Big arms are one of the many goals of a gym goer. Many keep training the bicep but neglect the triceps even though the tricep is about 2/3rd of your whole arm. The triceps have 3 muscle heads long head, lateral head, and medial head. In this article, we will go over the best exercises to target each head to get maximum strength and size on your arms.

Best triceps exercises

1. Rope tricep extensions
2. Straight bar tricep extensions
3. Overhead rope tricep extensions
4. Dips
5. Close grip bench press
6. Skull crushers
7. Diamond push-ups

Rope Tricep extensions

The rope tricep extension targets the lateral and the medial head of the triceps. The rope attachment allows for a greater range of motion making this a perfect exercise to target the lateral and medial head of the tricep. A tip I would give you would be to use a longer rope attachment so that you can get an even greater range of motion and squeeze while doing the exercise.

How to:

1. Use a rope attachment and set the cable to the highest setting
2. Grab the rope with palms facing each other and take a step back
3. Keep your arms close to the body and push the rope down
4. Hold for a second and slowly let go

Straight bar tricep extensions

The straight bar tricep extension targets the long head of the tricep. The long head of the tricep is also the largest head among the three tricep heads. It also engages the lateral and the medial head of the tricep but primarily targets the long head of the tricep.

How to:

1. Use a straight bar attachment and set the cable to the highest setting
2. Grab the bar with palms facing downwards and take a step back
3. Keep your arms close to the body and push the bar down
4. Hold for a second and slowly let go

Overhead rope tricep extensions

The overhead rope tricep extension primarily targets the lateral head. The rope attachment on the cable allows for greater ROM than the dumbbell overhead tricep extension. Use a longer rope if available or DIY a longer rope by using lifting straps.

How to:

1. Use a rope attachment and set the cable height to match your hips
2. Grab the rope, squat down face away from the machine and squat up
3. Initiate the movement by extending your arms and pushing them away from your body
4. Hold for a second and slowly let go

Dips

Dips are a great compound movement that targets both the chest and the tricep. Although dips are a hard exercise and most beginners can’t perform this exercise I recommend trying to see if you can do a dip or not. Dips primarily target the lateral head of the triceps.

How to:

1. Get onto dip bars and keep your chest up
2. Brace your core and bend your arm to about 90 degrees
3. Push up and repeat

Close grip bench press

Close grip bench press primarily targets the medial head of the triceps. This exercise is a great booster for the normal bench press. You can use this exercise to aid your bench press if you are struggling to lock out your arm while doing a normal bench press.

How to:

1. Grip the bar just a little narrower than your shoulders
2. Descent the bar as you do in a normal bench press and press
3. Hold at the bottom and descent the bar slowly

Skull crushers

Skull crushers primarily target the long head of the tricep. This exercise is difficult to perform and has caused many elbow injuries or strains. This exercise is beneficial if you don’t face any pain while doing this exercise majority of people will experience some elbow pain.

How to:

1. Use an easy bar
2. Get into a bench press position and bend your arms till the weight is just above your head
3. Extend your arms and repeat

Diamond push-ups

Diamond push-ups target the chest and triceps with the main focus on the lateral head of the tricep. This exercise is good if you have no equipment or anything. I would recommend heavier folks start on their knees and gradually straighten them if they build strength. This exercise can also help increase your bench press numbers.

How to:

1. Join your index finger and your thumb to form a diamond
2. Descent slowly into the push-up and push
3. You can keep your hands a little wider if you have mobility issues

Warm up for the triceps

Cardio: Start with a little walking or cycling to get your heart pumping and your body warm

Band work: Start by mobilizing the shoulders using the band and then perform some overhead band tricep extensions

Main work: Gradually increase the weight to a working set and then perform about 3 to 4 working sets and about 12 to 15 reps

Triceps workout you should try

Hypertrophy Tricep workout

Strength training

You can modify the above tricep workout examples to your routine. Remember to always hit the weak points first and then hit the rest of the muscles

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