7 Best Dumbbell Triceps Exercises for Size & Strength

In relation to triceps training, most gym goers limit themselves to a number of sets of cable pressdowns. While pressdowns are popular they aren’t very effective at packing size onto your triceps. That’s why the typical lifter lacks size on the back of their arms.

Somewhat than wasting your time doing infinite sets of cable pressdowns, you’d be higher served taking a have a look at a powerlifters training. The standard powerlifter has exceptional triceps size. That is on account of a great combination of heavy pressing and targeted accessory work; the latter typically involving dumbbells.

In case you want thick, strong, horseshoe triceps like a powerlifter, then you’ve to include dumbbells into your triceps training. Seasoned bodybuilders know this and use the identical tactics and dumbbell triceps exercises too. Dumbbells provide a novel freedom of movement that may save your joints and make you big gains.

In this text, I’ll explain why dumbbells are such an important tool and offer you 7 of the very best dumbbell exercises that each my clients and I actually have used to develop big, well-balanced and defined triceps.

Table of Contents:

• Anatomy of the triceps muscle
• Advantages of dumbbell tricep exercises
• 7 best triceps exercises with dumbbells
• Vital training variables to contemplate
• FAQs about using dumbbells for triceps training
• Sample tricep workout with dumbbells

Anatomy and Function of the Triceps

Because the name suggest, the triceps have 3 heads. Situated on the back of the arm and making up around 2/3 of upper arm muscle. They really make the upper arm look impressive if well-developed.

To be specific, anatomically speaking…

All three heads of the triceps insert on the Olecranon of the Ulna – a projection on the bony a part of the elbow.

The medial head is the deepest lying of the three, with a broad and long origin on the posterior surface of the humerus (upper arm bone). Crossing only on the elbow joint. Its sole function is elbow extension. This head is the first elbow extensor when there isn’t a resistance through all ranges of motion and is the one head that may contract independently.

Superficial to the medial head, the lateral head originates on a narrow ridge on the posterior surface of the humerus. Just like the medial head, the lateral head’s only role is in elbow extension. That is the strongest elbow extensor but only comes into play when resistance is present. This offers the triceps its definition and size predominantly from the side.

The long head is the biarticular (acts on two joints) region of the muscle, originating on the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula, a small bump by the glenoid fossa. This bump is on the underside of the highest right corner of the scapula and blends into the labrum, whose job is to deepen the shoulder joint and keep the ball in place. Just like the lateral and medial heads, it’s heavily involved in elbow extension.

Crossing the shoulder joint means the long head has some additional responsibility. It aides the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major in adduction – bringing the arm into the body – and the latissimus dorsi in shoulder extension. It also has a key role in shoulder stabilization – stopping the top of the humerus from going walkabouts. That is the a part of triceps that basically makes your arm stand out from the back.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING TRICEPS WITH DUMBBELLS?

• Freedom of Movement: Dumbbells permit you to control their position, twisting on the wrist and moving them independently. This enables you to manipulate your technique to get the very best mind-muscle connection and find ways to reduce discomfort or joint pain. Anecdotally, lying barbell extensions may cause lots of lifters elbow pain. The answer could be so simple as swapping in dumbbells.
• Single Arm Focus: Imbalances are normal. None of us are symmetrical. Almost everyone has a dominant hand, and everybody has inherent asymmetries brought on by things like only having one liver. While normal, this does mean that using one weight in two arm exercises means the stronger side can take over, exacerbating the imbalances. Dumbbells permit you to concentrate on one arm at a time, ensuring they get the identical work done and helping to reduce any asymmetries. This could be especially helpful in the event you’re struggling to get a good mind-muscle connection.
• Compound Lifts: Using dumbbells means you possibly can still train with compounds and get essentially the most out of your exercises. You don’t should only train with isolations if barbells aren’t the precise fit for you. Triceps, front delts and chest all get hit with a neutral grip dumbbell press, mimicking an in depth grip bench press. On this instance, dumbbells also permit you to push closer to failure when training alone without the danger of crushing yourself under a bar!

