10 Best EZ Bar Standing French Press Alternatives for Triceps Size

The EZ Bar Standing French Press loads your triceps through a deep stretch behind your head, arms locked overhead before you bend the elbows and lower the bar. Weighted Three Bench Dips ranks first: a heavier bench dip that supports your feet on the floor, adds weight, and lowers to the same locked out finish. If you would rather keep an ez bar in your hands, the EZ Barbell Seated Triceps Extension repeats the same movement seated.

Original Exercise: EZ Bar Standing French Press

EZ Bar Standing French Press
Primary Muscle
Triceps
Equipment
Ez-barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Isolation
Secondary Muscles: Shoulders
How to Perform EZ Bar Standing French Press
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the ez barbell with an overhand grip.
  2. Raise the barbell above your head, fully extending your arms.
  3. Keeping your upper arms close to your head, slowly lower the barbell behind your head by bending your elbows.
  4. Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked EZ Bar Standing French Press Alternatives

Best Match
Weighted Three Bench Dips

1. Weighted Three Bench Dips

90.4% Match
Triceps Weighted Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on the edge of a bench with your hands gripping the edge, fingers pointing forward.
  2. Walk your feet forward, sliding your butt off the bench and supporting your weight with your arms.
  3. Lower your body by bending your elbows, keeping your back close to the bench.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push yourself back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Weighted Tricep Dips

2. Weighted Tricep Dips

90.4% Match
Triceps Weighted Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on the edge of a bench or chair with your hands gripping the edge next to your hips.
  2. Slide your butt off the front of the bench with your legs extended in front of you.
  3. Keep your back close to the bench and your elbows slightly bent.
  4. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
  5. Push yourself back up to the starting position by straightening your arms.
Ez Barbell Seated Triceps Extension

3. Ez Barbell Seated Triceps Extension

85.9% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with your back straight and feet flat on the ground.
  2. Hold the ez barbell with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Raise the barbell overhead, fully extending your arms.
  4. Keeping your upper arms stationary, lower the barbell behind your head by bending your elbows.
  5. Pause for a moment, then raise the barbell back to the starting position by extending your arms.
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension (rope Attachment)

4. Cable Overhead Triceps Extension (rope Attachment)

83.6% Match
Triceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope to a cable machine at a high position.
  2. Stand facing away from the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Grasp the rope with both hands, palms facing each other, and bring your hands above your head.
  4. Keep your upper arms close to your head and your elbows pointing forward.
  5. Slowly lower the rope behind your head by bending your elbows.
Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension

5. Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension

83.3% Match
Triceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope to the bottom pulley of the pulley machine.
  2. Grasping the rope with both hands, extend your arms with your hands directly above your head using a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Your elbows should be in close to your head and the arms should be perpendicular to the floor with the knuckles aimed at the ceiling. This will be your starting position.
  3. Slowly lower the rope behind your head as you hold the upper arms stationary. Inhale as you perform this movement and pause when your triceps are fully stretched.
  4. Return to the starting position by flexing your triceps as you breathe out.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Dumbbell Seated Reverse Grip One Arm Overhead Tricep Extension

6. Dumbbell Seated Reverse Grip One Arm Overhead Tricep Extension

81% Match
Triceps Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with your back straight and feet flat on the ground.
  2. Hold a dumbbell with an underhand grip and extend your arm straight up overhead.
  3. Lower the dumbbell behind your head by bending your elbow, keeping your upper arm stationary.
  4. Pause for a moment, then extend your arm back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.
Elbow Dips

7. Elbow Dips

80.2% Match
Triceps Body-weight Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on the edge of a bench or chair with your hands gripping the edge next to your hips.
  2. Slide your hips forward off the bench and straighten your legs, keeping your heels on the ground.
  3. Bend your elbows and lower your body towards the ground, keeping your back close to the bench.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push through your hands to straighten your arms and lift your body back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Standing Overhead Barbell Triceps Extension

