Strengthen and sculpt your upper body by rotating through the best tricep exercises for women! Learn how women can tone their triceps and work up a sweat with a 20-minute, dumbbell tricep workout.
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Toned triceps are a much sought-after commodity for most females. Unfortunately, it’s the biceps that take precedence in training.
There are three parts of the tricep (the medial, lateral, and long head), which are all located along the back of the arm. These muscles are responsible for common movements like extending the elbow.
However, it also helps with the extension of the arm at the shoulder as well as holding the shoulder in its place.
This means that it helps do things like push open a door or place an item on a shelf.
Because it has multiple heads and multiple uses, it needs to be trained with a variety of movements for the best results.
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Why Are The Triceps Hard To Tone?
Most women struggle to tone their triceps for two main reasons. The first is that they don’t place a significant load on the muscle to stimulate growth.
What I've found as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach, is that women tend to focus on low-resistance exercises without really progressing their training.
Doing this means that progress stagnates and the triceps never really grow, which is what you need for that “toned” look.
The second reason is that the triceps are a common storage spot for women. Hormonally, many women store fat in the back of their arms. This means that we need to look at weight loss as a whole in order to have toned-looking triceps.
The Best Tricep Exercises For Women
Below are some powerful triceps exercises.
These exercises hit the triceps in a multitude of planes, with different tensions, and utilize different movements.
Add in 1-2 of these upper arm exercises to your current workout routine or try the dumbbell tricep workout below to grow your triceps!
Likewise, use this triceps workout at home without dumbbells if you don't have equipment, and then add this resistance band bicep workout into the mix to balance out your arms.
1. Band Pushdown
Using a cable machine or a resistance band at home, hold the band in each hand. Stand upright but with a slight forward lean at the hips.
Keep the shoulders locked in place as you push the band towards your legs until the arms are completely straight. Pause and slowly return to the starting position.
Perform for 8-15 repetitions.
2. Bench Dips
Sit on the bench with your hands behind you on the front edge and the fingers facing your bum. Move your hips forward so your bum is no longer on the bench.
Bend the elbows and lower the hips towards the floor slowly.
Push through the hands and extend the elbows to engage the triceps muscle as you return the hips to the start position.
Perform 5-12 repetitions
3. Supported TRX Press
Placing the straps under your arms and grabbing the handles, place your hands right outside of your underarms.
Angle your body to the decided tension point with your feet shoulder-width apart. Use a staggard stance for more support if you’re a beginner.
Press the arms completely straight keeping your body in a plank position. Pause and slowly return to the starting position.
Perform 8-10 repetitions.
4. Close Grip Push Ups
If needed, elevate yourself on a wall, bench, or chair to achieve the desired engagement and ensure proper form (learn more about how to progress your push-ups).
Start in plank position with hands in a narrow position under the shoulders. Protract the shoulders slightly (round the upper back at first).
Begin by bending the elbows shooting them straight back behind you as you lower your body (still in a place position) towards the floor.
Keeping the elbows straight back, press up back to the start position (elbow extension). Learn how to do push ups to get strong arms.
Work up to 10 repetitions.
5. Push Plank
Begin in a plank position on your forearms.
Place on palm underneath your shoulder and push up into a full plank position. Reverse the movement by taking one arm down to the forearm.
As you’re doing this, take care to keep the elbows pointed straight back and maintain a plank position.
6. Floor Bow
- Come into a plank position on your knees with your hands about 5 inches ahead of your face with your arms straight.
- Bend the elbows until your forearms rest on the floor.
- Press into your hands and straighten the elbows.
7. Overhead Triceps Extension
Anchor a resistance band. Hold the band overhead with bent elbows as you come into a staggard stance with your torso on a slight forward lean (learn how to hip hinge).
With your biceps by your ears, unbend the elbows and push against the band, feeling the triceps engage. Pause and slowly flex the elbows to get back to the starting position.
Perform 8-15 repetitions.
8. Pike Press
This move can be done from the floor or with the feet elevated and is wicked for the upper arms. Having your feet elevated targets the triceps more
Come into a pike position with your hips up high and your feet shoulder-width or wider depending on hamstring flexibility. Bend the elbows and bring your head towards the floor to make a “tripod” position with your hands.
Press into your hands and push back up into a fully extended arm position.
Perform 3-6 repetitions.
Best Triceps Exercises With Dumbbells
Since one of the struggles women have is not stimulating the triceps enough with load. Making use of dumbbell triceps exercises is a way to change that!
Given that the triceps are a small muscle group, start with lighter weights (ten pounds) and begin to work your way up. Isolated triceps extension exercises (like kickbacks) respond extremely well to band work too- so that's something to play with.
Learn how to progress your exercises so that you continue to see results.
9. Close Grip Bench Press
Lay with your back flat on a bench and a dumbbell in each hand with straight arms.
This can be done with elbows tucked to form a “w” with your back or in a neutral position with the palms facing each other.
Either way, the elbows should stay very close to the torso of the body.
Flex the elbows and slowly lower the dumbbells towards your chest, pause briefly and push the dumbbells back up into triceps extension.
Perform 8-12 repetitions.
