5 top tricep exercises, according to an exercise scientist

Think doing the best bicep exercises is enough to get you jacked arms like The Rock? You’re mistaken. Yes, the biceps may give your arms that nice rounded ‘peak’ in the front of your t-shirt, but it's the triceps that fill it, making up two-thirds of your arm.

For those who haven’t given their triceps the TLC they deserve for weeks (or even worse, months), Exercise Scientist, Dr. Mike Israetel, is here to get you back on track with his five top tricep exercises. It’s time to get your arms back in the game to build some serious size and strength!

1. EZ bar overhead tricep extensions

“This is one of the best tricep exercises you can do,” says Dr. Mike, but it requires decent shoulder mobility. As well as being a stable exercise – you can perform it either seated on a weight bench or standing – it provides a huge stretch. “Because your elbows are sky high and your triceps are pulled all the way up, you’re pre-stretching the long head of your tricep,” he explains. Bigger stretch equals bigger gains. His top tips include keeping your elbows in on the way down to increase tricep tension and minimise the shoulders from taking over, as well as a slow and controlled eccentric.

2. Cable pushdown

A classic in the tricep training arsenal, and for good reason. It targets the lateral head of the tricep, which gives it that horseshoe shape when well-developed. Plus, it’s an exercise you can easily progressively overload for more gains. To get the most bang for your buck, Dr. Mike uses a straight bar and says to stand as close to the cable machine as possible and focus on pushing your elbows backwards whilst raising your arms. “As soon as your forearms and biceps are touching, come back down,” he says. Again, slow on the way up, pause at the top (the stretch), then push down nice and quickly.

3. Barbell skullcrusher

Unlike an overhead tricep extension, skullcrushers are performed lying down on a weight bench. It targets all three heads of the triceps (nice), making it a great all-round tricep exercise, but the medial head is what receives the most attention. “You want to make sure you’re unlocking with your elbows pointing towards your hips,” says Dr. Mike. Keep these tucked in on the way down, “On the way up this doesn’t matter a ton”. You can also tackle this move with a variety of equipment, like an EZ bar, a barbell, the Smith machine, or even a pair of dumbbells, so if someone’s using the kit you want, you’ve got other options at your disposal.

4. Single-arm dumbbell overhead extension

Focusing on one arm at a time shouldn’t go amiss from your training to iron out muscle imbalances – plus, no one wants one arm potentially bigger than the other. While Dr. Mike vouches for barbells and cables when it comes to two-handed overhead exercises, for single-arm moves, he suggests using a dumbbell (and to start off light) to get a deeper stretch and better mind-muscle connection. Apparently, you don’t simply want to touch the top of your back with the dumbbell either, but the middle of it. “I want you guys to feel this crazy stretch and tension in the triceps.”

5. Low incline dumbbell skullcrusher

Performing skullcrushers on a slight incline shifts more focus onto the long head of the triceps and increases your range of motion for a deeper, more effective stretch. And speaking of stretch, Dr. Mike has a clever tip to take it even further. Using dumbbells with a neutral grip, he recommends lowering them as far behind your shoulders as possible. It’s a tough position to get out of – but here’s the trick: tilt your elbows forward first, then press the weights back up overhead. According to Dr. Mike, this delivers a “crazy deep stretch” and doubles as an excellent shoulder mobiliser.