Kettlebells are a newer piece of fitness equipment designed to challenge your muscles in different ways than dumbbells. According to strength coach Mike Mahler, kettlebells work your grip, challenge stabilizing muscles and are harder to handle than dumbbells. Kettlebells can help you train your triceps muscles in varying ways.
Triceps Extensions
According to Critical Bench, performing triceps extensions with kettlebells will help decrease the amount of stress on the elbow and shoulder joints. You can perform triceps extensions, standing, seated or even laying down. The triceps extension is an isolation exercise, meaning the tricep is the only muscle getting extensive work during the move. To perform, grab a kettlebell by the handle and lift your arm over your head, then bend your arm all the way and let the kettlebell rest near the back of your shoulder. Lift the kettlebell straight up as high as you can, hold it for a second and then return to the start position to complete one repetition.
Triceps Kickbacks
Triceps kickbacks are another isolation exercise for the triceps muscles. Performing kickbacks with kettlebells requires more work since your muscles are forced to do more stabilizing because of the kettlebell's odd shape. To perform kickbacks you will lean over, preferably using a bench or something to support yourself. Your back should be parallel to the floor and your upper arm, or the arm being trained, should be parallel to the floor as well. Grab the kettebell and start with your elbow bent in a 90 degree angle. Then extend your arm fully, hold for a second and return to the start position to complete one repetition.
Lying Presses
Just like with standard lying presses such as the bench press, floor press and decline press, during kettlebell lying the triceps muscle is heavily involved in the exercise. The chest is the main muscle trained, but all bench press exercises also work the triceps. Bodybuilding.com recommends using kettlebells to perform bench presses and floor presses which will train the triceps. To perform lie on the ground or bench and start with the kettlebells next to your shoulders, then straighten your arms and press them straight up before returning to the start position to complete one repetition.
Standing Presses
In kettlebell standing presses, just as in coventional presses, the shoulder is the main muscle worked, but the triceps is also strengthened and used for support. Bodybuilding.com recommends kettlebell push presses and one-arm presses which are variations of the shoulder press. To perform start by holding the kettlebells at your shoulders and then press them straight up over your head as high as you can before returning to the start position to complete one repetition.
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