7 BEST DUMBBELL TRICEPS EXERCISES

Listed below are 7 of the very best tricep exercises using dumbbells which you could do for size, definition, and strength:

1. Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
2. JM Dumbbell Bench Press
3. Dumbbell Skull Crushers
4. Dumbbell Tate Presses
5. Overhead Dumbbell Extensions
6. Dumbbell Kickbacks
7. Dumbbell-Loaded Triceps Dips

Below we are going to take a better have a look at each of those tricep exercises with dumbbells to debate the advantages, targeted muscle head(s), and proper form. 

1. Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press

Narrow grip pressing is an important solution to pack on mass. This dumbbell variation mimics close grip bench press, predominantly targeting the lateral and medial heads of triceps, but provides increased freedom of movement ingrained into dumbbell exercises. 

Tips on how to:

1. Arrange like a dumbbell bench press, but with palms facing one another.
2. Keeping your elbows tucked to your side, lower the load to your mid-chest at shoulder width.
3. Press up, keeping the dumbbells parallel to at least one one other.

The parallel press and tucked elbows help stop the chest from taking up, helping to focus on the triceps. 

Because it’s a compound movement, don’t isolate the triceps an excessive amount of, but specializing in flexing and lengthening the elbow may also help make sure the triceps are the limiting aspects at the top of a set. Even though it’s an important bang-for-your-buck exercise, compounds can overlap with other training. You do not need a fatigued or sore chest to limit your triceps training.

2. JM Dumbbell Presses

This hybrid press-extension variation designed by bench press champion JM Blakely targets the triceps and provides the shoulders a rest. Performing them with dumbbells, versus the normal barbell, further reduces joint stress and enables you to concentrate on the exercise. By incorporating some shoulder flexion and extension, this hybrid hits all heads and is an important exercise to have within the arsenal. 

Tips on how to:

1. Arrange like a flat dumbbell bench press, with a pronated (overhand) grip.
2. Initiate the movement like a dumbbell press, flexing the elbow and lengthening the shoulder. 
3. After a number of inches of movement, change the dumbbell path bringing them towards your neck by further flexing the elbows and flexing the shoulder. Keep the elbows high. 
4. Once the dumbbells read your neck, punch them back to the starting position. 

This exercise is a more advanced movement and may irritate the elbows. Start light and let the joint and connective tissues construct resilience before loading heavily. It might even be hard to familiarize yourself with, attempting to get the precise dumbbell path and a rhythm because it looks like a two-part movement. When you’ve got it down, this could be an important exercise so as to add to the arsenal. 

3. Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions (aka Skull Crushers)

Also often called skull crushers, lying triceps extension hit all heads of the triceps. Forcing you to isometrically contract the long head, to forestall the load from pulling the upper arm into flexion, means this predominantly targets the long head. The flexed shoulder position means the long head is exposed to a loaded stretch, great for muscle growth. This helps to make sure the triceps is taken through a full range of motion during training. 

Tips on how to:

1. Lie down like a flat dumbbell press, but with a considerably lower weight and your head at the highest of the bench.
2. As an alternative of holding the weights above the shoulder, barely flex the shoulder, holding the weights above the chin. 
3. Lower the load excessive of your head by flexing the elbow.
4. EITHER: keep the shoulder in a set position OR let the shoulder flex with the load increasing the stretch. 
5. Return to the beginning by extending the elbow. 

By holding the weights over your chin and never your shoulder you prevent the joints from stacking, forcing the long head to work continuously. Neither more nor less shoulder flexion through the exercise is correct or mistaken, so long as it’s done with control. Hand position will not be overly essential, pick whatever allows the very best pump and prevents discomfort. 

Skull crushers can grate on the elbows, even with dumbbells so be wary of any pain and construct strength and volume slowly. It’s great this goal the long head, but be sure that other variations you include are more focussed on the lateral and medial head.