8. Standing Overhead Barbell Triceps Extension

80% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. To begin, stand up holding a barbell or e-z bar using a pronated grip (palms facing forward) with your hands closer than shoulder width apart from each other. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart.
  2. Now elevate the barbell above your head until your arms are fully extended. Keep your elbows in. This will be your starting position.
  3. Keeping your upper arms close to your head and elbows in, perpendicular to the floor, lower the resistance in a semicircular motion behind your head until your forearms touch your biceps. Tip: The upper arms should remain stationary and only the forearms should move. Breathe in as you perform this step.
  4. Go back to the starting position by using the triceps to raise the barbell. Breathe out as you perform this step.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Dumbbell Standing Overhead Press

9. Dumbbell Standing Overhead Press

79.4% Match
Delts Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with your palms facing forward.
  2. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended overhead.
  3. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back down to shoulder level.
  4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Sled Overhead Triceps Extension

10. Sled Overhead Triceps Extension

79.4% Match
Triceps Sled Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach dual handles to a sled using a chain or rope. Load the sled to an appropriate load.
  2. Facing away from the sled, step away until there is tension in the line. Raise your hands above your head, keeping them together, palms facing each other. Your elbows should be pointed upward with the elbows flexed. This will be your starting position.
  3. Extend through the elbow to straighten the arm. Ensure that your upper arm stays in position to isolate the triceps.
  4. Upon full extension, step forward to take the slack out of the line. You may keep your feet staggered for more stability.

Why You Might Need a EZ Bar Standing French Press Alternative

An ez bar is often tied up on another lift, and balancing a loaded bar behind your head while standing asks for control some lifters would rather skip on a heavy day. The EZ Bar Standing French Press is not hard to leave behind, because the same lockout shows up in a seated extension, a dip or a press using different equipment. Weighted Three Bench Dips move you onto a bench and let you add weight instead of holding a bar overhead. The EZ Barbell Seated Triceps Extension keeps the bar but removes the standing balance. Elbow Dips need nothing but your bodyweight and a raised surface, which suits training away from a gym entirely.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Match what you have in reach. Weighted Three Bench Dips ask for a bench and something to add weight with, and because you are pushing your own bodyweight plus the plate back up to lockout, they let you load the triceps far heavier than a bar held overhead. Stay with an ez bar and less balance to manage by choosing the EZ Barbell Seated Triceps Extension, which keeps you seated instead of standing. With a cable stack free, the Cable Overhead Triceps Extension (Rope Attachment) repeats the same overhead lockout with a rope instead of the bar. With nothing but a bench or a step, Elbow Dips train the same lockout on bodyweight alone, which makes it the pick for a session with no equipment at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do the EZ Bar Standing French Press at home?

Yes, if you keep an ez bar and plates at home. Without one, Elbow Dips train the same lockout with bodyweight and a raised surface. The Dumbbell Seated Reverse Grip One Arm Overhead Tricep Extension needs one dumbbell and a bench, working one arm at a time. The Dumbbell Standing Overhead Press finishes in the same overhead lockout, but it is a shoulder press first, so treat it as a looser stand-in.

Which of these swaps needs no equipment at all?

Elbow Dips. They ask for nothing but your bodyweight and a bench or chair to dip from, and they still push your triceps through a full lockout. The other swaps need a bar, a bench with added weight, a dumbbell, a cable stack or a loaded sled, so Elbow Dips are the one option you can do with no kit at all.

How do I add more load once bodyweight feels easy?

Move to Weighted Tricep Dips or Weighted Three Bench Dips, both of which let you add weight to the same bench dip. Both keep the same straight-arm finish, and because you are lifting your bodyweight plus whatever you add, the total load climbs well past what you would extend overhead with an ez bar.

Is there a way to train this lockout without standing and balancing a bar overhead?

Yes. The EZ Barbell Seated Triceps Extension keeps the same ez bar and grip but has you seated, which removes the standing balance the original exercise demands. The Dumbbell Seated Reverse Grip One Arm Overhead Tricep Extension is another seated option, working one arm at a time with a single dumbbell instead of the bar.

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