The 8 Best Long Head Tricep Exercises (2024) - Lift Vault (2024)

While often neglected in favor of the biceps, the triceps are the biggest muscle group in your arms. The tricep has three muscle ‘heads’, which explains their name (tri meaning three and ceps meaning heads).

The long head tricep is the largest of the three tricep heads. Due to its size and potential for growth, it is worth giving it some extra attention in the gym. Your long tricep head is located on the inner side of your upper arm, running across the elbow joint to the shoulder joint. Here, we’ll go over the eight best exercises to target your long tricep head and help you achieve stronger, more muscular upper arms.

The 8 Best Long Head Tricep Exercises

1. Triangle Push Up
2. Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions
3. Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
4. Bent-Over Dumbbell Kickbacks
5. Cable Triceps Pushdowns
6. Cable Machine Swimmers
7. EZ Bar Skullcrushers
8. Triceps Dips

1. Triangle Pushups

Benefits of Triangle Pushups

The triangle pushup is an effective variation of the traditional pushup that emphasizes the long tricep head. The exercise involves placing your hands together so that your thumb and forefinger create a triangle shape on the ground. The narrower position of your hands reduces assistance from your pectorals and places more weight on the triceps.

EMG studies have found triangle pushups to be among the most effective exercises for isolating the long tricep head. They are also convenient and accessible as you can perform them anywhere without any equipment.

How to Perform Triangle Pushups

1. Get into a plank position with your core braced and your spine neutral.
2. Move your hands together so your thumbs and forefingers touch each other to create a diamond or triangle shape. Position your hands underneath your upper chest.
3. Breathe in to brace your abdominals. Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows. Keep your elbows tucked close to your torso. Do not let the elbows flare out.
4. Bend your elbows until your upper arms are in line with your ribcage and your chest hovers a few inches off the ground.
5. Pause at the bottom for a moment. Exhale and push through your hands to engage the triceps and lift your body back to its starting position. Make sure you keep your torso in a straight line as you press up.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.

Check out this useful video demonstrating the proper technique for performing triangle pushups.

2. Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions

Benefits of Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions

Overhead triceps extensions load the long head of your tricep from a stretched position, increasing range of motion and muscle activation. Overhead tricep extension variations can be done with barbells, EZ bars, and dumbbells, but are easiest and most stable using a cable machine with a rope handle attachment.

How to Perform Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions

1. Attach a double rope handle to the cable machine high pulley.
2. Firmly grasp one rope handle in each hand. Turn around to face away from the cable machine.
3. Lift your arms above your head with bent elbows so that your biceps are next to your ears, and your hands grip the rope behind your head.
4. Keep your elbows tucked to avoid them flaring out to the sides. Brace your core and keep your shoulders retracted.
5. Squeeze your triceps to press the rope in front of you until your elbows are fully extended.
6. Complete the exercise by ‘splitting’ the rope (pulling each side of the rope handle away from the other).
7. Lower the rope back to its starting position slowly and with control. Ensure you fully reset so that your hands are back behind your head and your triceps are in a stretched position.
8. Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.

This video provides a useful visual guide to performing the cable overhead triceps extension with proper form.

3. Close Grip Barbell Bench Press

Benefits of Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses

Narrow grip bench presses shift the weight away from the chest and into your triceps. This exercise does not fully isolate the long head of the tricep, but it will allow you to load the entire tricep with more weight than other exercises, making it effective for growing bigger triceps. Close grip bench presses help break through strength plateaus and improve your tricep strength for other accessory lifts.

How to Perform Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses

1. Place a loaded barbell into a rack set up over a bench.
2. Lie down on the bench with your feet firmly planted on the ground and your back pressed into the bench. Your eyes should be directly in line with the barbell.
3. Keep your glutes and core engaged, and tuck your chin to keep a neutral spine. Retract your shoulders slightly to avoid any rounding. Maintain this position throughout the exercise.
4. Grip the bar with your hands about shoulder-width apart. This will vary based on your biomechanics; make sure your grip doesn’t cause your shoulders to rotate internally.
5. Lift the bar out of the rack and position it straight over your shoulders with your arms tensed and elbows extended.
6. Inhale and bend your elbows to lower the barbell to your lower chest or upper abdomen area. Keep your elbows tucked in closer than you would in a standard bench press.
7. Exhale and push through your triceps to press the barbell back to its starting position with extended elbows.
8. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

This video from Scott Herman Fitness provides a helpful visual guide for performing the close grip bench press.

4. Bent-Over Dumbbell Kickbacks

Benefits of Bent-Over Dumbbell Kickbacks

The long head of the tricep works to extend at the elbow and also has an important role in extending the arm behind your torso. The bent-over dumbbell kickback is a great exercise as it involves these two movement patterns to target the long tricep from multiple angles. Dumbbell kickbacks are an isolation exercise that benefits from using lighter weights to complete higher rep ranges compared with compound lifts.

