12 Best Dumbbell Triceps Exercises and Workouts For Mass and Shape

With over ten years of experience as a personal trainer, I’ve seen countless individuals develop large biceps but neglect their triceps. This trend seems to be growing daily.

Overlooking training the triceps can lead to muscle imbalances, which can hamper your overall functionality and significantly increase injury risk. Elbow extension is the primary function of the triceps. 

The triceps comprise three heads — long, lateral, and medial — and contribute significantly more (55 to 65 percent) to your overall arm size than the biceps (1). Compared to the triceps, the biceps have much less growth potential. So, if your goal is to achieve larger arms, focusing more on triceps training is essential.

Top 12 Dumbbell Triceps Exercises

Add the following lifts to your exercise arsenal:

1. Single-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension
2. Dumbbell Kickback
3. Close-Grip Dumbbell Press
4. Dumbbell Skull Crusher
5. Tate Press
6. JM Press
7. Triceps Gravity Press
8. Eccentric Dumbbell Skull Crusher to Press
9. Dumbbell Floor Press
10. Dumbbell Cross-Body Triceps Extension
11. Reverse Grip Dumbbell Press
12. Angled Single-Arm Overhead Extension

1. Single-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbell
Target Muscles	Long Tricep Head

If you want a good “starter” movement that targets your triceps, the overhead dumbbell extension is your best choice. The one-handed variation allows you to rotate your arm to just the right angle to target both the lateral and medial triceps heads according to your specific musculature and mobility.

You’ll find that it’s very easy on your shoulder, with great options for adapting posture and form according to any instabilities or limitations (caused by injuries). However, because it’s all on one arm, you may find it has a higher risk of straining your elbow and overworking the medial muscle head.

How To:

1. Stand upright with a shoulder-wide grip holding a dumbbell in your right hand. 
2. Place your left hand on your torso or hip for stability. 
3. Extend your right arm overhead so it is perpendicular to the floor. 
4. Keeping your elbow pinned in place, lower the dumbbell to the back of your neck. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Two-arm overhead extension using heavier weight
Regression	Seated overhead extension, resistance band overhead extension

2. Dumbbell Kickback

Sets & Reps	3 x 12-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbell
Target Muscles	Lateral Tricep Head, Medial Tricep Head

This movement is the crème de la crème for your triceps workout, one guaranteed to hit all three muscle heads. It’s an isolation movement that only allows movement at the elbow, and it requires you to keep your shoulder and torso perfectly still in order to maximize its effectiveness.

The beauty of this exercise: it’s incredibly easy to do and typically requires fairly light weight. It’s a great “finishing” move to maximize triceps muscle growth and strength. 

How To:

1. Place your left knee and hand on an exercise bench while holding a dumbbell in your right hand. Your torso should be almost parallel to the floor. 
2. Lift your arm so your elbows are above your torso level. 
3. While keeping your upper arm steady, fully extend your elbow. 
4. Squeeze your triceps at the isometric contraction point at the top. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Cable kickback, incline dumbbell kickback
Regression	Bodyweight tricep extension

3. Close-Grip Dumbbell Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads), Anterior Deltoid, Pectoralis Major (inner)

The bench press is a classic chest exercise, but by shifting your grip close together on a barbell, you emphasize the anterior delts and triceps more. Using dumbbells can simulate the close-grip barbell press, giving you a workout that hits your triceps and the shoulder muscles they help stabilize — and, as a bonus, strengthens your chest even more. 

The effort of keeping the two dumbbells close together while bench pressing them will maximize the effectiveness of this triceps exercise, and you’ll find it does wonders for your triceps’ long head.

How To:

1. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. 
2. Extend your arms so they are perpendicular to the floor while holding the dumbbells using a neutral (palms facing each other) grip. 
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells to your chest. 
4. Return to the start position and contract your triceps.

Difficulty	Intermediate
Progression	Close-grip barbell bench press, decline close-grip dumbbell press
Regression	Tricep pushdowns

Read also: Close Grip Dumbbell Press: Muscles Worked, How-To, Variations, and Tips

4. Dumbbell Skull Crusher

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Long Tricep Head

Skull crushers are an absolute beast, but don’t worry — no one ends up with a crushed skull! They’re simply given that name due to the way the weights are lowered toward your forehead, using the strength of your triceps to push the weight back up.

For those with strength imbalances, switching to dumbbells allows you to highlight the imbalance and pay extra attention to the weaker arm. 

How To:

1. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand and arms extended so they are perpendicular to the floor.
2. Grab the dumbbells with a neutral grip.
3. Keeping your elbows pinned, lower the dumbbells so they are beside your ears at the bottom.

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Barbell skull crusher, EZ-bar skull crusher
Regression	Close-grip dumbbell press, overhead tricep extensions

5. Tate Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads)

The Tate Press could also be called a “Chest Crusher” because it’s like the skull crusher exercise, just with your arms shifted inward toward your body rather than up toward your head.

It’s definitely an awkward-looking exercise, and it requires more control and strength than most people realize. This exercise biases your lateral triceps head to build definition on the outside of your arm.

