When it comes to building strong, well-defined arms, many people focus heavily on their biceps. But here's the kicker—your triceps make up roughly two-thirds of your upper arm's muscle mass. Neglecting your triceps means missing out on serious arm growth potential.

If you’re only doing bicep curls, you’re leaving a lot of muscle development on the table. Weak triceps not only hold you back from filling out your sleeves, but they also limit your strength in compound movements like bench presses, push-ups, and overhead presses. Without targeting the triceps effectively, you’re missing out on better performance and overall arm symmetry.

Fortunately, with the right combination of compound and isolation tricep exercises, you can hit every part of your triceps and take your upper body workouts to the next level. This article will break down the best compound movements for triceps and the most effective isolation exercises, ensuring you achieve balanced, strong, and aesthetically pleasing arms.

Compound vs. Isolation Exercises

Before we dive into the specific exercises, it's crucial to understand the difference between compound and isolation movements.

Compound Exercises

These involve multiple joints and muscle groups working together. When you do compound movements for triceps, you're not only working your arms but also incorporating supporting muscles like your chest, shoulders, and even core. Compound exercises are excellent for building strength and mass.

Isolation Exercises

In contrast, isolation exercises focus on a single joint and muscle group. Tricep isolation exercises are designed to target the triceps directly, which makes them ideal for muscle definition and correcting imbalances.

Best Compound Tricep Exercises

Compound exercises allow you to lift heavier weights and stimulate more overall muscle growth. Here are some of the best compound tricep exercises you can incorporate into your routine:

Close-Grip Bench Press

• Why It Works: The close-grip bench press is a staple compound tricep exercise. By narrowing your grip on the bar, you shift more of the workload to your triceps, while still engaging your chest and shoulders.
• How to Perform: Lie on a bench with a and grasp the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. Lower the bar to your chest while keeping your elbows close to your sides, then press back up.
• Benefits: This movement allows for heavier loads than most isolation exercises, leading to better overall strength and size in your triceps. It’s also great for boosting your bench press max.

Tricep Dips

• Why It Works: Tricep dips are a bodyweight compound exercise that targets all three heads of the triceps—the lateral, long, and medial heads—while also working your chest and shoulders.
• How to Perform: Use parallel bars or the edge of a sturdy bench. Lower yourself by bending your elbows, keeping them tucked close to your body, then press back up until your arms are fully extended.
• Benefits: Dips are highly effective for building mass and strength. You can also add weight by using a dip belt or holding a dumbbell between your legs.

Overhead Press

• Why It Works: The overhead press engages your triceps as you push a barbell or dumbbells overhead. While primarily a shoulder exercise, it activates your triceps throughout the lift.
• How to Perform: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell or dumbbells at shoulder height. Press the weight overhead until your arms are fully extended, then lower it back down.
• Benefits: This exercise builds both tricep strength and shoulder stability, making it great for overall upper body power.

Top Tricep Isolation Exercises

To truly sculpt and define your triceps, isolation exercises are a must. These movements zero in on the triceps, allowing you to focus on muscle engagement and contraction. Here are the best tricep isolation exercises to add to your routine:

Tricep Pushdowns

• Why It Works: Tricep pushdowns isolate the triceps, especially the lateral head. It’s a fantastic exercise for honing in on your triceps without engaging the chest or shoulders.
• How to Perform: Attach a straight bar or rope to a high pulley on a cable machine. Keep your elbows pinned to your sides as you push the bar down until your arms are fully extended, then return to the starting position.
• Benefits: This exercise is ideal for hypertrophy, as it allows for a full range of motion and continuous tension on the triceps.

Overhead Tricep Extension

• Why It Works: This isolation exercise targets the long head of the triceps, which is often underworked in other movements.
• How to Perform: Stand or sit with a dumbbell or barbell held overhead. Lower the weight behind your head by bending at the elbows, then press it back up until your arms are straight.
• Benefits: Overhead tricep extensions provide an excellent stretch to the triceps, making them perfect for full development of the muscle group.

Skull Crushers (Lying Tricep Extensions)

• Why It Works: Skull crushers directly target the triceps and allow you to focus on the muscle contraction, particularly the long and medial heads.
• How to Perform: Lie on a bench with a barbell or dumbbells. Lower the weights toward your forehead by bending your elbows, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
• Benefits: This exercise is fantastic for isolating the triceps, and you can vary the angle to hit different parts of the muscle.

How to Hit All Three Tricep Heads

A common question is how to work all three heads of the triceps (long, lateral, and medial). To do this, you need a combination of exercises that target different parts of the tricep:

• Long Head: Focus on overhead movements like the overhead tricep extension and skull crushers.
• Lateral Head: Incorporate pushdown variations and close-grip bench presses.
• Medial Head: This head is worked in almost every tricep exercise, but tricep dips and reverse-grip pushdowns are particularly effective.

By blending compound and isolation movements, you ensure all heads of the triceps are thoroughly engaged.

Are Tricep Dips a Compound Exercise?

Yes, tricep dips are a compound exercise because they involve more than one joint (elbow and shoulder) and recruit multiple muscle groups. While they emphasize the triceps, dips also work the chest and shoulders, making them one of the best compound movements for building arm strength and mass.

Is One Tricep Isolation Exercise Enough?

While one isolation exercise is better than none, to fully develop the triceps, especially all three heads, it’s better to include a variety of exercises. For optimal muscle growth and definition, it’s recommended to incorporate at least two or three isolation exercises into your tricep routine.

Final Notes

Now that you know the best compound and isolation exercises for triceps, you're equipped to build stronger, more defined arms. Compound exercises like close-grip bench presses and tricep dips will help you gain strength and mass, while isolation exercises like tricep pushdowns and skull crushers ensure you target every muscle fiber for optimal definition.