How to Perform Bent-Over Dumbbell Kickbacks

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells with a neutral grip so that your palms face each other.
2. Stand tall with a neutral spine and your feet hip-width apart.
3. Keep your back neutral, and your chin tucked. Hinge at the waist and tilt your torso forward until it is almost parallel with the floor.
4. Keep your elbows close to the body and bend them at 90 degrees so that the dumbbells are close to your chest.
5. Keep your elbows locked in place. Squeeze the triceps to bring the dumbbells behind your torso until your elbows are fully extended.
6. Pause for a moment, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to their starting position without moving the elbows.
7. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Watch this useful video for a visual guide on how to perform the bent-over dumbbell kickback.

5. Cable Triceps Pushdowns

Benefits of Cable Triceps Pushdowns

Cable triceps pushdowns are particularly good at targeting the long head of the triceps. Research suggests that exercises with low shoulder elevation increase engagement of the long triceps brachii. Cable triceps pushdowns involve pressing down from the elbow while keeping the shoulders back and down and your arms close to your sides. This exercise is great for maxing out your triceps with high reps without straining the wrist and elbow joints.

How to Perform Cable Triceps Pushdowns

1. Stand facing a cable machine station and attach a straight bar, v-bar, or rope handle to a high pulley.
2. If you are using a v bar or straight bar, grab the handle with a pronated grip. If using the rope handle, grab the rope near the butt end with your palms facing each other.
3. Keep your chest up, retract your shoulder blades, and hinge your torso forward slightly.
4. Keep your elbows close to your torso throughout the movement. Press down with your triceps without bending your wrists until your arms are fully extended.
5. Squeeze your triceps to lockout fully and hold for a moment.
6. Slowly release to return the handle to its starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Check out this video for a visual guide on how to perform cable machine triceps pushdowns.

6. Cable Machine Swimmers

Benefits of Cable Machine Swimmers

Most tricep exercises are vertical or horizontal pressing lifts, but this pulling exercise is surprisingly effective at activating the long tricep head. While it is primarily a back exercise, the cable machine swimmer involves significant shoulder extension, which is driven largely by the long tricep head. For an exercise that strengthens your back and targets the long tricep, the cable machine swimmer is a great choice.

How to Perform Cable Machine Swimmers

1. Stand in front of a dual cable machine station and attach a single handle to each of the two pulleys at the highest attachment points.
2. Grab a handle in each hand and stand up tall. Hold the handles just above shoulder height and keep a neutral spine.
3. Keep a slight bend in the elbows and pull your shoulders back.
4. Keep your arms locked in place. Engage your lats and push down with your triceps to bring the handles down towards your hips without bending the elbows.
5. Stop when the handles travel just past your hips.
6. Slowly return the handles to their starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.

This video provides a useful visual guide on how to do the cable machine swimmer.

7. EZ Bar Skullcrushers

EZ Bar Skullcrushers

Skullcrushers are great at targeting all three heads of the triceps. They load the triceps from a stretched position and have an impressive range of motion which improves muscle activation and hypertrophy. You can do this exercise with dumbbells or a barbell, but EZ bars will give you the best results without straining the wrist joint.

How to EZ Bar Skullcrushers

1. Load an EZ bar with the desired weight and grip it with your hands slightly closer than shoulder-width apart.
2. Lie back on a flat bench and press the bar up so it is directly above your face.
3. Retract your shoulders and firmly plant your feet into the ground.
4. Inhale and bend your elbows to lower the barbell towards your head without moving the upper arms. Keep your wrists in line with your forearms throughout the movement.
5. Pause when the bar hovers an inch or so above your forehead.
6. Exhale and press through the triceps to lift the barbell back to its starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.

This video demonstrates the correct technique for performing EZ bar skull crushers.

8. Triceps Dips

Benefits of Triceps Dips

Dips are another great way to target the triceps using just your body weight. Dips can emphasize the chest or triceps, depending on how you do them. To make dips a more effective triceps exercise, keep your elbows tightly pinned to your ribcage and don’t allow them to flare out.

Dips are convenient as you can do them almost anywhere you have access to a dip bar, parallel bars, or even the end of a bench or couch. Dips involve both functions of the long tricep head – extending at the elbow and extending the arms behind the torso.

How to Perform Triceps Dips

1. Grip the front edges of a bench or chair with your hands. Your hands should be by your sides with your palms facing behind you.
2. Hover your butt just in front of the platform and plant your feet firmly with your knees bent at about 90 degrees.
3. Keep your chin tucked and core braced. Extend your elbows with your arms positioned behind your torso. This is your starting position.
4. Bend your elbows and lower your body straight down until your elbows are bent at 90 degrees.
5. Squeeze your triceps and press into the bench or chair to lift your bodyweight back up.
6. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps. You can make this exercise more advanced by placing a weight plate or dumbbell across your hips for added resistance.

This video provides a helpful visual guide for a beginner, intermediate and advanced version of the tricep dip.

Long Head Tricep Workout

To make tricep gains, The Renaissance Periodization Tricep Hypertrophy Guide recommends at least six dedicated sets of tricep work per week for intermediate to advanced lifters. Many lifters will need more volume than this to continue progressing. Note that these sets are in addition to pressing exercises that emphasize the chest. Despite the triceps playing a supporting role in lifts like the bench press, to keep increasing your strength and size, you need to dedicate some time to isolate the triceps. Here is an example of how you can effectively target your triceps in your training plan with exercises that will help you target the long tricep head.