How To:

1. Lie prone on a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand using a pronated grip and elbows fully extended. 
2. Flex your elbows to lower the dumbbells toward your chest.

Difficulty	Intermediate
Progression	Incline Tate press
Regression	Close-grip dumbbell press, dumbbell floor press

6. JM Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads), Pectoralis Major (upper)

The JM Press is a “hybrid” exercise, which combines two different exercises — the skull crusher and the close-grip dumbbell press — to deliver a more well-rounded, harder-to-complete workout.

How To:

1. Lie on a flat bench while holding a dumbbell in each hand using a pronated grip. 
2. Extend your elbows fully. 
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells to the bottom of your neck. 
4. Explode back to the starting position. 

Difficulty	Intermediate
Progression	Barbell JM press, incline dumbbell JM press
Regression	Close-grip dumbbell press, dumbbell floor press

7. Triceps Gravity Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 15-20
Equipment Needed	Dumbbell
Target Muscles	Long Tricep Head

Unlike most other exercises on this list, muscle contraction at the top is not the goal of the triceps gravity press. Instead, it priortizes maximum tension in the fully lengthened position.

This exercise aims to keep your triceps under constant tension throughout the lift and will smoke your horseshoe muscles by the time you’re done with it. 

How To:

1. Lie on a bench while holding a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip.
2. At the starting position, your lower arm should be parallel to the floor.
3. Keep your core tight and extend your arms overhead as far as possible while keeping your forearms parallel to the floor.
4. Slowly return to the starting position, and repeat for reps. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Use heavier weight, incline triceps gravity press
Regression	Lying dumbbell triceps extensions, resistance band overhead extension

8. Eccentric Dumbbell Skull Crusher to Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-8
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads), Anterior Deltoid

If you cannot choose between the neutral-grip dumbbell press and the skull crusher on your triceps day, you should try the eccentric skull crusher to press as it gets you the best of both worlds. 

How To:

1. Lie on a bench while holding a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip.
2. Your arms should be extended and perpendicular to the floor at the starting position.
3. Without moving your upper arms, lower the dumbbells until they are at your ear level.
4. From this position, pull the dumbbells to the sides of your chest in a single sweeping motion.
5. Press the dumbbells back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for recommended reps. 

Difficulty	Advanced
Progression	Increase time under tension during the eccentric phase, use heavier weight
Regression	Dumbbell skull crusher, dumbbell floor press

9. Dumbbell Floor Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 6-10
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads), Pectoralis Major

The dumbbell floor press is different from the close-grip dumbbell press in that it allows you to work with heavier weights and increases your range of motion. 

How To:

1. Lie on an exercise mat and place your feet flat on the floor.
2. Grab a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip and place your elbows at your sides — this will be your starting position.
3. While exhaling sharply, lift the dumbbells so the dumbbells are over your shoulders at the top and your arms are perpendicular to the floor.
4. Return to the starting position in a slow and controlled motion. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Barbell floor press, dumbbell bench press
Regression	Close-grip push-up

10. Dumbbell Cross-Body Triceps Extension

Sets & Reps	3 x 12-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbell
Target Muscles	Medial and Long Tricep Head

The cross-body triceps extension is one of the most under-utilized arms exercises. It is a variation of the dumbbell skull crusher that focuses on the medial triceps head.

How To:

1. Lie on a flat bench and grab a dumbbell in one hand.
2. Extend the arm so that it is perpendicular to the floor.
3. Without moving your upper arm, lower the dumbbell until it is a few inches away from the opposite shoulder.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat for reps before switching sides. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Cable cross-body triceps extension, lying dumbbell cross-body triceps extension
Regression	Overhead tricep extension

11. Reverse Grip Dumbbell Press

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Triceps (all heads), Pectoralis Major (upper)

If you want triceps that look like a horse kicked you in the back of your arms, you need to add the reverse grip dumbbell press to your exercise arsenal.

The reverse grip dumbbell press is a wrist and forearm-friendly version of the reverse grip barbell press. Using dumbbells allows you to better isolate the triceps, helping achieve a better pump. 

How To:

1. Lie on a flat bench while holding a dumbbell in each hand. 
2. Extend your arms so they are perpendicular to the floor. Grab the dumbbells with a supinated grip.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells to your chest while keeping your elbows tight to your sides. 

Difficulty	Intermediate
Progression	Reverse grip barbell bench press, incline reverse grip dumbbell press
Regression	Close-grip dumbbell press, tricep pushdowns

12. Angled Single-Arm Overhead Extension

Sets & Reps	3 x 10-15
Equipment Needed	Dumbbell
Target Muscles	Long Tricep Head

As you gain more lifting experience, the conventional single-arm overhead extension might start feeling a little too easy. This is when you know it is time to introduce the angled single-arm overhead extension to the mix. 

You’ll perform this exercise on an incline bench angled at around 45 degrees to the floor. Performing the lift at an angle puts the back of your arms under constant tension. 

How To:

1. Set an incline bench at 45 degrees.
2. Place your right side on the bench while holding a dumbbell in your left hand. 
3. Raise your left arm overhead.
4. Keeping your elbow pinned, lower the dumbbell to the back of your neck. 

