch the fascia and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Experiment with your split program. Triceps can be trained along with your chest, back, shoulders, or biceps. Choose the option that works best for you, or rotate the variations monthly.
Breaks between sets should not exceed 1-1.5 minutes. This will maximize the flow of blood to the working muscles, and the muscles will not have time to cool down after an intense load. Perhaps the only exception is the heavy, narrow grip press, where more rest is allowed for recovery.
If you train your arms on a separate day, work in supersets - first swing triceps and then work your biceps. Triceps is a larger and stronger muscle and needs more heavy load to grow. Therefore, it is advisable to first load it while you are full of energy. In addition, while you are doing biceps, the triceps will be resting, which can reduce the rest time.

Best Triceps Exercises

The more intense your workouts, the more prerequisites for the growth of triceps you will create. Together with the blood, all the nutrients necessary for hypertrophy will enter the working muscle group.

However, this does not mean that arm training should last for several hours, during which you have time to do 10 or more exercises. For a full study of all 3 triceps bundles, 3-4 exercises are quite enough, which will take a maximum of 30-40 minutes. Let's analyze the most effective exercises and their features.

Bench press with a narrow grip

This exercise is a basic exercise for the triceps muscles. Don't take its name too literally: the distance between your hands should be only slightly narrower than your shoulder width. This will provide a full contraction of the triceps and prevent discomfort in the hands, shoulders and elbows.

Throughout the entire approach, it is important to keep your elbows as close to the body as possible, then the efficiency of this exercise will increase. If you find it difficult to hold the bar in a level position, do the press with a narrow grip in the Smith. This will make the exercise more isolated by reducing the stress on the stabilizing muscles.

French press

This is one of the best exercises for building triceps. It allows you to emphasize the load on the contraction of the long and medial bundle, and it is they that set the visual "massiveness" of the hand. To do this, lower the shell as low as possible and take a short pause at the bottom point.

Remember that this option for performing the exercise is traumatic and requires good stretching, so you need to adequately assess your strength and not overdo it with working weights. Large weights (from about 50 kg) are also guaranteed to "kill" your elbows. Therefore, this exercise should be placed second or third in your program and done as technically as possible.

Most often, the French press is done lying with a barbell on a horizontal bench:

When performing the exercise lying down, it is best to lower the barbell behind the head, closer to the back of the head. In the initial position, the arms should not be perpendicular to the body, but at a slight angle tilted towards the head. Thus, even in this position (and throughout the entire approach), the triceps will be tense and we can therefore slightly reduce the weight of the projectile for safety.

The use of dumbbells can slightly reduce the stress on the ligaments and tendons of the elbow joint, although the movement becomes slightly more difficult. However, due to a narrower grip, you can lower the dumbbells even lower and stretch your triceps more:

A good option for a change is to do the French press while sitting on a bench or standing. We must not forget not to spread the elbows strongly to the sides, but try to keep them at the same level throughout the entire set:

Also this group includes extensions with one dumbbell with two hands from behind the head. The exercise is similar to the French bench press, but it will be harder to throw and hold a large dumbbell.

A variation of the last movement is a one-arm extension with a dumbbell from behind the head. This exercise is most often done by girls:

Dips on the uneven bars

This is a multi-joint exercise in which the load is distributed between the pectoral muscles and triceps. To load exactly the triceps muscle of the shoulder, keep the body straight throughout the entire approach. No forward bending or rounding of the spine in the thoracic region. Keep your elbows close to the body, and not spread apart, otherwise the entire load will shift to the lower pectoral muscles. In this case, it will be good if the distance between the bars is only slightly wider than the shoulders.

There is no need to go down as deep as possible, this will only lead to discomfort in the shoulder joints and ligaments. Lower yourself down until a right angle forms between your forearm and upper arm. When you can easily work out 3-4 sets with your own weight, performing at least 15 repetitions, apply additional weights.

Extension on the block

This is an isolated exercise for locally working out the lateral head of the triceps. Although this is the smallest part of the muscle, you need to devote as much time to it as the rest, since it is it that sets the "horseshoe" shape of the triceps. Usually this exercise ends with the workout of the arms.

To maximize blood flow to the triceps brachii muscle, work lightly without using your core. Do not forget about the emphasis on the negative phase of the movement. At the moment of full extension of the elbow joint, strain the triceps as much as possible for 1-2 seconds. The number of repetitions is not less than 12. Press your elbows to the ribs throughout the entire approach.

To "hook" as many muscle fibers as possible, use all the handles available in your gym and vary the grip from wide to narrow (from workout to workout, not the same one). This triceps exercise can also be done in a crossover.