4. Dumbbell Tate Press

One other exercise stolen from powerlifting; the Tate Press goals to extend pressing performance by blowing up the triceps. This exercise hits all heads of the triceps, and the incline bench and flared elbows provide some much-needed variety in your triceps training. 

Tips on how to:

1. Lie on an incline bench at 45 degrees, with an overhand grip and dumbbells shoulder width. 
2. With elbows flared to 45 degrees, lower the load to the upper chest by flexing the elbows. 
3. Return to the starting position by extending the elbows. 

Like many triceps exercises, this could wear on the elbows if done an excessive amount of or too heavy. Performing these separately, lowering the load to the other side of the chest, may also help the mind-muscle connection. 

5. Overhead Dumbbell Extension (Single Arm)

This extension variation uses a totally flexed shoulder, targeting the long head by putting it under a substantial stretch under load. Training these separately enables you to concentrate on each arm individually, getting essentially the most out of each set and rep. 

Tips on how to:

1. Sit on a bench, shoulder flexed, holding the dumbbell like a hammer and elbow pointing at around 45 degrees diagonally from the body.
2. Lower the load by flexing the elbow. 
3. When you’ve got a superb stretch, bring the elbow back to the starting position by contracting the triceps. 

It might help to make use of the hand that isn’t working to support the opposite elbow. 

Like skull crushers, these are primarily focused on the long head it is vital to mix this with pressing or other extension exercises. 

6. Dumbbell Kickbacks

Tricep kickbacks are likely to get lots of hate, with people writing them off as completely useless. Although they aren’t essentially the most efficient exercise through the complete range of motion, they permit you to fully contract the triceps. Extending and adducting the upper arm provides a novel stimulus to the long head in comparison with other dumbbell exercises. 

Tips on how to:

1. Training one arm at a time, hold your upper body parallel to the bottom, leaning on a surface for support together with your free hand. 
2. Elbow tucked into your side, shoulder prolonged, and a neutral grip. 
3. Start with the dumbbell directly under the elbow.
4. Extend the elbow, contracting your triceps as hard as you possibly can while maintaining an adducted and prolonged upper arm. 
5.  Lower the dumbbell back to below the elbow. 

There are some essential caveats to this exercise. Firstly, they fail to offer the muscle much of a stretch and must be used with other, more complete, exercises. Cable variations are generally higher, providing tension over a greater range of motion. So long as you might be aware of its pitfalls, it could actually be used effectively in a program. 

7. Dumbbell-Loaded Parallel Bar Dips

While I’m pushing my luck (some would say “cheating”) by classifying these as a dumbbell exercise, I’m counting them because I really like them, and technically they’re a tricep exercise . It’s in fact true you possibly can add load via plates, kettlebells, or a weighted vest as a substitute of dumbbells, but when you would like to pack on size to your triceps the dip is a wonderful selection and loading it with dumbbells is a superb option.

Triceps-dominant dips (torso more upright), are an important solution to pack on triceps size while forcing stabilizers and pushing muscles to work hard in support. With no complicated technique, these permit you to walk in, train your triceps and walk out. 

Tips on how to:

1. Pop a dumbbell between your legs or dangle one off a weight belt.
2. Use a narrow, neutral grip according to your body.
3. Shoulder depressed, maintain an upright position as you lower yourself so far as you possibly can safely. 
4. Push yourself back as much as the highest. 

Only go down so far as you possibly can safely without putting undue stress on the shoulder by overextending. As with the opposite compounds, you would like to be sure that the triceps is the limiting consider the exercise to get essentially the most from it. Remember, these are all compound exercises. Attempting to make them isolate the triceps is a sure-fire solution to limit their effectiveness, take away a key profit, and end up hurt!

TRAINING VARIABLES TO CONSIDER WITH TRICEPS TRAINING

To maximise your triceps training, it is vital to contemplate various training variables that may significantly impact your results.