910. Skull Crushers
Lying with your back flat on the floor or a bench and a dumbbell held in each hand above your chest. Make sure the palms are facing each other.
Keep your shoulders locked as you bend your elbows bringing the dumbells slowly towards your forehead. Against the resistance extend the elbows and engage the triceps to extend your arms and return to the start position.
Know that skull crushers can be done using a barbell with an overhand grip as well as dumbbells.
Perform 8-12 repetitions.
11. Pull Over / Floor Bangers
Lying with your back flat on the floor or a bench and a dumbbell held in each hand above your chest. Make sure the palms are facing each other.
Bend the elbows so that they’re slightly flexed as you bing the dumbells past your head towards the floor (moving at the shoulders). Reverse the movement and extend the arms back to the start position.
Perform 8-12 repetitions.
12. Tricep Kickback
Come into a tabletop potion holding one dumbbell. Bend the elbow and hitch it so that your hand is close to your torso.
Keeping your elbow up in that start position, unbend the elbow and engage the tricep to kick the weight from your stomach towards your hips. Fully unbed the elbow and then return to the start position.
Perform 8-12 repetitions.
13. Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Standing upright with feet under the shoulders or in a staggard stance, hold a dumbbell with both hands behind your head with your elbows bent.
Using both arms, extend the elbows to bring the dumbbell up overhead. Pause and return it to the start position.
Perform 8-10 repetitions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tricep Exercises For Women
To have strong, toned triceps you’ll need to build up the muscles in a variety of movements. Use moves like skull crushers, dumbbell chest press, and tricep extensions to get started. From there, make sure to progress your exercise (make them harder) by adding more load, volume, or time under tension.
Getting rid of batwings is a combination of building the muscles through strategic progressive overload (constantly making the exercises harder) and losing any fat attaching to the triceps area. Begin by stimulating the triceps with resistance exercises 2-3 times per week.
Grow your triceps with exercises like skull crushers, close grip bench press, overhead tricep extensions, tricep dips, and close grip push ups.
There are three heads of the tricep muscle (the medial, lateral, and long head). Exercises like close grip push ups will hit the medial head, overhead tricep extensions will target the long head, and dips of any kind will primarily focus on the lateral head.
Begin by using 1-2 triceps exercises per workout (2-3 times per week). Or, opt to have a full day dedicated to the triceps with a specific dumbbell tricep workout.
Using 3-5 tricep exercises within the week is a great place to start to develop the muscle. These tricep exercises can be scattered out amongst your weekly training program or have a full day dedicated to your tricep workout. Keep in mind that exercises that focus on the chest and back muscles will naturally work the triceps as well.
Other Fitness Tips You’ll Find Helpful
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- Benefits of strong glutes
- Strong glutes during pregnancy
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- Follow along home workouts
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Wicked Tricep Workout With Dumbbells
This dumbbell tricep workout is a sure-fire way to set your upper arm on fire. It makes use of the best tricep exercises for women in a strength-based, muscle fatiguing way to help you sculpt and tone your triceps.
Equipment: one set of dumbbells at moderate weight + a yoga mat
How to perform: perform the first two exercises back to back for the repetitions listed. Rest for 45 seconds and repeat a total of three times. Then, move on to the next three exercises performing them back to back. Rest 1 minute between sets and repeat for a total of two rounds. Finally, move on to the “finisher” and perform one, all-out round.
| Dumbbell Pullover | 10 reps |
| Close Grip Push Ups | 8 reps |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Pike Press | 4-3-2 reps |
| Skull Crusher Wide Grip | 8 reps |
| Skull Crusher Narrow Grip | 8 reps |
| Rest | 45-60 seconds |
| Push Plank | 20 seconds |
| Rest | 10 seconds |
Perform the first two exercises back to back without rest. Take 45 seconds of rest and repeat for a total of three rounds before moving on to the next grouping. Perform the next grouping back to back without rest.
Take 60 seconds at the end of the narrow grip crushers and repeat the sequence for a total of three rounds. Finally, finish with two rounds of the push planks with only ten seconds rest between them.
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Celestine says
Excellent! I've recently discovered the cause for the need for more progress on my goals: I was concentrating too much on low-resistance workouts at the expense of advancing my training. Thank you, I'll get to work on these tips!
fitasamamabear says
Glad to help!
Greta says
You are such an inspiration to me! After I gave birth is so hard to lose that extra weight! But you give all the motivation... thank you!!!
fitasamamabear says
Thank you for the kind words!
Sherry says
Thank you for the great exercises for my Triceps. I love the easy step by step workout at the end of this post that told me exactly what I should do.
fitasamamabear says
It's definitely a burner workout, I hope you enjoy it!
Mandy Applegate says
These exercises are really great, I need to get rid of my bat wings, or bingo wings as we call them over here!
fitasamamabear says
Ah, I've never heard of "bingo" wings- I'm sorry but that kinda sounds cool to me haha
Glenda says
I'm going to need to pace myself, but I can already see these exercises are just what I need. My 60-year-old grandma arms are burning after one rep of two exercises. lol. You inspire me to keep trying, though. Thank you!
fitasamamabear says
Hehe they're definitely great exercises but if you're like me, the back of the arms tire so quickly! Build up lol