Build those ripped tris with this workout.
Biceps and triceps are two sides of the same coin and yet tris don’t get the same love as the bis, but this triceps workout can change that. Generally, the muscles which can’t be seen in the mirror directly like the tris, back, rear delts, hams, and calves don’t get the same treatment as their counterparts. We love to show off our muscles and if we can’t see them then we start to think others won’t either. But this is why these are the weak muscle group for most people. They just don’t get that much love.
Triceps consist of three heads and a great pair of tris should look like a horse kicked you in the back of your arm. Muscular tris can make your arms look significantly bigger as they add symmetry and size. Plus, they can help give your biceps shape so you really add a well-rounded look of symmetry, size, and shape to your biceps’ aesthetic.
You’ll have to hit your tris from all the three angles to train them effectively. The perfect triceps workout is a blend of compound and isolation exercises, plus resistance and bodyweight exercises. What you will find by doing this is that your workouts will never suffer because you will have so much diversity in your routine. With plenty of exercises, you won’t feel so bogged down and won’t suffer from any of those unwanted plateaus either.
We’ll be starting this workout with isolation exercises to exhaust our tris at the beginning of the workout, so we don’t have to lift heavier weights later in the compound exercises. We’ll be using a lot of variety in this workout to completely annihilate your triceps so you see those desired results to strength, size, and symmetry. Let’s jump into this triceps workout so you can get the most out of your arm day routine.
Sleeve Ripping Triceps Workout
This great sleeve ripping triceps workout will make you buy a new shirt every time you flex. Those bulging tris can add to any aesthetic and make your arms look absolutely massive. With the right approach to lifting and working your triceps, not only will your biceps benefit, but your overall physique will as well.
| Exercises | Sets | Reps |
| SUPERSET | ||
| Cable Triceps Pushdown | 3 | 30, 20, 10 (descending) |
| Elastic Band Triceps Pushdown | 3 | 10, 20, 30 (ascending) |
| END SUPERSET | ||
| Incline Bench Dumbbell Skullcrushers | 4 | 30, 25, 20 followed by 10 reps drop set |
| Dumbbell Kickbacks | 3 | 20 |
| Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press | 3 | 20, 15, 10 (descending) |
| SUPERSET | ||
| Dips | 3 | Until Failure |
| Diamond Push-Ups | 3 | Until Failure |
| END SUPERSET |
Exercise #1 and #2 (Superset) – Cable Triceps Pushdown & Elastic Band Triceps Pushdown
The first exercise of this workout should completely burn out your tris. Perform these exercises with a strict form. Stand straight, don’t lean over the bar or the bands, lock your elbows at your sides, and bring your hands over your elbows at the top of the movement.
Related: Eight Best Dumbbell Exercises For Your Triceps
In the elastic band triceps pushdowns, hang the bands around the cable pulley machine so the handles or the ends of the bands are at your chest level. In the lower reps set, increase the resistance on the bands by grabbing them higher and reduce the resistance by holding it by its ends.
Exercise #3 – Incline Bench Dumbbell Skullcrushers
The last set of this exercise is a drop-set. After completing the 20 reps, increase the weights by at least 50% and complete the remaining 10 reps. In this workout, we use many advanced training techniques to ignite new gains in our tris.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and lock your elbows over your forehead where they are perpendicular to the floor. Hold the dumbbells with a hammer grip and bring them close to your shoulders at the bottom of the movement. Rotate your wrists to a dumbbell chest press position at the top of the movement and contract your triceps.
Exercise #4 – Dumbbell Kickbacks
In this exercise, we’ll be using the rest-pause technique. After you’re done performing the 20 reps on an arm, take a five-second rest and then do more reps on the same arm until you hit failure.
Throughout this workout, focus on squeezing your tris with every rep and maintain a mind-muscle connection. Don’t just go through the motions. By the end of this workout, your triceps should be filled with blood and lactic acid and asking for mercy.
Related: 5 Exercises To Build Horseshoe Triceps
Exercise #5 – Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press
We prefer the smith machine close grip bench presses over the barbell presses because it adds a lot more stability, reduces the stress from the wrists, and adds more tension on the tris while limiting the pec recruitment.
In the intraset stretching sets, hold the bar at the bottom of the movement over your chest for 10 seconds after completing the aforementioned reps. Without racking the weights do more reps until you reach failure.
Exercise #6 and #7 (Superset) – Dips & Diamond Push-Ups
We’ll end this workout with bodyweight exercises done to failure. If you still have some gas left in the tank, feel free to add resistance. You could also perform this superset using the blood flow restriction technique (BFR) by tying elastic bands around your arms.
Perform the dips on parallel bars while keeping an upright stance. Don’t lean forward as it will recruit your chest. In the diamond pushups, form a triangle with your hands under your chest, so your thumbs and index fingers are touching each other and forming a triangle.
Wrap Up
The right triceps workout will enhance your goals for the better and give you that bulging aesthetic you want most. A great combination of compound and isolation exercises, what you will find is variety in your workout while also feeling like you are accomplishing what you want. Be prepared to buy a couple of new shirts for this triceps workout is one to rip the sleeves right off. You will love the way you look and the way you feel with this amazing triceps workout.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato