The triceps brachii, or triceps for short, is a crucial muscle in bodybuilding. Located on the back of your upper arm, they give your arms a lot of their size. In fact, the triceps make up about 60% of your upper arm mass. Beefing up your triceps will give you the sleeve-busting arms you’ve always dreamed of!
Triceps brachii has three different heads:
- The lateral head
- The long head
- The medial head
All three triceps heads work together to extend your elbows, while the long head is also involved in shoulder extension.
It’s impossible to isolate any of the individual triceps heads. Still, by adjusting the position of your upper arm relative to your body, it is possible to emphasize each one (1).
The medial triceps head is generally most active in exercises performed with your upper arms at between 90-180 degrees of shoulder elevation and/or with an underhand grip.
Related: Best long head triceps exercises and Best lateral head triceps exercises.
While the lateral and long triceps heads make up the bulk of your triceps mass, the medial head also deserves your attention. After all, you want your triceps to look good from all angles, right?
In this article, we reveal the ten best exercises for your medial triceps.
The Top Lateral Head Triceps Exercises
All triceps exercises involve the medial head, but some are better than others for emphasizing this part of the muscle.
Here are ten of the best exercises for your medial triceps:
1. Reverse grip triceps pushdowns
Every bodybuilder is probably familiar with triceps pushdowns. They’re an excellent long and lateral head triceps exercise. But flip your hands over and use a reverse grip, and your medial head gets more of a workout.
Don’t go too heavy with this exercise. Instead, use a light to moderate weight and chase the pump. Fully activate your medial triceps by pausing with your arms straight at the mid-point of each rep.
How to do it:
- Attach a straight bar to an overhead pulley machine. Hold the bar with an underhand, palms-up grip. Pull your upper arms down and into your sides and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, core braced, and shoulders down and back.
- Extend your arms and press the bar down toward your legs.
- Bend your arms and repeat for the desired number of reps.
2. Skull crushers
The skull crusher is one of the best triceps exercises you can do. With your arms at 90-degrees, it places a useful emphasis on your medial triceps head, but both of the other heads are hard at work, too. Take care not to lower the bar too fast during this exercise. They’re called skull crushers for a reason!
How to do it:
- Lie on a flat exercise bench. Hold a barbell with an overhand grip and press it up to arms’ length over your chest.
- Keeping your upper arms stationary, bend your elbows and lower the bar down toward your forehead.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- You can also do this exercise with dumbbells which allows for a slightly longer range of motion, is maybe a little more elbow-friendly, and is also safer if you are training alone.
3. Reverse grip bench press
The reverse grip bench press is an old-school exercise that works your chest, anterior deltoids, and your triceps. The position of your arms relative to your body means that your medial deltoids get a great workout from this unusual yet effective compound exercise.
While reverse bench presses may feel a little awkward at first, you’ll soon get used to them and should be able to progress to using significant weights.
How to do it:
- Lie on a flat bench with your eyes directly under the barbell. Plant your feet firmly on the floor, arch your back slightly, and lift your chest. Reach up and grab the bar with a somewhat wider-than shoulder-width underhand grip.
- Unrack the bar and hold it over your chest. Use a spotter for safety.
- Bend your arms and lower the bar down to your lower chest.
- Drive the bar back up and repeat.
4. Dumbbell Tate press
The Tate press is named after powerlifting legend Dave Tate. It’s an assistance exercise for the bench press and a very effective move for building bigger, stronger triceps, especially the medial head.
It’s similar to skull crushers, except the dumbbells are lowered in toward the chest and not back toward the forehead. For this reason, the Tate press is sometimes called the chest crusher.
How to do it:
- Lying on a flat bench, press and hold two dumbbells at arms’ length over your chest.
- Push your elbows outward and lower the weights down and in toward the middle of your chest.
- Extend your arms and push the dumbbells back up to the starting position.
5. JM press
The JM press is a cross between a skull crusher and a close grip bench press. Like Tate the Tate press, this is a powerlifting assistance exercise that builds bigger, stronger triceps. It’s named after JM Blakley, a former elite-level bench press specialist who invented the exercise 20+ years ago.
How to do it:
- Lie on a flat bench with your eyes directly under the barbell. Plant your feet firmly on the floor, arch your back slightly, and lift your chest. Reach up and grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
- Unrack the bar and hold it over your chest. Use a spotter for safety.
- Bend your arms, push your elbows forward, and lower the bar down toward your chin.
- Drive the bar back up and repeat.
6. Cable concentration reverse grip pushdown
This exercise lets you focus on pushing your triceps to their limit, one arm at a time. With your upper arm pressed against your inner thigh, momentum is all but eliminated, making this a very strict exercise. Pair with dumbbell or cable concentration curls for an arm workout that will leave your triceps and biceps pumped to the max!
