The Best Bodyweight Exercises for Triceps

Strong triceps play a crucial role in developing overall upper body strength and aesthetics. The triceps muscle, located at the back of the upper arm, is responsible for extending the elbow joint and supporting movements such as pushing and pressing.

Whether you’re aiming to enhance your athletic performance or sculpt a defined and toned upper body, prioritizing triceps exercises is essential.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the world of bodyweight exercises specifically designed to target and strengthen the triceps. Additionally, we’ll delve into various bodyweight exercises that provide progressive overload, ensuring continuous growth and improvement of your triceps strength and definition.

Advantages of Bodyweight Exercises for Triceps

Here are some of the advantages of doing bodyweight exercises for the triceps:

No Equipment Needed

Whether you’re at home, traveling, or outside in a park, you can perform these exercises using only your body weight, making them accessible and convenient for anyone.

Can Be Done Anywhere, Anytime

Whether you have a few spare minutes during a lunch break or prefer to exercise in the comfort of your own home, bodyweight exercises provide the freedom to incorporate triceps workouts into your daily routine effortlessly.

Engage Multiple Muscle Groups

While primarily targeting the triceps, exercises like push-ups and dips also activate other muscles in the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, and core.

Top Bodyweight Exercises for Triceps

Now that we understand the benefits of bodyweight exercises and their importance in triceps development, let’s explore some of the most effective exercises you can incorporate into your routine.

Push-Ups

Here are the different types of push-ups you can do for the triceps:

Standard Push-Ups

Start in a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower your body by bending your elbows, keeping them close to your sides, and pushing back up to the starting position. Aim for proper form and control throughout the movement.

Diamond Push-Ups

Assume a high plank position, but this time, place your hands close together, directly under your chest, forming a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers. Lower yourself while maintaining the diamond shape with your hands, and push back up.

Decline Push-Ups

Assume a high plank position with your feet elevated on the surface of your choice. Perform push-ups as you would in the standard variation. The decline push-up recruits more muscle fibers in the triceps, making it an excellent exercise for building strength and definition.

Dips

The following are the variations of dips beneficial for the triceps:

Bench Dips

Find a stable bench or chair and position your hands shoulder-width apart on the edge. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground. Push yourself back up to the starting position, focusing on the contraction in your triceps.

Parallel Bar Dips

Start by gripping the bars and lifting yourself, supporting your body weight with your arms. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground, and then push back up to the starting position.

Ring Dips

Using gymnastic rings or suspension trainers, assume a grip on the rings and suspend yourself in the air. Lower your body by bending your elbows and then push back up.

Triceps Push-Ups

You can try the following variations of this exercises to help with your fitness goals:

Close-Grip Push-Ups

Place your hands close together, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart, while maintaining a straight body alignment. Perform push-ups, keeping your elbows close to your sides.

Decline Triceps Push-Ups

Elevate your feet on a stable surface during close-grip push-ups to incorporate the benefits of both the close grip and decline push-up variations.

Plyometric Triceps Push-Ups

Start in a high plank position with your hands close together. Lower your body as you would in a close-grip push-up, but as you push back up, explode off the ground, allowing your hands to leave the floor momentarily. Land softly and immediately go into the next repetition.

Bodyweight Skull Crushers

Take a look at the different forms of the exercise meant to improve your triceps:

Bench Skull Crushers

Lie flat on a bench or the floor with your legs bent and feet planted firmly. Hold your arms straight up, perpendicular to the floor, with your palms facing each other. Bend your elbows to lower the hands toward your forehead, maintaining control and focusing on the contraction in your triceps. Extend your arms back to the starting position.

Floor Skull Crushers

Lie flat on your back with your legs bent and feet planted on the floor. Hold your arms straight up, perpendicular to the floor, with your palms facing each other. Bend your elbows to lower your hands toward your forehead, ensuring a controlled movement, and then extend your arms back to the starting position.

Triceps Dips on Chair or Step

Meanwhile, you can try the following exercises using a step or chair:

Triceps Dips on a Chair

Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a stable chair or bench, facing forward. Extend your legs in front of you with your feet planted on the floor. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground, then push yourself back up to the starting position.

Triceps Dips on a Step

Place your hands on the edge of a step, fingers facing forward. Extend your legs in front of you with your heels on the ground. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground, and then push yourself back up.

Conclusion

Bodyweight exercises for triceps provide a convenient and effective way to strengthen and sculpt your upper body. By targeting the triceps, you not only enhance your overall upper body strength but also improve aesthetics and functional performance.

Don’t underestimate the power of bodyweight exercises. They require no equipment, can be done anywhere, engage multiple muscle groups, and allow for progressive overload. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced fitness enthusiast, bodyweight exercises for triceps can be tailored to your fitness level and goals.

Thinking of buying a treadmill? Here’s my favorite, I always recommend it when asked.