Many beginning athletes are worried what is the Tricep muscle and how to pump it up in a gym. If you really want to get perfect tricep muscles, the basics of anatomy will be useful for you first. This will help to do the exercises correctly and better orient yourself according to your feelings. It is known that by enlarging the triceps, the arm becomes much more massive. If you do it the way most beginners like it, that is focus exclusively on the biceps, you will have a small peak in the flexor’s place, but on the whole, the arm will seem to be skinny. So, to get good arms, you should pay much attention to the tricep. Tricep workout for mass is very important in this aspect.

Tricep Workout for Men – How To Train for Mass?

It should be noted that the strength of the triceps significantly exceeds the strength of the biceps (by 2 to 3 times), so it’s easier to train the biceps than the triceps. Talking about how to train the triceps quickly, first of all it is necessary to decide what the word “quickly” means to you. If it’s months, you think right. If you want to get a good tricep it in a week, then maybe it’s time to stop believing in fairytales? Of course, you can use anabolic steroids like Trenbolone, Sustanon, and testosterone enanthate. But in such an occasion, you cannot consider yourself a natural athlete (you might be interested in a story about Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and steroids).

Below are the most effective triceps exercises that will make your arms powerful and pumped up.

• Basic exercises for the tricep help increase its mass. The heaviest exercises include dips with extra weight, triceps bench dips with extra weight, and a close-grip bench press.
• The skullcrusher is difficult to be considered a basic exercise, but it is well suited for training triceps for mass. Due to the use of different bars, the skullcrusher helps to pump the entire triceps very well. Probably, this is one of the best isolation exercises for the tricep muscles.
• The rest of the exercises are designed to create muscle definition based on the available mass. These are, for example, working with dumbbells and tricep cable exercises.

By the way, the true basic exercise in which the tricep works is the bench press. Of course, it is aimed at working out the pectoral muscles, but the triceps also get a decent part of the load. In this exercise, heavy weights should be used. You cannot take the same weight when performing the skullcrusher. As a rule, the working weights in these exercises differ by 2-3 times.

Barbell Tricep Workout Exercises

• Bench Press. This is the basic exercise in your barbell tricep workout, which pumps the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. Typically, the bench press is performed on the same day with the triceps. This is convenient, unlike a back and bicep workout routine. Bench press is probably not the best exercise for triceps, as in this case the target muscular group is the chest. But without it your arms will not grow properly. There is also an inverse relationship – weak arms greatly spoil the results in this exercise, and your chest receives much less load. To get a huge triceps muscle, you need to do a number of specialized exercises in addition to the classic bench press.
• Close-Grip Bench Press. The best exercises on the triceps should load the tricep muscle well and not affect the rest. This is an ideal case scenario. In practice, everything is not so rosy. For example, close-grip bench press is a very effective exercise for the tricep muscles, but it strongly overloads the shoulders. If the athlete has any shoulder injury, he will not be able to perform this type of bench press. The press with a narrow grip is performed in such a way that the elbows are pressed against the body, and the bar is lowered to the middle of the chest. If you lower the bar to the bottom of the chest, the front heads of the deltoids might be overloaded. If you lower the bar to the middle of the chest, you may suffer from wrist injury at the bottom point. Believe us, this exercise is associated with many risks. We recommend you to learn proper technique thoroughly to avoid these risks. Any sportsman should be smart. Huge weight is not a “panacea”, vice versa, it can lead to traumas. Of course, you should adhere to the progressive overload principle, but you should be carefully.
• Skullcrusher. Without this exercise, any training program for the triceps will be ineffective. It gives a perfect load on the long head tricep. This is isolation exercise if performed correctly. You need to lie down on a horizontal bench and steadily put your feet on the floor. Next, take the barbell convenient for you to grab and raise it slightly by the head. From this position, you can start work. The arms from the shoulder to the elbow should not be perpendicular to the floor. You lead your elbows by the head a little farther, so that your hands slightly deviate from the vertical line. Lower the bar to the head, then unbend your arms. If at this time you feel (hear) cracks emanating from your elbows or experience pain in the joints, try to take other bar or abandon this exercise. In case of joint injury, corticosteroid injections may help you. You might be interested in cortisone injections (shots) in knee, shoulder, hip, etc.

Dumbbell Tricep Workout Exercises

These dumbbell exercises may be used during tricep workouts for men:

• Dumbbell Skullcrusher. A good option is the skullcrusher with dumbbells. This is a triceps-friendly exercise, which can be performed if you do not have a bar, but there are dumbbells. In addition, you can rotate the brush the way you want, and not be dependent on the shape of the bar (EZ, straight, etc.). You can do this exercise with one dumbbell, wrapping it with both hands. It’s a comfortable and agile grip. The dumbbell turns slightly during the movement of your hands due to gravity. This exercise can be performed both in sitting and standing position. Do not confuse it with a pullover, which is performed in lying position and is intended to work out the chest and back muscles (you can read about chest and back workouts here). The exercise often performed as the last one in the training program. It loads the triceps in isolation, causing it to fill with blood. This exercise does not make sense with large weights, you need to pick up a tangible weight and work qualitatively, trying to provide the maximum amplitude of contraction of the triceps muscle.
• Tricep Kickback. It is a perfect option for effective dumbbell tricep workout, because it focuses the load on the inner tricep. In this exercise, you need to bend over, pull your hands with dumbbells back and move it them with your elbows. Try to keep the elbow parallel to the floor. If you cannot do it, it’s okay, work the way you can for the first time. With the course of time, you will achieve the proper technique.

Tricep Cable Machine Workouts – List of Exercises

Tricep cable workouts may be used for giving the tricep more definition. But they should not be basic workouts for this muscle group.

• Triceps Pushdown. Stand in the block frame of a cable machine near the top block, which was has a straight bar. Select an appropriate weight. Grasp it with a straight grip, bend over it from above to fix the weight at the bottom not at the expense of the arm strength, but at the expense of your weight. Your elbows should be close to the body: this position does not include in the work the widest muscles of the back. Repeat for the needed number of reps. Do the exercise 8-12 times in the set. Then you can change the handle to V-shaped. Now you can weigh 5-10 kg more weight than in the previous case.
• Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdown. Set a bar attachment on a high cable machine. The bar may be straight or E-Z-shaped). Select an appropriate weight. Stay in a front of the equipment and grab it with your palms using supinated grip. Slightly raise the attachment until it is in a front of your chest. Then start to lower the bar down, contracting your tricep muscles hard. Repeat for the needed number of reps.
• Triceps Overhead Extension with Rope. This is an advanced option among triceps cable exercises. Extensions provide an excellent load on the lateral head of the tricep (the so-called outer tricep). Here’s how perform it properly. First and foremost, you should attach a rope to a cable in the cable machine. Select an appropriate weight. Position your hands behind the head with the elbows point straight up. The elbows should be flexed, and you may stagger your stance and lean away from the equipment to create optimal stability. This will be your initial position. To perform the exercise, extend through your elbow while maintaining the upper arm in position, raising your hands above the head. Contract the triceps at the top of the amplitude, then lower the cable back to its starting position.

In addition, you can perform some exercises on parallel bars, for instance, tricep dips. Also you can try tricep machine workouts using specially designed sports machines (if available).

Killer Tricep Workout to Make Your Arms Bigger!

Here’s an example of killer tricep workout:

• Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press. 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions.
• Triceps Pushdown. 2 dropsets 6-8 repetitions.
• Standing Overhead Barbell Triceps Extension. 2 sets of 6-8 repetitions.
• Incline Barbell Triceps Extension. 2 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
• Triceps Pushdown. 2 sets of 6-8 repetitions.

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