Triceps Workouts: How to Build Bigger Arms

Developing triceps is an important part of building your arms. Building great triceps that help you fill out your shirt needs more work than you think. You need to do more than the basic dumbbell exercises for great arms. This article introduces you to some of the most effective techniques that you can use for building solid triceps. But before that, here are a few principles that you should keep in mind.

Rules for building triceps

The first rule is to focus on the part of the body you want to develop. This means you don’t begin with presses, but with focused triceps exercise. Triceps workouts shouldn’t just be about building mass. They should be about strengthening the arm. Next, make sure that whatever exercises you choose enable you to progress in triceps development. This means you should look at exercises that will only strengthen and build your arms more as you keep doing them. The important rule is to give your body the necessary nutrition along with the exercises, else you will fail to build the arm muscles as you desire.

Bench presses

Bench press exercises play a pivotal role in building triceps. The most effective exercises include bench press with chains, bench press power lifting, cable lying triceps extension, board press and close grip EZ-Bar press to name a few.

• Bench press power lifting

Start by lying on the bench with the head behind the bar. Your feet should be tucked below you with a firm grip and your back should be stretched. Next, lift your shoulder up and retract it while ensuring that the shoulder blades come together. Note that the body position should be tight and your grip should cover the ring, regardless of how wide your grip is. The focus should be on squeezing the bar and on pulling it apart. The bar should then be lowered to your upper stomach or the lower chest, and when the barbell reaches your torso, pause and then drive it back up with as much force as possible. At all times during the exercise, your elbow and wrist should be in line with the bar.

• Board press exercise

Lie down on the bench with your head behind the bar and tuck your feet tightly underneath you. Have a partner hold flat boards ( one to five with dimensions 2x6) on top of you, or bind them using a bad or by placing them under your shirt. Using the bar for supporting your weight, lift your shoulder up ad retract it while you squeeze the shoulder blade together. Focus on triceps by taking a standard bench grip or shoulder grip.

Then pull the bar, without protracting the shoulders, and focus on squeezing and pulling the bar apart. Lower the bar to reach the boards and drive it up with as much force as possible, and ensure that the elbows are tucked in till lockout.

• Bench press with chains

Before you get into position, adjust the leader chain to the length that you are comfortable with. The position you should take is similar to the one in the board press and bench press powerlifting exercises. The routine is similar to the bench press power lifting routine, except in this, chains are added to the barbell.

• Cable lying triceps exercise

Lie flat on the bench and have someone hand the low pulley to you. Stay in an extended position with the bar above the torso, such that you create a right angle with your arms and your body. Lower the bar while bending the elbow in but keeping the upper part of the arm still. Pull as far until the bar touches your forehead slightly. During this movement, breathe in. Breathe out as you lift the bar back to its starting position and flex your triceps as much as possible. Pause for a moment and repeat the routine.

Dumbbell exercises

Using dumbbells is another effective technique for building solid triceps. Here are a few dumbbell exercises that you can do to build your triceps muscles.

• One-arm and two-arm triceps extension

These exercises are simple but should be done carefully to avoid straining the arm.

For the one-arm triceps extension, stand straight and hold the dumbbell with one arm, behind your head. Keep your arm straight up, with your elbow at a 90 degree angle. Raise the dumbbell up such that your arm extends fully and slowly bring it back to the initial position. Alternate the same routine with the other hand.

The two-arm triceps extension involves in holding the dumbbell with both the arms and performing the exercise, while keeping the upper arms still. The exercise can also be performed sitting straight on a bench, or lying on a bench while holding the dumbbell with both the hands, while keeping the upper arms still.

• Triceps kickback

Begin by placing one knee on a bench and the other on the ground. Keep one palm facing the bench, at 90 degrees to your body and hold a dumbbell with another. Push the hand with the dumbbell back and extend your arm and elbow as much as you can and slowly bring it back to the initial position. The upper part of the arm holding the dumbbell should be parallel to the body and still.

• Triceps bench press with dumbbells

Triceps bench press is similar to other bench lifting exercises, only here you replace the barbell with two equal-weight dumbbells. Lie down on a bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand. The dumbbells should be just above your chest, with your palms opposite one another. Once you are in position, push the dumbbells up and extend your arm as far as possible and lower them back slowly. Remember to breathe in when you push the hands up and breathe out when you lower them back to the initial position.

Other exercises that can help in building up your triceps include close-grip bench presses, triceps press down and weighted bench dip.