Exercises

Bench dips are a bodyweight pushing exercise: your hands are placed on a bench behind you, while your feet rest on the floor. You bend and extend your elbows, keeping your hips close to the bench; the primary target muscle is the triceps.

Cable triceps extensions are an exercise performed on a cable machine. Keep your upper arms at your sides and extend your elbows against resistance, then return to the starting position in a controlled manner. The triceps brachii, assisted by the anconeus muscle, extends the elbow. Using a rope, a bar, or a single-grip handle changes your grip and the range of motion; however, no single variation isolates any one specific head of the triceps.

The California press is a barbell exercise for the triceps that combines a close-grip bench press with a lying triceps extension. Starting with your arms extended above your shoulders, bend your elbows—shifting them slightly forward—to lower the barbell toward your upper chest, then extend your elbows to return the bar to the starting position.

The dumbbell bench press is performed on a horizontal bench with a dumbbell in each hand. It targets the pectoralis major, with the anterior deltoids and triceps also playing a role. Since each arm presses and controls its own weight along an independent path, both pressing strength and control are essential.

A lying triceps extension—often called a "French press"—is an exercise performed on a bench that involves extending the arms at the elbows while lowering a barbell toward or beyond the forehead. It targets the triceps brachii (along with the anconeus muscle). This movement is distinct from overhead triceps extensions, which are performed with the arms positioned above the head.

The overhead cable extension involves straightening the elbows while keeping the upper arms positioned next to the head. In this standing variation, a rope attachment is connected to a low pulley positioned behind you. The rope is moved from behind the head to a position above it.

This is a multi-joint, seated pressing exercise in which you push the handles downward along a guided path, keeping them close to your body. The triceps bear the primary load, while the pectoral muscles and the anterior deltoids provide assistance.