Outer Triceps Workout

Your triceps brachii, or triceps for short, is the biggest muscle in your arm. Comprising over two-thirds of the muscle mass in your arm, your triceps are extremely important for building bigger, more ripped arms.

What most people don’t know however, is that you triceps are actually comprised of three different “bundles” of muscle. Being able to target each one is a skill in itself, and will take quite a bit of practice and hard work.

This article will talk specifically about the outer tricep muscle and which exercises are best for building this muscle.

As I mentioned, you tricep is made up of three bundles of muscle. Each of these bundles has a different origin but they all insert at the elbow joint. This means that while they may be positioned differently in the arm, they all perform the same function - extending or straightening the arm.

The three bundles of muscle in the tricep are referred to as the long head, the medial head, and the lateral head. The lateral head is the bundle that gives your tricep that horse-shoe like appearance, and is the one considered to be the outer tricep. While this article only talks about the lateral head, it is also important to develop the long head and the medial head to get a tricep that is proportionate.

To work the outer triceps, you need to perform exercise that recruit a lot of muscle fibers. The three main exercises that do this are the close grip bench press, standing barbell french press, and skull crushers. The close grip bench press is perhaps the best compound exercise for the triceps.

Not only does it work your triceps, but it also stimulates the chest and shoulders. The important thing to remember when doing this exercise is that you need to keep your elbows close to your side. Doing so ensures that you are targeting the outer triceps the most.

The standing barbell french press may feel weird at first, but I assure you that it will hit your outer triceps perfectly. The key to this exercise is to make sure your elbows remain perpendicular to the floor (don’t flare them). This same tip applies for skull crushers as well.

Make sure that your elbows are close and you contract the triceps on the way up and down. Because each of the three heads will benefit during every tricep exercise, you can combine these three movements with other tricep exercises to really blast the muscle. Try this simple but effective outer tricep workout routine:

Close-grip bench press 5 x 8
Bench dips 5 x 8
Skull crushers 4 x 10
Standing barbell french press 4 x 10
Tricep cable pushdowns 3 x 12
Military pushups 3 x 12

The great thing about triceps is that there is a variety of triceps exercises that work them, which  eliminates the possibility of getting bored. Following these few simple exercises will help you get that horse shoe tricep that everyone will be jealous of!

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