Get Ripped Triceps

Have you been looking to achieve those ripped triceps? Do you want all eyes on your upper arms as soon as you step in the gym? Whether you are a novice weightlifter or just someone looking to start a regimen the triceps are a good place to start.

Steps

Exercising Triceps at the Gym

1. Use a barbell to do triceps-building "skull crushers." Also known as the lying triceps press, this is one of the very best ways to isolate your upper arms and make them burn. Grab your bar and lay on you back on a weight bench, face up and feet on the ground. Then:
   • Hold the bar with your palms up, arms shoulder length apart.
   • Slowly bend your elbows back, bringing the weight to your forehead.
   • Keeping your elbows parallel to your body, slowly extend your arms to raise the weight above your head.
   • Note that you can still do this with a single dumbbell. Simply hold the weight with both hands on end, so that the other end hangs down towards your forehead.
2. Try out rope or cable pull-down exercises. This machine has a cable, rope, or small horizontal bar hanging from the top. To use it, stand facing the rope with your feet slightly apart. Grab the cable or handle with your arms bent at 90-degrees, then:
   • Extend your arms downward, pushing the cable to your thighs.
   • Slowly curl your elbows back up until they are back to 90-degrees.
   • Keep your elbows by your ribs, not flaring out, throughout the motion.
   • To make this a bit harder, flair your wrists to the sides as you reach the bottom. The full motion will look a bit like an uppercase "J."
3. Try out dumbbell extensions. Sit or stand with your back straight and feet firmly on the ground. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and extend them high over your head. Keep your arms shoulder length apart:
   • Slowly drop the weights back behind your head, bending only from the elbow.
   • Stop when the weights are roughly behind your neck.
   • Extend your arms back upwards to complete one rep.
   • Keep your elbows pointing forward the entire time.
4. Try out a couple of seated reverse extensions. Sit upright with a dumbbell in both hands, making sure there is room behind you to freely move your arms. Bend at the waist until you are at a roughly 45-degree angle, keeping your spine straight as your bend.
   • Raise your elbows to your side at 90-degrees, as if you were doing a dip.
   • Extend the weights out behind you -- the motion is almost like a skier pushing off with their poles.
   • Slowly return the weights to your side.
5. Try out close-grip bench pressing. Set up for a normal bench press: feet on the ground, spine relaxed, a spotter in place. However, instead of grabbing the bar at shoulder width, try coming in to about nipple width apart. Lower the bar to about an inch off your chest, then push it back up, keeping your arms and elbows stead and strong.
   • You will not be able to do as much weight this way as you do with a normal bench press!

Exercising Triceps Without Weights

1. Perform dips, either on a set of bars or a raised ledge. Classically, dips are between parallel bars, where you lower yourself down until your elbows are at 90-degrees, arms parallel to the bars. You then push your hold body back out until your arms are straight, then repeat. But you can still do these triceps crushers even if you're without bars:
   • Find a sturdy table, ledge, chair, or stair step that comes up to roughly thigh level.
   • Facing away from the ledge, use your hands to lower yourself to a "seated" position, as if there was an invisible chair in front of your object.
   • Lower your but to the floor, keeping your elbows straight behind you.
   • Push back up to the "seated" position.
   • Repeat for 15-20 reps, doing three sets.
2. Try close-armed or diamond pushups. The closer you move your arms together on a push-up, the more it will engage your triceps. The ultimate exercise, then, becomes diamond push-ups. To do them, simply use your thumbs and index fingers to form a diamond shape under your chest, entering otherwise normal push-up position:
   • Lower yourself slowly to the ground.
   • Spring back up to the point just before your elbows lock out.
   • Keep your neck and spine straight, not curved or hunched.
3. Try out some L-sits to work your triceps and core simultaneously. This is a holding exercise, meaning you don't do reps, you simply hold the position, often timing out "sets" as 30-90 seconds of holding. L-sits are basically modified dips, but you can perform them on the floor or a set of parallel bars.
   • Pick yourself up by extending your arms straight down at your sides and pushing up.
   • Stick your legs in front of you, forming an enormous L with your body.
   • Keep your arms straight and strong as you hold your body above the ground of the bars.
   • If you're struggling, rest your legs on something to keep them up while you work out your arms.
4. Try triceps extensions on a horizontal bar or surface. You'll need a bar at about stomach height, the lower it is, the harder the exercise will be. These exercises work best if you keep your elbows in towards your ears and focus on using your triceps:
   • Hold the bar with your hands 4-5 inches apart, palms down.
   • Place your feet together behind you, making a straight diagonal line from the bar to your toes.
   • Pull your head under the bar, bending your elbows in to do so.
   • Using your triceps, extend your arms straight back to "push" your body up and away from the bar.
5. Give handstand push-ups a shot to really shred your triceps. These take a ton of strength just to start, let alone complete, and are a great goal to set if you're just starting out. Even a few reps will seriously tire you out, and it supports a strong back and core as well. To perform them:
   • Crouch with your back against a sturdy wall, palms on the ground in front of you.
   • Use your feet to "walk" up the wall, entering a supported handstand.
     • You may need a spotter or assistant to help you gain your balance the first few times.
   • Lower yourself until the top of your head is almost touching the ground.
   • Push back up until your arms are almost completely extended, but your elbows aren't locked.
   • Repeat motion, walking your feet back to your hands to disembark.

