10 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Triceps

Do you spend hours in the gym trying to get that horseshoe shape in your triceps? To do this, you need to focus on all three heads: the lateral head, the medial head, and the long head.

The good news is that you don't need heavy weights, or any weights at all, to strengthen and define your triceps. There are plenty of bodyweight exercises that are sure to tire your arm muscles and also target your torso and other upper-body muscles, such as your chest and shoulders.

Noam Tamir, CSCS, founder and CEO of TS Fitness in New York City, listed the 10 best bodyweight exercises for your triceps.

“These exercises are based on the principles of gaining strength, power, and muscle tone,” Tamir says.

And as we mentioned, many of these moves will work your entire body, but that doesn't mean they're any less effective for your triceps: “Doing pressing movements like pushups has been shown to activate the triceps more than isolation exercises,” Tamir says.

Incorporate these moves into your full-body workout or use a few together as part of a circuit. “Pick four to five of the exercises below and do three sets of 12 to 15 reps of each,” Tamir says.

Just be sure to warm up. “Doing some breathing, core, and lower-body warm-up exercises before your workout will help,” she says.

10 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Triceps

1. Plyometric Close-Grip Pushups or Modified Close-Grip Pushups

How To

1. Start in a push-up position with your elbows tight to your sides.
2. Slowly lower your body to the floor for about three seconds and then quickly launch yourself back up.
3. Lift your hands off the floor and return to a narrow-grip push-up position.
4. Perform 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

Pro Tip

This exercise requires maximum effort. Make sure to keep your elbows close to your sides and not flare out.

2. Triceps Bodyweight Extension

How To

1. To start, use a barbell with a rack about 3 to 4 inches off the floor.
2. Grab the bar from above and get into a plank position with your body straight and core engaged.
3. Bend your elbows inward and tilt your head under the bar.
4. Once your head is under the bar, push your body back to the starting position and straighten your elbows.
5. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

3. Bench Dips

How To

1. To start, sit on a bench, sturdy chair, or low table with your legs bent (easier) or straightened (more difficult) in front of you.
2. Grasp the edge of the surface with your elbows pressed tightly to your sides and your hands facing forward.
3. Slowly lower your body down, bending your elbows back until they are bent at about 90 degrees.
4. Lower for two seconds, then push your body back up, locking your elbows at the top, and repeat.
5. Complete 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

Pro Tip

Make sure to keep your body close and not go too deep, as this can cause injury to your shoulder.

4. Diamond Pushups

How To

1. To start, lower your body toward the floor in a push-up position with your hands under your chest in a diamond position and your elbows at your sides.
2. Push yourself towards the ground while trying to screw your hands into the ground as you come up.
3. Be careful not to flare your elbows outward.
4. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

5. Plank to Pushup

How To

1. Start in a plank position with your forearms under your shoulders.
2. Push your forearms toward the floor and reach the palms of your hands, using your triceps to power through.
3. Then lower down to your forearms and repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

6. Pike Pushups

How To

1. Start in downward facing dog position with your hips up.
2. Open your elbows slightly outward and lower your head toward the floor.
3. Then push your arms back by straightening your elbows.
4. Perform 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

7. Press Up

How To

1. Start in cobra pose on your stomach and lie on the floor with your hands on your hips.
2. Place your hands on the floor and begin to straighten your arms; lift your upper body.
3. Maintain tension in the triceps muscles without straightening completely.
4. Then lower your upper body back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

8. Close Grip Pushups

How To

1. To start, get into a push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your abs tight, lower your body until your chest is just above the floor, then push up.
3. For an advanced workout, use the band for resistance by looping it around your back and holding one end in each hand.
4. Complete 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

9. Sauces

How To

1. To start, stand with your arms shoulder-width apart using a dip bar (or two bars that are fixed and of equal height).
2. Start with your elbows straight and your feet off the floor.
3. Slowly lower your body down and extend your elbows back.
4. Do not let your feet touch the floor (bend them if necessary).
5. Pause when your elbows reach 90 degrees, then use your triceps to push yourself back up until your elbows are straight.
6. Perform 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

10. Overhand Pushups

How To

1. To start, get into a hands-on position against a flat wall with your heels against the wall and your face away from the wall.
2. Keep your arms slightly closer than shoulder width apart.
3. Bend your elbows slightly outward and then press your hands toward the floor, straightening your elbows.
4. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.