Triceps Workout
A dedicated triceps session that trains all three heads through pressing, pushdowns, and overhead work, twice a week for six weeks at seven or eight hard sets a time.
Program Overview
The triceps makes up roughly two thirds of your upper arm, so if you want bigger arms this matters more than curls do. It has three heads, and the long head is both the largest and the one most people neglect, because it only fully loads when your arm is overhead. That is why this session always includes an overhead extension alongside the pushdowns and pressing. Seven or eight hard sets, about twenty minutes, twice a week for six weeks. That lands at fourteen to sixteen direct sets weekly, which is where the triceps stops rewarding extra volume, especially on top of whatever pressing you already do. Every exercise includes a form video.
To train triceps alongside pressing, our chest and triceps workout is the natural pairing. For biceps and triceps together, see our arm day workout.
Who Is This For?
This workout suits you if:
- You want bigger arms and have been focusing mostly on curls
- Your bench press stalls at lockout
- You have twenty minutes twice a week
- You have access to dumbbells, a barbell, and a cable stack
This is an add-on to a complete week. Browse our muscle building programs for the rest.
Weekly Schedule
Phase 1: Cover the Heads (Weeks 1-3)
Each session opens with a compound pressing movement while you are fresh, then moves through isolation work at different arm angles. Keep the elbows still on every isolation exercise. If the upper arm is moving, you have turned a tricep exercise into a shoulder exercise.
Only the forearm moves on isolation work. The upper arm stays exactly where you set it.
Bench with hands roughly shoulder width, keeping the elbows tucked.
Hold one dumbbell with both hands overhead and lower it behind your head.
Push a rope attachment down and split the ends apart at the bottom.
A brisk walk on your rest days to aid recovery and keep you active.
Light stretching and mobility for anything that felt tight in your last session.
Phase 2: Load the Long Head (Weeks 4-6)
Phase 2 leans harder into overhead work, which is where the long head does most of its work and where most people's triceps training falls short. Single arm variations come in so you can find and fix any side to side difference.
If one arm consistently gives out first on the single arm work, run that side first and match the weaker side's reps on the stronger one.
Bench with hands roughly shoulder width, keeping the elbows tucked.
Facing away from the pulley, extend the arms overhead against the cable.
Push the V-bar down until the arms are fully extended, then return under control.
A brisk walk on your rest days to aid recovery and keep you active.
Light stretching and mobility for anything that felt tight in your last session.
Triceps Workout PDF
A dedicated triceps session that trains all three heads through pressing, pushdowns, and overhead work, twice a week for six weeks at seven or eight hard sets a time.
This is a single session you run twice a week for 6 weeks with full gym access, around 20 minutes a time. Phase 1 (weeks 1-3) runs 3 exercises for 7 sets: the close grip bench press for load, an overhead dumbbell extension for the long head, and rope pushdowns for the lateral head. Phase 2 (weeks 4-6) leans harder into overhead work with the cable extension, adds the V-bar pushdown, and brings in single arm variations for 8 sets, so you can find and fix any difference between arms.
- Pressing, Pushdowns, And Overhead The three patterns that load the three heads. Skip the overhead work and you leave the long head, and most of your arm size, untrained.
- Fourteen To Sixteen Sets A Week Two sessions of seven or eight sets is where the triceps stops rewarding more, especially on top of the pressing you already do.
- Only The Forearm Moves The PDF's cue for every isolation exercise. If the upper arm travels, it has become a shoulder exercise.
Get Your Triceps Workout
Includes both training phases, the weekly schedule, and exercise cues for the full session. Download instantly after you submit the form.
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Nutrition Guidance
This is a small addition to your training week, so treat the nutrition as maintenance of what you are already doing. Our macro calculator sets your calorie and protein targets, and our recipes make hitting them easier. For more depth, read timing cardio with lifting and choosing the right plan for your goals.
What Actually Matters Here
- Protein: 1.6 to 2.2g per kg of bodyweight daily, spread across the day rather than loaded into one evening meal.
- Calories: Unchanged from your main program. Twenty minutes twice a week does not move the needle on your requirements. Use our macro calculator if you have not set that yet.
Nothing here changes your targets. It just makes hitting them slightly more worthwhile.