Week 1 (7 sets)

• Day 1
  • Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps @ 80%
• Day 2
  • Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions: 2 sets x 10 reps @ 70%
• Day 3
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets x 20 reps @ 30%

Week 2 (8 sets)

• Day 1
  • Close Grip Bench Press: 4 sets x 5 reps @ 80%
• Day 2
  • Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions: 2 sets x 10 reps @ 70%
• Day 3
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets x 20 reps @ 30%

Week 3 (9 sets)

• Day 1
  • Close Grip Bench Press: 4 sets x 5 reps @ 80%
• Day 2
  • Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 10 reps @ 70%
• Day 3
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets x 20 reps @ 30%

Week 4 (9 sets)

• Day 1
  • Close Grip Bench Press: 4 sets x 5 reps @ 80%
• Day 2
  • Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 10 reps @ 70%
• Day 3
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets x 20 reps @ 30%

Week 5 (Deload – 7 sets)

• Day 1
  • Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 3 reps @ 80%
• Day 2
  • Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions: 2 sets x 10 reps @ 70%
• Day 3
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets x 20 reps @ 30%

Long Head Tricep Muscle Anatomy

Image depicts the long head of the tricep (highlighted in green) from a posterior view. Source: kenhub

The long head of the triceps brachii is one of the three muscles that comprise your triceps (the muscles along the posterior of your upper arm). The long tricep head is the largest tricep muscle and forms part of the horseshoe shape often seen in developed triceps. The long head attaches at the scapula and extends down to the elbow joint.

The primary function of the long tricep head is to actively extend the forearm at the elbow joint against gravity. As the long head of the tricep is attached to the scapula, it also plays a role in extending the arm and stabilizing the shoulder joint.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should you train your long tricep head?

You cannot completely isolate the long head tricep. All three heads of the tricep work together to perform various upper body pressing movements. You can make adjustments to your tricep exercises to more effectively target the long tricep heap.

In general, the triceps should be trained at least once per week in addition to any chest-focused pressing exercises. To increase your current tricep size and strength, you will need at least six dedicated sets of tricep exercises per week. This can be split up into 2 sessions with 3 or more sets, 3 sessions with 2 or more sets, or even 4 or 5 sessions with 1-2 sets per session.

At what intensity should I be training my long triceps?

Like most muscle groups, your long triceps respond best to lifting weights that are between 30% and 85% of your one-rep max. This usually means a weight that can be lifted for 5 – 30 reps in your first set if taken to failure.

Most lifters will get the best results from keeping around 50% of their total weekly volume within the moderate-intensity range, meaning a weight that you safely lift for about 10-20 reps. The other 50% can be split up between heavier (weights you can lift for about 5-10 reps) and lighter (between 20 and 30 reps). A variety of loading intensities is useful to continue progressing and breaking through plateaus.

What rep range should be used for the long triceps?

Your outer long tricep exercise sets should vary between 5 and 30 reps per set, depending on your exercise selection. For heavier compound exercises like close grip bench presses, lower rep ranges of 5 – 15 are optimal. Bodyweight exercises like dips and pushups often get the best results from sets of 10-20 reps, and isolation exercises like triceps pushdowns respond better to higher rep ranges of 20-30 reps.

What types of exercises train the long triceps?

The long head tricep is involved in many chest pressing exercises and some delt exercises, but they require isolation work to target them effectively. The long head tricep is best activated using exercises that extend the arm at the elbow and move the arm behind the torso. Examples of effective long head tricep exercises are overhead triceps extensions, dips, and triceps pushdowns.

What are the benefits of training my long tricep head?

Since the long tricep head is the largest of the three triceps muscles, giving them focussed attention in the gym will help you build more muscular, rounded upper arms. The long tricep head has the greatest growth potential of your upper arm muscles. Building stronger long triceps can improve your elbow and shoulder stability, help prevent injuries, and translate to improved strength in other upper body pressing exercises like bench presses and pushups.

Why are my triceps not growing?

Choosing the right exercises, rep ranges, and intensities is important to keep seeing size and strength gains. Another common mistake when training your triceps is not moving through a full range of motion. The triceps are particularly responsive to being loaded in their fully stretched position. Locking out the elbow is one of the main functions of the long head tricep. Ensuring you reach full extension when training your triceps will help you to see more progress over time.

Other Muscle Groups Exercises

If you enjoyed this post, check out our other collections of the best exercises for each muscle group below.

About Emma Lennon

Emma is a Health Science graduate, qualified personal trainer, and writer. She has over ten years of experience in the health, community development, and communications sectors. She is passionate about making reputable information about health, fitness, and resistance training accessible to all.

Emma loves building her own functional strength and fitness outside of work with various training styles, from weightlifting to calisthenics, yoga, and dancing. She advocates for the powerful potential of exercise to improve physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.