12 Best Triceps Workout For Mass (Sample Workout Plan)

Tricep is almost ⅔ of your upper arms. Many people only focus on their bicep without knowing that, to get a bigger arm you need to grow your tricep muscles. here is the list of best triceps workout.

Biceps has two muscle group and triceps has three muscle group. The length of the tricep is bigger than the bicep. So, if you need to grow your arms and make it look bigger, don’t ignore tricep muscles. In fact, focus more on tricep workouts and work hard to develop the arm definition.

Tricep is one of my best body parts. I love to train it hard. How many of you also love to train your tricep hard please comment down. Because I’m just a little curious about it.

Tricep is a secondary muscle group. That means during any pushing movements like bench press, overhead press, tricep muscles need to be contracted to perform the movement.

Although tricep gets stimulated during this kind of workouts. But that is not enough to grow it. Proper tricep workouts with a proper arms workout routine are important to feel a better pump and building a greater arm.

Because a tricep has three heads called Long head, Medial head, Lateral head. All these heads should be trained for a great definition of developed arms. So, here is the list of top tricep workouts.

Body Weight Best Triceps Workout

Bodyweight triceps workout is basically for absolute beginners who never lifted any dumbells or barbell ever. You also perform these tricep workouts at home.

1. Diamond push up

Nice workout for the medial head and lateral head of the tricep. It can also be done in your arm day as a warm-up workout or finisher workout for a greater pump.

How to perform:

Lower yourself down into a standard push up position. But bring your hands close to each other at chest level. Touch your thumbs and index fingers to each other or create a triangle with your thumb. Flare your elbows.

Engage your core and straighten your feet. Now from the tricep extended position slowly lower yourself until your chest touches the palms, then immediately push yourself at the top. Basically, do push-ups with that hand position.

2. Close Grip Push up

In this workout, your long head and the lateral head gets more stimulation. Little movement but great tricep activation.

How to Perform:

Lie down on the floor and place yourself in a push position. Closer your palms and touch the thumbs to each other.

In this one don’t flare your elbows keep it closer to your torso. Engage your core and head to toe keep your body straight. Now slowly lower yourself until your chest just closer to the floor then push. It will be counted as one rep.

Read Also: How To Do Bicep Curl With Proper Form

3. Bodyweight Skull Crusher

Nice bodyweight workout to develop the muscle mass into the tricep. Tricep muscle activation depends on hand placement.

In a shoulder-width apart hand placement the long and the medial head of the tricep gets more contraction. But if you put your hands together in this exercise it stimulates the lateral head more.

How to perform

Grab a bar placed on the squat rack. It should be at your waist level. Grab the bar with a close hand grip or shoulder-width grip. Make your core tight and head down.

Then slowly lower yourself and place your head under the bar. And then extend the arms as fast as you can. It is your one rep.

4. Dips

It is a great bodyweight triceps workout for bigger arms. This one is a very good exercise for that hanging tricep looks. It targets the long head and the medial head of tricep.

How to Perform

On a dip machine hoist yourself up on the parallel bars. Keep your arms straight and elbows locked to keep yourself high.

Now slowly lower yourself by bending your elbows until the elbows create a 90-degree angle. Then explosively push yourself and get in the top position.

Do not lean forward during the movement unless you will activate the chest muscles.

Read Also: 24 Best Source of Protein- Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian

5. Bench Dips

Wonderful body weight among the bodyweight triceps workout. Stimulate the long head more. But if you place your palms pointed inwards it will activate the lateral head.

How to Perform

Place a bench behind you with the bench perpendicular to your body. Now place your palms on the edge of the bench and make your legs straight. You can also lift your legs on another bench. That will be more difficult.

Now slowly bend your extended arms and lower yourself. When your arms are bent almost 90 degrees, push yourself up and hold for a second. Repeat the whole process again.

Best Triceps Workout with Weights

With Weights, you can hit your tricep from various angles. On the other hand, you can shock your tricep muscles differently with various exercises to grow.

6. Close Grip Bench Press

This one is my favorite one. A great triceps workout ever. It is a compound exercise so you can lift heavy weights and put more stress on your tricep than the other tricep workouts. All three heads of tricep get activated during the movement.

How to Perform

Lie down on a flat bench and place your head under the bar. Make a slight arch on your back, retract your scapula and keep your chest up.

Now take a deep breath and unrack the bar, hold over your chest. Grab the bar with the shoulder-width apart or a little closer, as you are comfortable with.

From that position slowly lower the bar and touch the bar to your nipple area. Then push the bar and squeeze your triceps at the top, hold it for one second. Repeat the whole process again.

7. Skull Crusher

A wonderful exercise for tricep. It targets the long head and the medial head of the tricep. It is wonderful because during this exercise you will feel a great stretch in your tricep.

