To effectively grow your triceps, it's important to incorporate a variety of exercises that target all three heads of the triceps muscle (long head, lateral head, and medial head). Here are some of the best workouts you can include in your routine:
1. **Close-Grip Bench Press**: This exercise primarily targets the triceps while also engaging the chest and shoulders. Use a grip where your hands are shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower.
2. **Tricep Dips**: This bodyweight exercise is excellent for targeting the triceps. You can do them using parallel bars or on a bench/platform.
3. **Tricep Pushdowns**: Using a cable machine with a straight or V-bar attachment, push down against resistance, focusing on fully extending your elbows and squeezing your triceps at the bottom.
4. **Overhead Tricep Extension**: You can do this exercise standing or sitting. Use a dumbbell or an EZ-curl bar and lower the weight behind your head while keeping your elbows close to your ears.
5. **Skull Crushers (lying triceps extension)**: Using an EZ-curl bar or dumbbells, lie on a bench and lower the weight toward your forehead (hence the name "skull crusher") before extending your arms back up.
6. **Tricep Kickbacks**: Stand bent over with a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms straight back, and focus on squeezing the triceps at the top of the movement.
7. **Close-Grip Push-Ups**: Position your hands closer together than shoulder-width apart while doing push-ups. This variation puts more emphasis on the triceps.
8. **Diamond Push-Ups**: Place your hands close together under your chest in a diamond shape while performing push-ups. This targets the triceps and also engages the chest.
9. **Rope Tricep Pushdowns**: Using a rope attachment on a cable machine, perform pushdowns while separating and extending the rope ends at the bottom of the movement to fully contract the triceps.
10. **Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdowns**: Use an underhand grip on the cable attachment while performing tricep pushdowns. This variation emphasizes the medial head of the triceps.
When designing your workout routine, aim to include 2-4 of these exercises in each tricep-focused workout session. Varying the exercises ensures that you're targeting all parts of the triceps muscle and promoting overall growth. Additionally, focus on progressive overload by gradually increasing the weight or resistance over time to continue challenging your muscles and promoting growth.