How to do it:
- Attach a D-shaped handle to a high cable pulley.
- Then, grab the handle with your right hand and kneel down so your left knee is on the floor and your right foot is next to it. Your torso should be erect. Rest the back of your right arm against your inner thigh as if you were doing a concentration curl.
- Then, extend your elbow and push the handle down until your arm is straight.
- Bend your arm and repeat.
- Swap sides and do the same number of reps on the opposite arm, remembering to kneel on the other knee, too.
7. Diamond push-up
According to the American Council on Exercise, or ACE for short, diamond or triangle push-ups are one of the best triceps exercises you can do (2).
The great thing about diamond push-ups is you don’t need any equipment to do them, so they’re perfect for home exercisers. They’re also a very effective medial triceps builder.
How to do it:
- Kneel down and place your hands flat on the floor, so your thumbs and first fingers form a triangle.
- With your arms extended, move your feet out and back until your body is straight. Brace your core, tuck your chin in, and lengthen your neck. Pull your shoulders down and back.
- Keeping your body straight, bend your arms and lower your chest down to the back of your hands. Keep your elbows close to your sides.
- Push back up and repeat.
- Bend your legs and rest on your knees to make this exercise easier. To make it harder, raise your feet and place them on a chair or exercise bench, or wear a weighted vest.
8. High cable triceps extension
Starting with your arms overhead, this cable exercise hits your medial triceps hard! It’s a very shoulder-friendly exercise but is still best done using light to moderate weights and for medium to high reps.
Heavy weights are likely to pull you off balance and turn what should be a triceps isolation exercise into a full-body movement that you feel more in your abs than your arms.
How to do it:
- Attach a straight bar, rope handle, or V-shaped bar to an overhead pulley. Grab it with an overhand grip. Turn your back to the pulley machine and adopt a split stance for balance. Lean forward, so your torso is inclined to about 45 degrees.
- With your biceps close to your ears, extend your arms and push the handle forward until your arms are straight but not locked.
- Bend your elbows as far as you can without raising your upper arms and repeat.
9. Close grip dumbbell bench press
The close grip dumbbell bench press is usually viewed as a chest exercise. While that’s undoubtedly true, like diamond push-ups, it’s also a great medial triceps builder. But, unlike diamond push-ups, the close grip bench press is very shoulder, elbow, and wrist-friendly.
No bench? No problem! You can also do this exercise on the floor, i.e., the close grip dumbbell floor press.
How to do it:
- Sit on an exercise bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Using a neutral grip, place and press the dumbbells together. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your abs.
- Lie flat on the bench and hold the dumbbells on your chest. Press the weights inward as hard as you can. Tuck your upper arms into your sides.
- Push the weights up and over your chest until your arms are straight but not locked. Keep the tension on your pecs by continuing to press the weights together.
- Lower the dumbbells to your chest and repeat.
- Do not ease up on the inward pressure; keep pushing the dumbbells together for the entire duration of your set.
10. French press
The French press is a freeweight alternative to overhead cable triceps extensions. It can be performed using a barbell, EZ bar, or a single dumbbell. There is a tendency to lean back when you do this exercise, so it’s usually best done while seated. However, you will need good shoulder mobility to perform this exercise safely and comfortably.
How to do it:
- Seated or standing, press and hold your weight overhead. Your biceps should be close to your ears.
- Keeping your upper arms stationary, bend your elbows, and lower the weight down behind your head. Get a good stretch in your triceps.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- You can also do this exercise using a single dumbbell and working one arm at a time.
Related Workouts and Exercises:
- Single-Arm Skull Crusher
- Standing Skull Crushers
- Cable Lying Triceps Extension Exercise Guide
- Bodyweight Skull Crushers Guide
- Amazing Supersets For Bigger, Stronger Biceps and Triceps
- Best Old-School Triceps Workouts
- How to Build Bigger Triceps with Skull Crushers
- Train For Full Body Gains And Function With The Renegade Row
- 4 Weeks to Tremendous Triceps
Medial Head Triceps Exercises – Wrapping Up
Well-developed triceps will add a lot to the size and shape of your arms. And, if you want to build the best triceps possible, you need to pay equal attention to the long, lateral, and medial heads.
So, don’t inadvertently neglect this small but critical part of your arms. Instead, Hit it hard with the best medial triceps exercises.
Remember that every triceps exercise works all three heads, but it’s also possible to emphasize one at a time. Use these exercises to work your lower triceps and round out the bottom of your horseshoes, so your arms look their best!
References:
1 – Science Direct: The Different Role of Each Head of The Triceps Brachii Muscle in Elbow Extension
2 – American Council on Exercise: ACE Study Identifies Best Triceps Exercises
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