1. Technique Considerations:

The goal of triceps training is to take the elbow through a full range of motion and be sure that the triceps fatigue first. This is very essential with compounds, where the chest can take over. Secondly, on account of its role on the shoulder, you would like to be sure that you’re training triceps at different degrees of shoulder flexion to differ the stimulus to muscle. This doesn’t should be all in a single exercise or session (more about that in strategic variation). 

It will be important to coach through a full range; but there’s some evidence constant tension, mid-range, triceps extensions can fast-track triceps growth. Maintaining the constant-tension causes muscle hypoxia, which the authors of this study attributed the increased growth. I wouldn’t go crazy, training only mid-range, but you possibly can definitely incorporate some partials into your program. 

2. Strategic Variation:

Strategic Variation is the concept that using a variety of exercises can provide higher results than only doing the identical movement. These variations can hit muscles at different lengths and resistance profiles, stopping movements from feeling stale. As no exercise is ideal for all heads and functions, this is very essential for muscles with multiple roles and regions. For instance, skull crushers put the long head at a drawback. This implies it’s more likely to fatigue first, and the lateral and medial heads still have some more to offer. This study demonstrated lying extension combined with bench press caused more growth to all heads than bench press or extensions alone. Triceps movements may grate on the elbows, so having compounds, isolations, and varied angles can prevent overuse and irritation. 

3. Targeting different parts of the triceps:

The lateral and medial heads are the first elbow extensors, provided the shoulder is in a “natural position.” This implies extensions and presses – where the shoulder is not overly prolonged or flexed, and you are not fighting to adduct and extend the upper arm – prioritize lateral and medial head growth. 

Despite its role in elbow extension, to focus on the long head you should cater to its functions across the shoulder. Any exercise where you actively adduct and extend the upper arm will force the long head to contract more, stimulating growth. This could appear like a cable chill, with the elbow tucked and pushed backwards: or a lying extension, contracting isometrically to stop the load pulling your upper arm into extension. There is no such thing as a perfect angle for maximizing long-head recruitment. Nonetheless, one study found little difference between lying dumbbell extensions at 90 degrees and overhead extensions at 180 degrees.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the triceps haven’t any role in forearm supination and pronation. Were the gym-bros mistaken once they told you palm-up extensions hit the long head and palms down for the lateral head? Interestingly, no. This queue actually has some merit. Supination generally forces you to tuck your elbows in, adducting the upper arm, targeting the long head. 

4. Volume:

Direct triceps volume fluctuates depending on training status and goals. Initially of your training profession, pressing does lots of the heavy lifting for you. Beginners volume for growth and more advanced trainee volume for maintenance are likely similar, 4-6 sets of direct work per week. Most trainees require 8-12 direct sets per week, with some requiring as high as 16-20. I’d look to start out with lower volumes increase the tolerance and strength of the structures across the elbow before jumping in on the deep end. In case you’re recovering well or need more stimulus, you possibly can add more sets down the road. Remember, you possibly can at all times add sets later, but you possibly can’t take them out retrospectively without running the danger of reducing the training stimulus.

5. Intensity and Rep Ranges:

It is best to generally aim for 1-3 reps in reserve (RIR). As triceps training tends to be relatively secure, you possibly can take this closer to failure when needed. It is advisable to look out for some joint pain, but generally, you need to be secure from disaster.

Due to the variability of exercises- from compounds to kickbacks – viable reps span from 5-30 reps. Practicality should dictate the range you select, with 5 reps of kickbacks not making much sense.

6. Frequency:

Direct triceps work could be done as little as once per week. This is sufficient to grow a beginner’s arms or maintain more advanced trainee’s gains, provided they’re doing a good amount of pressing elsewhere. 

Nonetheless, to optimize growth, training them twice per week is smart. This could facilitate loads of variation and good quality sets. If it’s hard to get good triceps sessions in over two days, you possibly can add one other. Splitting the quantity and cutting the length of the sessions down may also help maintain high-quality training and minimize junk volume.