The most common option is rope extension:

Also popular is the straight handle, which allows you to take a little more weight:

Another interesting option is the reverse grip extension of one arm:

Push ups

Triceps is perfectly included in the work during push-ups from the floor with a narrow setting of the arms. This is the perfect exercise for home workouts. To further load the lateral triceps bundle, turn your hands with your fingers towards each other. The elbows will point in different directions, but in this particular case, this will only increase the peak contraction. It is also worth doing plyometric push-ups (with cotton) from time to time, they perfectly develop the explosive power of your triceps.

This also includes reverse push-ups from a bench or any other elevation:

Dumbbell press with a neutral grip

This exercise is similar to a regular dumbbell press on a horizontal bench. The difference is that the grip here is neutral, that is, the palms look at each other, and not towards the legs. When lowering the dumbbells, try to keep your elbows as close to the body as possible, and not spread out to the sides. In this case, you do not need to touch the shells, keep them at a short distance from each other.

Kickbacks

This exercise is a dumbbell swing back with the athlete standing in a bent over. Kickback can be performed with one dumbbell alternately or with two at once.

The slope should ideally be such that the body is almost parallel to the floor. You can lean on the bench or even lie on your stomach.

Alternatively, you can do kickback on the lower block:

Load progression

We figured out which exercises swing the triceps. However, no set of exercises will give the desired result if you do not improve your performance at each workout.

There are several ways to do this:

Increase in working weights. The method is fundamentally important for basic exercises, but for isolation it is also desirable to gradually increase the used weight - of course, not at the expense of technique. It is done like this: you did 3 sets of bench press with a narrow grip with a weight of 80 kg for 10 repetitions. For your next workout, try a 82.5 kg weight. Most likely, you will not be able to do 10 repetitions in all approaches, but about 10-8-6 will come out. Continue with this weight until you can reach 10-10-10. Then increase the operating weight by another 2.5 kg.
Increasing the number of repetitions. Let's say you were able to do 3 sets of French barbell presses in a strict technique of 12 reps. Weight in this case does not matter. On your next workout, try to do 13 reps without breaking your technique or increasing your rest time between sets. Next time - 14, then - 15. After that, slightly increase the weight of the bar, drop again to 12 repetitions and repeat all over again.
Increasing the number of approaches. When you can easily work out 3 sets of any triceps exercise, take another set. The number of repetitions and the rest time remain unchanged. Increasing training volume (within reasonable limits) is a powerful stimulus to growth.
Adding new exercises... This technique is only suitable for experienced athletes. If you feel that three or four exercises are no longer enough to properly pump your triceps, add another exercise to your program. Start with light isolation, if that is not enough, finish your arm workout with a French bench press with a barbell or push-ups from the bars with additional weight. Painful sensations the next day are provided.
Reducing rest time between sets. It will be difficult at first, but with experience your muscles will become more resilient: you will not lose productivity using minimal rest time. The blood circulation in the muscles will be much stronger.
Increasing the number of workouts. This option will help athletes whose arm muscles are stubbornly unwilling to grow. There are many reasons for stagnation, but in most cases, more frequent and intense training will successfully solve the problem. Train triceps twice a week: the first time with the chest, the second with the biceps. You can do a lighter workout in supersets for maximum pumping. This should help you build your arms.

Training program

Any gym has everything you need to fully train your triceps. No specific equipment is required. A dumbbell row, press benches, various bars, a set of discs and a block extension machine can be found even in the old basement room.

To evenly load all three beams and create the prerequisites for muscle growth, we recommend using the following scheme:

Exercises	The number of approaches and reps
Bench press with a narrow grip	4x8-12
French bench press	3x12
Extension of arms with dumbbells from behind the head while sitting	3x12-15
Extension of arms with a rope handle	3x15

It will be a little more difficult to fully train triceps at home, as the choice of exercises decreases. All you need is a barbell, a set of discs, and collapsible dumbbells. Home beams will also be useful, they are conveniently attached and do not take up much space.

You can swing triceps at home as follows:

Exercises	The number of approaches and reps
French press with a barbell sitting (if there is no barbell, use a dumbbell or kettlebell)	4x12
Dips on the uneven bars	4x10-15
Kickback	3x10-12
Push-ups from the floor with a narrow stance	4x15-20

During a set of muscle mass (and on drying too), triceps are most often pumped on the same day with the breast:

Exercises	The number of approaches and reps
Wide grip bench press	4x12,10,8,6
Incline Dumbbell Press	3x10-12
Dips with additional weights (chest style)	3x10-12
French bench press with a barbell	4x12
EZ Handle Extensions	3x15

Another great option is hand day, when the triceps are combined with the biceps:

Exercises	The number of approaches and reps
Press with a narrow grip	4x10
Lifting the bar for biceps	4x10-12
Seated French press with a barbell	3x12
Barbell Curl on Scott's Bench	3x10-12
Kickback	3x10-12
Incline Hammer Curls	3x10-12
Extensions with rope handle	2x20