Well-defined triceps give your arms that coveted horseshoe shape and allow you to flex with the best of them. But it takes targeted training to build up those tri’s. Follow this guide on how to structure an effective triceps workout routine for arms worthy of a pump cover.

Understand Tricep Anatomy

The triceps make up roughly two-thirds of your upper arm mass. There are three heads that comprise the triceps muscle group:

• Lateral head - Outside of your upper arm
• Long head - Runs along the underside
• Medial head - Attaches to your inner elbow

Together, these muscle heads allow for full elbow extension and arm straightening. Isolating each head is key for fully-developed triceps.

Train Triceps After Chest

It’s best to train triceps after doing chest exercises. Thepushing motions used for chest will help pre-fatigue the triceps. Training triceps when they're already warmed up allows you to better activate and overload the muscle fibers.

Plus, the triceps assist in many compound chest presses. By training triceps second, you won’t be limited in your chest workout due to fatigued tris.

Hit All Three Heads

Be sure to include exercises that target each of the three tricep heads for balanced development:

• Lateral head - Overhead extensions, kickbacks
• Long head - Skullcrushers, decline presses
• Medial head - Close grip and board presses

Mix up the angles, grips and equipment used to fully exhaust all areas of the triceps.

Use Compound & Isolation Exercises

Incorporate both compound and isolation movements into your routine.

Compounds like close grip bench press allow you to use heavier weight to overload the triceps. Isolations like overhead rope extensions better emphasize peak contraction.

Some excellent options include:

• Close grip bench press
• Dip
• Lying tricep extension
• Overhead dumbbell extension
• Cable pushdown
• Tricep kickback

Train 8-12 Rep Range

For maximum triceps growth, train in the hypertrophy rep range of 8-12 reps per set. This moderate weight and higher volume challenges your muscles without compromising form.

Perform 2-4 working sets of each exercise, allowing 90 seconds of rest between sets. Lift until you reach muscle failure on the last rep of each set.

Use Drop Sets

Drop sets are a killer advanced technique to use on your last exercise. Perform 8-12 reps with a heavier weight then immediately drop the weight and pump out as many reps as possible.

This fatigues and overloads the triceps for incredible pumps. Try dropping the weight 2-3 times.

Go Heavy Periodically

It’s fine to bump up the weight periodically and do fewer reps in the 3-5 range. This overloads the triceps in a different way to spur continued growth.

Just be sure to have a spotter and use excellent form when lifting heavy. Limit these high weight sets to key compound exercises like close grip bench press.

Try Supersets

Alternating between two exercises with no rest in between makes up a superset. This compounds the workload to exhaust the muscle.

Some great tricep superset pairings include overhead extensions with pushdowns or kickbacks with dips. Shoot for 10-12 reps of each move.

Isolate with Uni-Lateral Training

Work one arm at a time to better isolate each tricep. Dumbbell and cable exercises lend themselves well to uni-lateral training.

You can go heavier on single arm moves since you don’t have to balance two weights. This provides a greater overload stimulus.

Get a Pump with Drop Sets

Nothing finishes off a tricep workout better than blood volume-boosting drop sets. Load a heavier weight on an isolation exercise like pushdowns. Bang out 6-8 reps then immediately drop the weight by 20-30%.

Keep reducing weight and pumping out reps until you reach muscle failure. This flushes the muscle with nutrient-rich blood for incredible pumps.

The Bottom Line

With focused, heavy training, you can transform your triceps into massive slabs of horseshoe shaped muscle. Follow these tips to maximize results:

• Isolate the three muscle heads
• Train after chest day
• Use multi- and single-joint exercises
• Lift in the 8-12 rep hypertrophy range
• Periodize heavy and light training
• Employ intensity boosting techniques

With commitment to your triceps training, you’ll be repping PRs and sporting sleeve-stretching arms.