Difficulty	Beginner
Progression	Two-arm angled overhead extension, using heavier weight
Regression	Seated overhead dumbbell extension

Dumbbell Triceps Workouts

Here are two workouts for you to try:

Beginner’s Dumbbell Triceps Workout

If you’re new to working out, you can get a good workout by doing a few pressing exercises and some overhead work. Unilateral dumbbell triceps exercises may help identify and fix strength and coordination.

Pressing exercises help make you stronger, while overhead work targets specific areas to help you grow better. Finally, when you’re tired, doing a kickback exercise is a really good way to finish.

Here’s an example workout:

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Neutral-grip dumbbell bench press	3	10
Dumbbell Half-Bench Skull Crusher	3	12
Bent-Over Triceps Kickback	3	15

Dumbbell Triceps Workout for Building Muscle

To grow your muscles, you can do a variety of exercises with different levels of intensity and repetitions. For the best results, use both pressing and extension exercises. When doing pressing exercises, you can lift heavier weights for fewer repetitions, and use lighter weights for extension exercises to do more reps.

For all of these exercises, pick a weight that makes your muscles work hard and gets them close to failure by the end of the set to see the most growth.

Here’s an example workout:

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Overhead Two-Arm Dumbbell Extension	3	8-10
Tate press	3	10-12
Dumbbell skull crusher	3	12-15
Single-arm overhead dumbbell triceps extensions	2	15

Understanding Your Triceps Muscles

The triceps assist in the stability of the shoulder joint by retraction and extension of the elbow joint, as well as assisting with shoulder flexion. The triceps muscles on the backs of your arms are actually made up of three parts:

• The long head. This is the “inner” part of your upper triceps, the part closest to your body.
• The lateral head. This is the “outer” part of your upper triceps, the part farthest from your body.
• The medial head. This is the lower part of your triceps, which sits just above your elbow. It’s also the smallest part.

The long head connects to your scapula (shoulder bone), the lateral head is connected to your humerus (upper arm), and the medial head is connected only to the lower part of your humerus with a tendon that stretches down to the ulna (one of your forearm bones).

The triceps serve the function of extending your forearm from the elbow, as well as helping to extend and adduct (move inward) the arms at the shoulder.

The medial head does most of the work of extending the arm, but it’s the two upper heads—long and lateral—that develop the serious pushing power. Hence, they also develop the greatest size.

Go stand in the mirror and flex the muscles on the back of your arm. You’ll notice that you naturally extend your arm downward, of which the upper two heads are flexed. Often, the long head (closer to your body) is larger than your lateral (outward) head. This is because of the two heads, the long head is more engaged in pushing activities.

What does this mean for your triceps training?

It means that you need to incorporate exercises that focus more on the lateral head, to help you develop better overall strength. Expanding the lateral head also helps build greater muscle definition and arm breadth. Your arm will get thicker and the lateral part of your triceps muscle will be more visible than the long head, when viewed from the front.

To improve the definition and strength of both long and lateral heads, it’s a good idea to train using dumbbells. Barbell triceps exercises engage both arms at once, which typically builds more strength in the long head (which does more of the “pushing” work). This isn’t at all a bad thing—it helps you to develop greater push power—but it does focus more on the long head, the larger of the two upper triceps heads.

Using dumbbells isolates your arms, forcing them to work one at a time and giving you greater focus on the specific part of the muscle you want to target.

But the muscles aren’t just for show. They’re the first muscles that are engaged with any “push” movement.

Your triceps are engaged in every single pushing movement—the shoulder presses, bench press, push-ups, handstand push-ups. Whether the target is your chest (bench press) or your shoulders (shoulder press), your triceps have to work to aid the larger muscle groups in doing the pushing work.

Your triceps also play an important role in your upper body and arm mobility. They help move your arms at the elbows and improve your range of motion. They’re vital for any activity that utilizes upper body muscles (particularly swimming and boxing).

To put it succinctly: you need to spend time strengthening your triceps. Your ability to exercise and lift heavy depends on it!

Read more about triceps:

• Best Old-School Triceps Workouts
• Best Triceps Exercises For Building Bigger and Stronger Arms
• Long Head Triceps Exercises for Thicker, Stronger Arms
• Build Bigger Triceps with Skull Crushers
• Lateral Head Triceps Exercises for Bigger Arms
• Supersets For Bigger, Stronger Biceps and Triceps
• Best Methods For Getting Jacked Triceps
• Best Triceps Pushdown Alternatives

Conclusion

Your triceps are very important muscles for maximizing “pushing” power, and for giving your arms the definition and size you want. It’s always a good idea to spend time focusing on your triceps and building the strength that will keep your elbows and shoulders strong in whatever you do.

Use the list of exercises above to help you craft an effective, targeted training session to pay extra attention to your triceps. Test them out, find which feel best for your current fitness and mobility level, and work to increase your strength. As you grow stronger and more mobile, incorporate the other more difficult movements into your routine.

The time you spend working out these crucial push muscles is never wasted!

References

1. Tiwana MS, Sinkler MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Triceps Muscle. [Updated 2023 Aug 28]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536996/

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