Dumbbell Tricep Workout for Strength

Venture into the essence of your tricep training with exercises that both challenge and fortify your muscles. Each movement is meticulously chosen to engage various segments of your triceps, ensuring a well-rounded and effective routine.

Perfecting the Close-Grip Push-Up

The close-grip push-up is an excellent way to build strong and big triceps, and the best part is you don’t need any equipment – just your body weight.

There are two main types of push-ups: the regular one, which is great for chest muscles, and the close-grip push-up. When you bring your hands closer, it puts more focus on your triceps, making them grow bigger and stronger.

Besides working on triceps, close-grip push-ups also involve your chest, shoulders, and core muscles. This makes it a fantastic exercise for your upper body, improving stability and balance.

Studies suggest that including both bench press-like exercises and triceps extensions in your workout helps maximize triceps growth. For the best results with close-grip push-ups, make sure to maintain good form. Keep your elbows close to your body, engage your core, and keep your back flat.

If regular close-grip push-ups are too hard, you can do them on your knees. If they feel too easy, make it more challenging by elevating your feet on a bench or a chair.

Here is how you can perform it:

• Begin in a high plank position with your hands apart and fingers pointing forward. If your wrists feel uncomfortable, you can make fists and balance on your knuckles instead. Knuckle push-ups are a bit harder because they increase the exercise’s range of motion.
• Move your hands closer together, directly under your shoulders
• Lower your body towards the ground, squeezing your shoulder blades together, and keeping your elbows close to your body. Ensure your elbows point backward, not to the sides
• Push your body back up to the starting position, engaging your core and keeping your back flat
• Repeat for the number of reps you want.

Mastering the Dumbbell Lying Tricep Extension

The lying triceps extension is a highly effective exercise for building bigger triceps. It allows you to lift heavy weights and activates all three triceps heads. This exercise is suitable for all experience levels in a dumbbell triceps workout.

Here’s how to do the Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extension:

• Lie flat on a bench with your feet on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand. If you don’t have a bench, lying on a carpet or exercise mat works too.
• Raise the dumbbells over your chest with your palms facing each other, and your arms fully extended
• Keep your elbows pointing straight up and lower the dumbbells behind your head, bending your elbows.
• Lower the dumbbells as far as comfortable while maintaining control and tension in your triceps muscles. If you’re not using a bench, lower the dumbbells until they are about to touch the floor.
• Reverse the motion, extending your arms back up to the starting position
• Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Elevating with Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extensions

The dumbbell overhead tricep extension, also known as the French press, is an excellent tricep exercise that targets the long head of the triceps. Including this overhead variation in your triceps workout is crucial for optimal development.

Studies indicate that overhead extension exercises lead to a 40% greater increase in triceps growth compared to triceps pushdowns, even with a significantly lighter weight.

To make the overhead dumbbell triceps extension most effective, use a lighter weight, prioritize control and a full range of motion, and focus on maintaining proper form. It’s important to leave your ego behind and concentrate on performing the exercise correctly.

You can perform the overhead triceps extension standing up or seated on a bench or chair, both of which are equally effective.

Here’s how to do Dumbbell Triceps Extensions:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in your right hand at shoulder height.
• Raise the dumbbell over your head with your right arm fully extended.
• While keeping your upper arm stationary and close to your head, lower the dumbbell behind your head by bending your elbow.
• Feel a good stretch in your triceps at the bottom, then extend your arm back up to the starting position while keeping your upper arm fixed.
• Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch to the other arm.

Finishing Strong with Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks

The triceps kickback is a targeted exercise to isolate and work your triceps effectively, but it needs to be done correctly to be worthwhile.

Common mistakes that can make the kickback less effective for building triceps include:

• Raising your upper arm too high, reducing the force on your triceps in the fully contracted position.
• Not raising your upper arm enough, lowering it below parallel, which decreases the load and tension on your triceps.

To make the kickback beneficial for triceps mass, keep your upper arm stationary and parallel to the floor throughout the movement. Avoid using excessively heavy weights that may involve other muscles.

Here’s how to perform Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in your right hand with an overhand grip.
• Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight, and rest your left hand on your left thigh
• Raise your right upper arm until it is parallel to the ground, with your palm facing inward.
• Keep your upper arm stationary and close to your side, straighten it until fully extended in a straight line with the dumbbell behind you. Ensure your upper arm remains parallel to the floor throughout the repetition.
• Contract your triceps at the top of the movement, then lower the dumbbell back down to the starting position with control.
• Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch to your left arm and repeat the exercise.