Free Weight Exercises For The Triceps

The triceps are the large muscles on the back of your arms, responsible for extending the elbow or straightening out your arms. If your goal is size, strength or both, you can do a few solid exercises to work your triceps. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.

Close Grip Bench Press

The close grip bench press is a basic barbell exercise that heavily works your triceps. While lying flat on a bench with your feet firmly on the floor, take the barbell out of the rack with your arms at full extension. With your hands between 12 and 16 inches apart and keeping your head, shoulder and hips flat on the bench, lower the bar to your sternum by bending your elbows and tucking them into your sides on the way down. Without bouncing the bar, press it smoothly to full extension, according to "The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research." This exercise is best performed in the five- to eight-repetition range.

Dips

You do dips by supporting yourself on bars about the width of your shoulders with your hands straight down at your sides. This is like one of the positions of a gymnast on the parallel bars. Lower yourself under control by bending your elbows and descend until your upper arm is parallel to the ground. Without bouncing push yourself back up to full extension. Never relax during this motion and never let your feet touch the ground. You can perform this exercise in practically any repetition range, and you can add weight by holding a dumbbell between your feet.

Extensions

Barbell extensions are sometimes known as "skullcrushers" if you do them wrong and don't have a spotter. While lying flat on your back on a bench, grip a barbell with your hands no wider than your shoulders. Lower the bar to your forehead by bending your elbows, then straighten to full extension. You can also do this exercise with dumbbells, but when you hold a dumbbell in each hand, your palms should be facing each other. Lower the dumbbells to the tops of your shoulders, not your forehead. Perform these exercises with a variety of repetition ranges.

Overhead Extensions

Perform this exercise in a manner similar to lying extensions. It's best done seated. Holding a single dumbbell with both hands wrapped firmly around the handle, lower the dumbbell from full extension overhead to the lowest point you can comfortably manage. The goal is to get as much of a stretch as your flexibility allows; part of the triceps crosses the shoulder joint and is only completely activated in a stretched position. You can do this exercise with a barbell, but this is sometimes painful on the wrists and takes time for you to condition yourself. You can perform this exercise with 10 to 15 repetitions.