FAQs about Tricep Workouts with Dumbbells:

Listed below are some common questions clients ask me about free weight tricep workouts.

Can I construct my triceps using only dumbbells?

Yes, you possibly can definitely construct your triceps using only dumbbells. Dumbbells are a flexible tool for targeting and developing the triceps muscles effectively. All you should do is include some variation into your training by doing various dumbbell triceps exercises and switching up your rep ranges and weight load. It is best to even be training them steadily and aim to progress their strength. In case you do that, your triceps will grow very quickly. 

What weight dumbbells for triceps workout?

The suitable weight for dumbbells when training your triceps depends upon your current strength and fitness level. Start with a weight that means that you can perform the exercises with proper form and control, while still difficult your muscles. Progressively increase the load as you get stronger to proceed progressing.

What are the very best dumbbell tricep exercises?

A few of the very best dumbbell triceps exercises include:

• Dumbbell triceps extensions (lying, seated, or standing variations)
• Single arm overhead triceps extensions
• Dumbbell kickbacks
• Tate presses
• Neutral grip dumbbell bench presses
• Dumbbell JM presses

These exercises goal the triceps muscles from different angles and supply a comprehensive workout for triceps strength and development. Remember to decide on a weight that means that you can maintain proper form throughout the exercises.

How do you realize what tricep exercises to pick each workout?

Firstly, remember you don’t must train every function and range in every session. Providing you’re taking the muscle through a full range in a meson cycle, you’re covering all bases. This could be so simple as having a giant press variation and skull crusher (or French press) on at some point, and a dip and kickback on one other. In case you’ve been training for some time, you too can add in a number of isolation movements for not only the triceps, but additionally the biceps and shoulders, just like the ones seen on this list of best dumbbell arm exercises.

How can I incorporate other resistance methods, like cables and barbells, into my triceps workouts?

Cables are an important alternative, providing stability and tension through a much bigger range of motion. This could provide help to fully shorten the triceps without the caveat of a really limited range, as seen in dumbbell kickbacks. Barbells let you utilize more load and may have greater transfer to pressing performance. Despite these differences, each abide by the identical basic rules with regards to exercise selection and triceps function. If a dumbbell version isn’t doing it for you there is sort of at all times a barbell, cable, and even body weight variation which may:

When should I train my triceps?

There is no such thing as a right or mistaken answer, because it depends upon your goals as outlined earlier. If you would like to place more concentrate on your triceps, you possibly can put tricep exercises firstly of a workout when you’ve more energy. In case you’re still aiming so as to add mass all over the place without the specialization, add it to an upper or push day following any big pressing movements, or with back in the event you prefer to coach them once they’re more energizing.

DUMBBELL TRICEP WORKOUTS

Listed below are two good examples of a dumbbell tricep workout based on a push, pull, legs (PPL) split.

Session 1 uses skull crushers and kickbacks so as to add to work on the triceps already done during this by heavy pressing. The triceps have been taken through a full range on this this session.

Session 2 uses a neutral grip press to focus on the triceps as a part of a compound, training it earlier within the session so fatigued chest and front delts don’t limit triceps work. Tate Press adds to the triceps work hitting all heads.

This microcycle is comparatively low triceps volume and sets might be added to any of the chosen exercises to extend volume if needed.

SUMMARY:

Triceps foremost function is on the elbow, but since the long head crosses the shoulder joint, we are able to manipulate exercise to favor different heads. Any exercise that tries requires the triceps to fight for shoulder extension, like skull crushers or kickbacks, will attack the long head of the triceps, while neutral shoulder positions hit the lateral and medial heads of the triceps more.

All in all, the flexibility of dumbbells makes them the right tool to take advantage of joint angles, using compound and isolation exercises to maximise muscle growth. If you would like to maximize your gains, and really grow those horseshoe triceps, you will need to be using dumbbells effectively.

Now we’ve given you the blueprint for growth, all there’s left is to go and do it.