The Triceps Muscles
The triceps brachii — the only muscle on the back of the upper arm — has three heads. The long head is the largest of the three. It originates from the shoulder blade, which makes it the only tricep head that crosses the shoulder joint. Because of this attachment, it is only fully engaged when the arm is elevated or the elbow is positioned behind the body — which is why lying skull crushers and overhead extensions work the long head in a way that pushdowns cannot. The lateral head sits on the outer portion of the upper arm and is the most visible from the side — the head that creates the horseshoe shape people associate with developed triceps. The medial head is the deepest of the three and is active in all tricep movements, though rarely trained in isolation.
All three heads extend the elbow — straightening the arm — which is the primary function of the triceps. They are trained heavily as secondary muscles in every chest pressing movement, every shoulder press and every dip. This has consequences for programming.
The Number That Changes Everything
The triceps is approximately 65% of the upper arm. Not 50%. Not a bit more than the biceps. Roughly two thirds of the entire arm is triceps. Most people do not know this. Most people's arm training does not reflect it.
The result is the most common arm imbalance in any gym — a relatively developed bicep sitting on an underdeveloped tricep, producing an arm that looks unbalanced from every angle except the front-facing bicep flex that appears in photographs. From the side, from behind, in a t-shirt, the arm looks thin. The sleeve does not fill out. The resting arm does not carry visible muscle. This is the gap that tricep training closes.
If you want arms that look impressive in everyday life — not just when you flex — the triceps is where the work needs to go.
The Overtraining Problem — Again
The triceps is punished by the chest workout before a single tricep exercise begins. Every bench press. Every incline press. Every dip. Every overhead press. The triceps extends the elbow in all of them — it is the secondary muscle in everything a pressing day involves. Training triceps immediately after a heavy chest session, or training it so frequently that it never recovers, is how people develop elbow pain and stalled progress simultaneously.
The approach here is the same as shoulders. Focused, moderate volume. Three exercises, done with proper weight — which is less than you think — and adequate recovery. The triceps does not need to be destroyed twice a week on top of the pressing it already handles. It needs to be trained intelligently once.
Where to Start — A Honest Note
If you are new to tricep training or returning after a gap, the cable pushdown is the right starting point. It is easy to learn, isolates the triceps effectively and is safe for the elbows at any weight. Starting on the cable, learning what a proper tricep contraction feels like, and building a base of movement competence before moving to skull crushers and close grip pressing — that is the correct progression. There is no shame in starting there. The shame is staying there forever when the exercises below are available.
Three Exercises — The Complete Programme
Lying Barbell Skull Crushers
Lie flat on a bench. Hold the barbell — or EZ bar — with a close, overhand grip, arms extended directly above the chest. Lower the bar toward the forehead by bending only at the elbows, keeping the upper arms fixed and vertical. Return to the start. That is the movement. It takes significant effort. It takes focus. It requires the elbows to behave and the weight to be sensible. This is why people do not do it anymore — it demands genuine concentration and offers no opportunity to cheat with momentum or bodyweight. The long head is stretched fully at the bottom, which is precisely why this exercise builds tricep mass that cable pushdowns cannot touch.
Getting into position: the correct method is to have the bar handed to you by a training partner, or to swing it overhead using a pullover motion from the chest. Do not press it from the chest into the starting position — this is a press, not a skull crusher, and the transition between the two mid-set has injured more people than the exercise itself. Three to four sets of eight to twelve reps. The weight should feel challenging but controlled throughout.
Close Grip Bench Press
Hands narrower than shoulder width on the barbell, elbows tucked close to the body throughout the entire movement. That is the exercise. The elbows are everything — the moment they flare outward the load shifts to the chest and it becomes a regular bench press. This happens almost immediately when the weight is too heavy, which is why the close grip bench press is almost always done with too much weight by people who have not yet learned it. Start lighter than feels necessary. Learn what it feels like to keep the elbows in. Then add weight. A properly executed close grip bench press is a superb tricep exercise. A poorly executed one is just a narrower grip bench press. Three to four sets of eight to twelve reps.
Weighted Dips — Upright
The dip is one exercise that produces two completely different results depending on body position. Lean forward with elbows flaring slightly and you are training chest. Stay upright with elbows close to the body and you are training triceps. For triceps, the body must stay vertical throughout. Full range of motion — all the way down until the elbows are at 90 degrees or deeper, all the way back up to full extension. Instagram films the added plate hanging between the legs and rarely shows the full range. The full range is where the tricep actually works.
Add weight — a plate on a belt, a dumbbell held between the feet — when bodyweight becomes comfortable. A 20kg plate, upright, full range, done consistently for months will produce tricep development that most people in a commercial gym will never achieve. Three to four sets of eight to twelve reps.
Machines and Cables — Their Proper Place
The cable pushdown is a legitimate tricep exercise and a correct starting point for anyone learning the movement. The overhead cable extension is useful for targeting the long head when skull crushers are not available or not yet appropriate. Machines have their place — particularly for beginners, for those returning from elbow or shoulder issues, and as a finishing movement at the end of a session when the free weight exercises are done.
The goal is always to move toward the free weight versions. Not because machines are ineffective — they are not — but because the stability demands and loading characteristics of free weights produce more complete development over time. Get comfortable with the free weights. You will enjoy training more and the results will be better for it.
The Balance Point
An arm where the bicep and tricep are proportionally developed is a genuinely impressive arm. An arm where one dominates the other is not. Since the triceps is 65% of the arm, the logic is clear: prioritise the triceps and the whole arm improves. This does not mean neglecting the biceps — it means understanding where the majority of the work should go.
Train the triceps properly. Learn the exercises, learn them again, and make them permanent before adding anything else. The people in the gym with arms that genuinely look impressive in a t-shirt are not the people doing twelve bicep exercises. They are the people who understood this years ago and trained accordingly.
