Exercises to Build Massive Triceps

Triceps Growth Key to Bigger Arms

Evan Centopani’s triceps really set his arms apart from the pack and give them that almost impossibly round, full, much-coveted horseshoe appearance. They’ve been a standout muscle group with him even since before he turned pro in 2007. Early in his career, the massive Connecticut residenttold MD how he built his triceps. Anyone who wants to increase the size of their triceps can use Evan’s timeless training principles as a guide, and learn how to add some serious size to their arms.

Triceps – the Final Frontier

On the arms issue, biceps are the showcase muscle and they continue to get all the glory even though they make up just one-third of the upper arm. Increasing size in the other two-thirds – the triceps – is the key to building all-round impressive guns. When Evan’s arms are hanging straight down and totally relaxed, you get a sense of how critical thick triceps are in bodybuilding. Biceps only look impressive when flexed, but killer tri’s are imposing and monstrous no matter what. So if you want to have an arm measurement you can be truly proud of, you’d better develop your triceps to their fullest potential along with your biceps. Follow Evan’s strategy – and while we’re not promising you 20-inch arms, you will be well on the way to maximizing your potential.

Triceps Training, Centopani Style

Evan has always liked training both biceps and triceps on the same day. Centopani will select four exercises each for biceps and triceps, and subject them to four work sets of six to 12 reps. These are the movements he likes to use for torching those monster horseshoes:

Rope Pushdowns

Like many other top bodybuilders, Evan begins virtually all his triceps workouts with a few high-rep sets of rope pushdowns as a warm-up. “I will do at least two and usually three sets of 20, keeping the reps smooth and aiming for a pump just to get blood flowing around the area in general,” he says. “I don’t have any elbow pain now, and I plan on keeping it that way.”

They are also an exercise he likes to superset with dips, particularly in the last six to eight weeks before a contest. “The whole thing with that superset is that I use the rope pushdowns to pre-exhaust the triceps so I don’t have to use crazy weights on the dips,” Evan explains. “In the off-season, it’s no problem to use two or three 45s hanging off a belt. But once my body fat and water start getting low, I don’t have as much cushioning in the joints. It’s a lot easier on my shoulders and elbows if I fatigue the tri’s first and then go right to dips. If I hurry quick enough from one to the other, a 45 can easily feel just as heavy as two normally do.”

Evan also has a tip on how to get a few more reps out of rope pushdowns and ensure you take the triceps all the way to failure. “Do as many reps as you can with a spread at the bottom, then hold your hands together and squeeze out a few more,” he advises. “It’s amazing the pump you can get from that if you’ve never tried it before.”

Skull-crushers

Just as Evan only has one constant biceps exercise that he never skips, skull-crushers are performed each and every time he goes to the gym to hit triceps. You’ll notice that he doesn’t lower to the forehead, as most guys do, but goes all the way behind his head so the bar grazes the crown— you know, the area at the top of the skull where most guys start losing their hair. “I tried it that way and the stretch was so much better that I just kept doing it,” Evan explains. “It’s harder to do this way. I always envision keeping my triceps parallel to the floor throughout the set.”

He usually works with a 45 on each side of the bar once he’s properly warmed up. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the most important exercise you can do for your triceps,” he says. “Once I started doing skull-crushers, my triceps just blew up.” Unlike most bodybuilders, he prefers a straight bar over an EZ curl bar. “The straight bar doesn’t bother my wrists. Maybe it’s because my wrists are pretty thick and strong.”

Single-arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions

Evan is also pretty strong on seated overhead dumbbell extensions, as he’s able to use a 70-pounder in this awkward exercise. He’s also able to keep his elbow pointing straight up instead of flared away from the head, which increases his range of motion. “This was an exercise I started doing way back in ninth grade, in my uncle John’s basement,” Evan says. “I never stopped doing it, because it continues to produce results.”

Overhead Dumbbell Extension With Both Arms

Evan will occasionally do his dumbbell extensions with both hands and a heavier ’bell, going up to 140 pounds. But it’s a rarity. “That’s one exercise where you have to analyze the cost/benefit ratio,” he explains. “Getting a dumbbell that big into the starting position is almost a workout in itself and it’s a little dangerous, too, if you think about it. You could blow out a rotator cuff if you weren’t careful by extending the arm too far back with that heavy weight pulling down on it.” Since his triceps seem to do just fine without them, he doesn’t worry about including them more often.

Elbows-flared Pushdowns

Evan never really cared for close-grip bench presses too much, but a few years back he discovered he could mimic the movement by using a cable station and a bar attachment. “Again, it was one of those things where I tried it and just got this tremendous pump, so I kept doing it,” he says. “I’m a big believer in trying subtle little shifts in angle or hand position to help you find the best ways to do an exercise for your particular body,” he tells us. “We all have different structures, muscle bellies, etc., so it makes sense that we all need to find our own groove with exercises that are safe and productive.”

Dips

Finally, dips are a staple in Evan’s arm-training repertoire he feels has served him very well over the years. He eschews dip machines in favor of the real thing, strapping on a couple of 45-pound plates and going to work. “I know a lot of guys love close-grip bench presses, but dips have always done the trick for me,” he adds. “I don’t know why more bodybuilders don’t do them. A complaint I hear a lot about close-grip presses is that bodybuilders feel them more in their chests and front delts than they do the tri’s. With dips, as long as you keep your torso upright and don’t let your elbows drift too far out from your body, you shouldn’t have that problem at all. You should be able to blast almost pure triceps. It’s such a basic, bread-and-butter movement that I can’t imagine not doing it.”

Off-season Triceps Routine

Cable Pushdowns

4 x 8-12

Superset with Skull-crushers

4 x 8-12

Single-arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions

4 x 8-12 (each arm)

Superset with Weighted Dips

4 x 8-12

Pre-contest Triceps Routine

Rope Extensions

4 x 12-15

Superset with Weighted Dips

4 x 12-15

Dumbbell Kickbacks

4 x 12-15 (each arm)

Superset with Single-arm Overhead Dumbbells

4 x 8-12 (each arm)

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989, and maintains the popular website ronharrismuscle.com, most notable for its blog “The Daily Pump.” He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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