Your triceps, the large muscle on the back of your upper arm, has three heads, or three points of attachment, at the upper end of the muscle. Because one of these heads crosses your shoulder, the triceps assists with shoulder extension, or swinging your arm back by your side. But its primary movement is extending your arm at the elbow, so almost any dumbbell exercise that involves straightening your arms will work your triceps. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.
Triceps Kickback
For the triceps kickback, you bend forward from the hips and support your upper body with your free hand on a weight bench. You can also hike a knee up on the same support to help keep your back flat and hips and shoulders level. Your arm stays tucked against your side as you straighten your other arm, holding a dumbbell in that hand. Although this is a simple exercise, the bent-over position means proper form is particularly important. Allowing yourself to hunch or slump forward increases your risk of injury.
Overhead Triceps Extension
The overhead triceps extension allows you to work both triceps at once. But getting the appropriate hold on a single dumbbell with both hands can be counterintuitive. Instead of holding the dumbbell handle as you would for other dumbbell exercises, you place the palms of both hands on the weight at one end of the dumbbell. Your thumbs should cross around the dumbbell handle for extra security. You raise and lower the dumbbell straight overhead, holding your elbows stationary directly above your shoulders. You must also pay special attention to squeezing your abs so your lower back doesn't hyperextend during this exercise.
Headbangers
Although usually performed with a barbell, you can also do headbangers --- sometimes called a supine triceps extension --- with dumbbells. As you lie face-up on a bench, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Extend both arms straight over your chest, palms facing in. Bend your elbows, lowering the dumbbells to either side of your forehead, then straighten both arms again. Doing this exercise with dumbbells lessens your risk of accidentally banging the weight into your forehead --- which also explains the common name for this exercise.
Shoulder Press
Unlike the other triceps exercises listed here, the shoulder press recruits your shoulder muscles as primary movers. But your triceps still act powerfully, and working multiple muscle groups together is a good way of exercising more efficiently. As with the overhead triceps extension, you must squeeze your abs to keep your back from hyperextending as you extend both arms directly overhead, a dumbbell in each hand, then lower the weights to about ear level on either side of your head.
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