Building a Muscle-Building Plan

1. Warm up before lifting or working out. You want to get the blood pumping and get your arms loose. Starting out on heavy weights can cause serious injury to your arm. Warm up before each exercise. Perform the same motion as your exercise, but use 30% of your maximum weight, aiming for smooth, easy motions.
   • Swing your arms, individually, in circles at your sides. Start with small circles, then gradually swing your entire arm.
   • Jog or use the elliptical for 5-10 minutes. Even if the machine doesn't use your arms, this elevates your heart-rate and prepares your body to exercise.
2. Give two days rest between hard days on the triceps. Working out your triceps every day will paradoxically slow down your muscle growth. When you work out, you're stretching and ripping muscle fibers. The "growth" of your muscles is when they repair themselves, building up stronger than before. But if you never give your muscles time to actually repair and get stronger you won't get ripped triceps -- you'll rip your triceps!
   • This doesn't mean you don't work out on off days, just that you focus on muscles other than your triceps.
3. Eat a meal high in lean protein shortly after working out. Your muscles are made of protein, so it makes sense that your body needs protein to repair and strengthen muscles after a workout. Chicken, eggs, turkey, beans, chocolate milk, peanut butter, tuna, and protein shakes are some of the most common post-workout fuels, as they have enough protein to satisfy your body without being overly rich or fatty.
   • Be sure to drink plenty of water with your meal and keep drinking throughout the day as well.
   • Eating protein doesn't mean an all-protein diet. A chicken breast or can of tuna with a sandwich or pasta, a piece of fruit, and some water is a wonderful, simple meal to refuel.
4. Use compound exercises that involve your triceps on off-days, or to develop great triceps without necessarily focusing on them. The triceps are smaller muscles that are naturally incorporated into a variety of other exercises. This means you can often work on your triceps without focusing strictly on them, making them a part of a more full-body workout. Exercises include:
   • Bench press (all forms)
   • Push-ups
   • Pull-ups (palms facing away from you)
   • Weighted Dips
   • Military Press
   • Wide-armed Row
5. Vary the exercises that you do instead of sticking to the same 2-3 every week. While all of these exercises do target your triceps, it doesn't mean that they all do so equally. Different grips, exercises, and weights will all strengthen other ligaments, small muscles, and parts of your triceps (they are a collection of three muscles, after all) to get a healthier, more even tone to your outer arms.
   • Find the 4-5 exercises above you like the most and rotate through them, only doing 2-3 each time.
6. Add weight slowly, aiming to keep the last 3-4 reps over every single exercise difficult. Difficulty is how you know you're actually building muscle. The last few reps of every set should be challenging but doable, making you dig a little deeper to get the weight up or finish the set. You shouldn't be in pain, but you should be pushing yourself. Instead of artificially picking weights or raising the weight on a schedule, let your body dictate how you proceed.

Tips

• Stay hydrated! Water is essential for properly working muscles.

Warnings

• If you feel sharp or persistent pain while working out, stop immediately and see a professional.

Related Articles

• Get Better Triceps
• Get Your Arms in Great Shape
• Do a Push Up
• Get Better Biceps
• Do a Bench Dip
• Perform Arnold Presses

Sources and Citations

See also

• Get Bigger Chest Muscles (Pecs)
• Floor Press
• Tighten Stomach Skin
• Get Bigger Biceps
• Perform Arnold Presses
• Strengthen Your Wrists
• Do a Bench Dip
• Get Six Pack Abs
• Get Toned Arms
• Punch a Speed Bag

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What links here

• Build a Big Chest
• Do a Bench Dip
• Increase Your Bench Press
• Perform Arnold Presses