How to Get Bigger Triceps

The triceps brachii is a large muscle group in the arm that makes up two-thirds of the total mass in the upper arm. If you really want to fill out your sleeves, the triceps are the muscle to work - not the biceps. There are a multitude of ways to hit the muscle, many of which can be done with dumbbells and barbells. Increasing the strength fo your triceps will also help your bench press, as they are a major player when locking out on the lift. You will find that successfully working your triceps can increase your bench press by as much as 20%.

There are two primary types of exercises that work the triceps. The first is referred to as an extension, which is where the elbows are held out and up, and the second is called a push where the elbows are held at the sides. Most triceps exercises are the extension type, including the bench press. In order to completely work the muscle, though, you'll need to use both exercises as they emphasize different heads.

The primary pushdown exercise is the cable pushdown, where you grip ropes (or any other type of grip) that are attached to a weighted cable, and then push them down with your elbows at your side. This stresses the medial and outer heads of the muscle, and is great for building overall mass. You will not see a big difference in the bench press when doing this exercise. There are several variations of the cable pushdown that you can do, including one armed pushdowns, power pushdowns, and kneeling pushdowns. All of these hit the triceps in the same general way.

For triceps extensions, most people use skull crushers, but the lying dumbbell extension is good too. You can perform these sitting up or with cables as well. The focus of the triceps extension is the inner (long) head and the medial head. You will see an increase in bench press strength when doing this exercise, so make sure you do plenty of them if that is your ultimate goal.

Other exercises that will help you get bigger triceps include the close grip bench press, dips (probably the best triceps exercise), and kick backs. I'm not going to go into depth with these, as they should be pretty self-explanatory. Just make sure you hit your tris at least once a week. And remember that the arms aren't the only body part worth working. You should strive to build a strong body overall, not just strong arms.