IN THIS POST

Intro: The best dumbbell tricep workout

If you want toned and defined arms you can’t neglect your triceps.

Know why?

Your triceps make up more of the muscles in your arm than your biceps (about two-thirds to a third).

That’s right, even though biceps tend to get more shine, your triceps carry more weight (pun intended 😉).

If you’re not familiar with your triceps, it’s the muscle that runs down the backside of your arm from the bottom of your shoulder down close to your elbow. 

Exercise-wise, you call on your triceps to perform movements like bench press and push-ups.

Functionally speaking, you use your triceps in everyday life to push things away from your body and for movements that involve straightening your arm.

Think about pushing a box across the floor when moving into a new house.

Propelling yourself up from a seated to a standing position.

Or extending your arms to pull your shirt off over your head.

By the way, after you go through this workout, make sure you check out some of the other free workouts I’ve created for you on the blog:

• Lower body dumbbell workout
• Back and biceps home workout
• Total body dumbbell workout

3 key tips to maximize your results 

1.) Push yourself during your workouts

Don’t just go through the motions, actually challenge yourself with your workouts. 

It’s the only way you’ll see progress. 

What does that look like?

You need to be pushing yourself to the point where, if you HAD TO, you’d only be able to squeeze out just 1 or 2 more reps on your sets.

2.) Apply progressive overload

The next time you do this workout, you want to apply the principle of all strength training principles known as progressive overload. 

Basically, it means “do more.”  

Lift a little more weight or see if you can get just one more rep than you did the last time.  

It’s in the name → Progressive overload = progress.

3.) Make sure you’re eating the correct number of calories

It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to lose fat or build muscle, proper nutrition is CRUCIAL to achieving your goals.

If you’re trying to lose fat you have to eat in a calorie deficit.

If you want to build muscle you must eat in a calorie surplus.

Some people can do both at the same time–lose fat AND build muscle.

Read this post to find out if that’s you. 

The best dumbbell tricep workout

I won’t keep you waiting any longer, here’s your tricep workout:

• 1.) Floor press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• 2.) Close grip push-ups: 3 sets x 10-15 reps (or AMRAP if too easy)
• 3.) Kneeling overhead tricep extension: 2 sets x 10-12 reps
• 4.) Skull crushers: 2 sets x 10-12 reps

Rest between sets: 2 minutes.

We just talked about progressive overload and you won’t be able to lift heavier and heavier weights (which is the name of the game) if you aren’t resting enough. 

1.) Floor press 

Lower the weight down nice and controlled, and as you press the weight back up, focus on your muscle contraction by squeezing your triceps. 

2.) Close grip push-ups

Here are some cues to follow when performing push-ups:

• Make sure you’re not sticking your butt up in the air (I.e. keep your spine neutral)
• Your hand placement should be slightly closer together than roughly shoulder-width apart. 
• Your wrists should be directly below your shoulders.
• Brace your core by pretending someone’s about to punch you in the gut. Also, pretend you’re trying to hold a piece of paper between your butt cheeks. 

As you lower yourself down, make note of two things:

#1: Perform your push-ups so that your elbows are almost scraping by you ribs.

This indicates your hands are as far apart as they should be.

#2: Go all the way down and then press back up like I did in the GIF above. 

No half reps!  

If you’re looking for a more challenging variation, add a pause at the bottom:

If you don’t need more of a challenge but something a little less intense, here are a couple push-up variations you can do:

3.) Kneeling overhead tricep extension

Maintaining proper form with this exercise means keeping a tight core. 

This will prevent your back from arching.

Also, go all the way down when performing the exercise.

Feel that stretch in your triceps at the bottom before pressing the weight up.  

4.) Skull crushers

As you lower the weight, make sure you’re doing so slow and controlled.

You’re in charge of the weights, the weights aren’t in charge of you.

Similar to overhead tricep extensions, feel that stretch at the bottom of the movement before pushing the weight up.