How to Perform

Lie down on a flat bench. Grab an EZ bar over your head. EZ bar will be very wrist-friendly for you. Keep your chest up and core tight.

Now slowly lower the bar until it touches the forehead or the upper head. Then immediately extend your arms at the top. Hold for a second at the top and squeeze your triceps hard.

Remember a tip I am going to share, at the starting position doesn’t keep your straight perpendicular. Keep your arms little bit leaned towards the head. It will keep the tension on the tricep throughout the whole repetition.

8. Overhead Dumbbell Extension

Overhead Dumbbell Extension stimulates the long head and the lateral head of the triceps. You can lift little heavier in this workout but don’t go too heavy.

How to Perform

Grab a dumbbell over your head by extending your arms. Make your spine straight and chest up. You can also do seated overhead dumbbell extension. It will completely restrict your body movement.

Now take a deep breath and slowly lower the dumbbell until it touches the traps. Then extend the arms at the top. Don’t lock the arms at the top. It will be counted as one rep.

9. Overhead Rope Extension

It is also my favorite one because you never lose the tension on your tricep during the whole movement. It stimulates the long head and the medial head of the tricep. Great workout for mass development and triceps peak development.

How to Perform

Set the pulley at the bottom and attach the rope attachment with the cable. Stand with the face away from the cable. Grab the rope behind your head with the arms bent, elbows pointed straight up.

Take one or two steps ahead and take a deep breath. This is going to be your starting position. Then explosively extend your arms, hold it for a second and squeeze the tricep at the top.

Now slowly release the tension at the starting position. It will build a great mind-muscle connection and increase the thickness of your triceps

10. Rope Push Down

It is a good isolation exercise for tricep. Long head and the lateral head of tricep get more stimulated during this movement.

How to Perform

First, place the pulley at the top and attach the rope attachment with the cable. Then grab the rope with your hands facing each other and step back for one or two steps from the weights. Hing your hips and keep your chest up.

Now from the bent position of your elbows extend the arms and slowly release. When you fully contract your tricep at the bottom take one-second pause and flare your outside. It will activate the medial head more.

Read Also: How To Bench Press With Proper Form (No One Tells You)

11. One-arm Overhead Tricep Extension

It is an advanced exercise and great exercise. It stimulates the long head and the medial head of the tricep. This one builds a great peak and muscle mass in your tricep. Also, build a great mind-muscle connection.

How to Perform

Attach the pulley at the bottom and attach the rope attachment with the cable. Stand with the face away of the cable and grab the rope with one hand.

Keep your elbows bent at the beginning of the workout. Pull the rope by extending your arms over your head. Pause at the top for a second. Then slowly bend your arm until you come to the starting position.

12. Dumbbell Kickback

Nice tricep workout to develop the medial head and the lateral head of tricep. Also great as a finisher workout and gives you a great pump.

How to Perform

Start by standing beside a flat bench. Bent the knee of the leg towards the bench and place on the bench. Lean down and place the palm of the bench of that side. Now grab a dumbbell on the other hand.

Keep your elbows close to your body and keep your tricep parallel to the ground. Now, extend your arms and lift the dumbbell. It seems like you are trying to through the dumbbell behind.

Fully extend the arms and squeeze the tricep at the top. Then slowly lower the dumbbell. Your elbows should be locked throughout the whole repetition.

Sample Triceps Workout Routine

I generally prefer to hit the tricep twice a week. Don’t over train your triceps because it is a small muscle group. Now it’s up to you how many days do you want to train your tricep. But as complete beginners do one day week. After six months add two sessions of tricep in a week.

Day-1

Close grip bench press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps (take rest of 90 sec between the sets).
biceps/ any workout of your choice.
Overhead dumbbell extension: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (rest of 90 sec between the sets).
Rope pushdown: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (rest of 90 sec between the sets).
biceps/ any workout of your choice.
biceps/ any workout of your choice.
Dumbbell kickback: 3 sets of 12- 15 reps (rest of 90 sec between the sets).

Day-2

Chest/ any workout of your choice.
Skull crusher: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (take rest of 60 sec between the sets)
Chest/ any workout of your choice.
Chest/ any workout of your choice.
Overhead rope extension: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (take rest of 60 sec between the sets).
Chest/ any workout of your choice.
Bench Dips: 3 sets of as reps as possible (take rest of 60 sec between the sets).

Conclusion

these triceps workouts I have mentioned will not provide you result for the entire life. You need to add variations as you are becoming advance. Here is the list of the best triceps workout of my choice.

To grow your tricep add new variations in your tricep workouts. keep changing your routines.

So, play with the handgrips. You can grab in supinated, neutral or pronated grip to shock your muscles. By changing the grip you will hit the different muscle of tricep. Experiment on yourself.