Sun’s out, guns out – so fill out your t-shirts this summer with this dumbbells triceps workout from body transformation expert Diego Carrete.
Walk into any gym and chances are you’ll see a row of men performing barbell or dumbbell curls in an attempt to build bigger biceps. But the key to building impressive arms is to also work your triceps muscle, which accounts for two-thirds of your upper-arm size – that’s why we’ve rounded up these triceps dumbbell exercises. Grab your best adjustable dumbbell and get ready to burn.
Why you can trust the workouts in Men’s Fitness
At Men’s Fitness we pride ourselves on delivering information that serves a singular purpose: to improve some aspect of your health, fitness or wellbeing. For over 16 years, we’ve been publishing authoritative health and fitness content – written by our expert editors and contributors – in the form of the monthly Men’s Fitness magazine. Each of our workouts has been created by either a highly experienced editor or expert contributor, and has been tested and used in real-world situations. This workout has been created by body transformation expert Diego Carrete.
Here are the exercises in this dumbbell triceps workout
1. Dumbbell seated triceps overhead press (reps: 10-12 | sets: 4)
2. Dumbbell skullcrusher (reps: 10-12 | sets: 3)
3. Dumbbell neutral-grip triceps press (reps: 10-12 | sets: 3)
4. Dumbbell triceps kickback (reps: 15 | sets: 3)
1. Dumbbell seated triceps overhead press
| Reps | 10-12 |
| Sets | 4 |
| Rest | 60 secs |
Why I like it: You may think isolation exercises pale in comparison to compound lifts, but if you’re targeting your triceps you really can’t go wrong with this seated overhead press. Plus you can easily convert this to a single-arm overhead press to help correct imbalances and improve that mind-muscle connection.
- Sit on the edge of a bench, with a dumbbell rested on one leg
- Bring the dumbbell onto one shoulder, then position both hands underneath the top edge of the dumbbell – like you would for a goblet squat
- Now bring the dumbbell overhead, with arms extended. This is your starting position
- Keeping your upper arms fixed, bend your elbows to lower the dumbbell behind your head – descend as far as you can without moving your upper arms
- Now reverse the movement to bring the weight back overhead
2. Dumbbell skullcrusher
| Reps | 10-12 |
| Sets | 3 |
| Rest | 60 secs |
Why I like it: This is another great choice for isolating and strengthening the triceps. It’s also useful for improving lockout strength in other lifts like the bench press and shoulder press.
- Lie on a flat bench, with dumbbells held directly above your head
- As with the overhead press, keep your upper arms fixed in place
- Bend your elbows to lower the weights until they’re level with your ears
- Now reverse the movement to return the dumbbells overhead
- Focus on contracting your triceps with each rep
3. Dumbbell neutral-grip triceps press
| Reps | 10-12 |
| Sets | 3 |
| Rest | 60 secs |
Why I like it: Like a traditional bench press this targets the chest, triceps and shoulders. Unlike the standard press, though, this version places less strain on your wrists and elbows.
- Lie on a flat bench, with dumbbells held with palms facing inwards
- Lower the dumbbells until they’re level with your sides
- Now press the weights straight back up – you should feel this in your triceps
FINISHER: Dumbbell triceps kickback
| Reps | 15 |
| Sets | 3 |
| Rest | 60 secs |
Why I like it: While this final exercise continues to work your triceps, it’s also helping to improve your posture, balance and core strength.
- Place one knee on a flat bench, with the opposite foot grounded
- Pick up a light dumbbell and hold it in the hand on the same side as the grounded foot
- Assume a flat back position, with a neutral spine
- With upper arm fixed in place, bend your elbow to bring the dumbbell back as far as you can without sacrificing that fixed upper-arm position
- Bring the weight back down with control
What muscles make up the triceps?
Your triceps muscle – or triceps brachii – is found on the back of your upper arm and is made up of three heads: the long and lateral head combine to form the horseshoe shape at the top of your upper arms, while the medial head runs beneath the long head down to the elbow.
The triceps extends your elbow joint to straighten the arm, so it comes into play during any move that requires you to push away from your body, such as the bench press.
The triceps is a three-headed muscle on the back of the upper arm. It extends the elbow and works with the biceps to do so.
The long head of the triceps runs the length of the upper arm from the shoulder blade to the elbow. As well as extending the elbow, it is responsible for stabilising the shoulder joint. The medial head of the triceps lies beneath the long head and connects at the elbow.
So, the triceps are pretty important. If you’re regularly doing dumbbell biceps workouts, it’s crucial to also target the triceps.
