Boost Your Arm Strength with These Barbell Tricep Exercises

Why barbell tricep exercises matter

If you want bigger, stronger arms and more powerful presses, barbell tricep exercises should be a core part of your routine. Your triceps make up most of your upper arm size, and they are heavily involved in bench presses, overhead presses, and everyday pushing motions.

By focusing on smart, well executed barbell tricep exercises, you can

• add size to your arms
• improve your bench lockout and overhead strength
• support healthier, more stable shoulders and elbows

Below, you will learn how each key barbell move works, how to do it with solid form, and how to put everything together into a simple tricep workout.

Understand your triceps first

Before you load the bar, it helps to know what you are training.

Your triceps brachii has three heads:

• Long head
• Lateral head
• Medial head

All three straighten your arm at the elbow, but their involvement shifts slightly depending on your arm position and grip. Barbell movements let you use heavier weights, which can promote more muscle and strength when your form is on point as of December 2021. Many close grip pressing variations also give your chest and shoulders extra work, so you get more total upper body benefit from each set.

Use close grip bench press

The barbell close grip bench press is one of the most effective barbell tricep exercises you can do. It shifts emphasis away from your chest and onto your triceps while still letting you handle heavy loads safely.

What it does

• Primarily targets the triceps brachii on the back of your upper arm
• Uses your chest and shoulders as supportive movers
• Helps build lockout strength in your regular bench press
• Is easier on your shoulders compared with a wider grip, when you use good form

According to guidance from ATHLEAN X, the close grip bench press is a powerful tricep exercise for building strength and size because it allows you to press more weight than most isolation moves while still keeping the focus on your triceps.

How to set your grip

Hand positioning is critical. Too wide and the move becomes a regular bench press. Too narrow and your wrists take unnecessary stress.

• Place your hands about shoulder width apart or slightly narrower
• Avoid a very narrow grip that forces your hands almost touching
• Keep wrists straight and stacked under your knuckles, not bent back

Grip width also affects which part of the triceps you emphasize:

• About 5 to 6 inches apart with elbows in targets more of the inner head of the triceps
• About 8 to 10 inches apart with elbows slightly out lets you use heavier weight and can hit more of the outer head

Step by step form

1. Lie on a flat bench with your eyes under the bar.
2. Plant your feet flat on the floor and lightly engage your glutes and core.
3. Grip the bar with your chosen close width and unrack it, holding the bar above your mid chest.
4. Pull your shoulder blades together to stabilize your shoulders.
5. Keep your elbows close to your body, not flaring straight out.
6. Lower the bar under control toward your lower chest or upper stomach.
7. Pause briefly, then press the bar back up by straightening your elbows and contracting your triceps.
8. Stop just short of locking your elbows to reduce joint stress.

Reps, sets, and tips

• For strength and size, perform 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps with a challenging but controlled weight.
• Warm up with lighter sets before your working sets.
• If you feel elbow or shoulder pain, check that your grip is not too narrow and that you are not flaring your elbows.

The barbell version typically allows you to lift more than dumbbells, which can lead to greater strength and mass development in your triceps and chest when you progress gradually, as noted by ATHLEAN X.

Add skull crushers for isolation

The skull crusher is a classic barbell tricep exercise that isolates the triceps by focusing almost entirely on elbow extension. Using an EZ bar often feels more natural than a straight bar and can make form easier to control.

Why skull crushers work

• Strong emphasis on the long head and lateral head of the triceps
• Excellent for building balanced arm muscle and lockout strength
• Complements compound pressing moves by directly targeting elbow extension

Men’s Health Fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., calls barbell skull crushers, especially with an EZ bar, a highly effective tricep exercise because they isolate the triceps and reinforce strong elbow extension patterns.

Basic EZ bar skull crusher form

1. Lie on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor and your core gently braced.
2. Hold an EZ bar with a narrow, comfortable grip and extend your arms so the bar is above your shoulders.
3. Set your upper arms so they are at least perpendicular to your torso.
4. Keeping your elbows fixed in place, bend only at the elbows to lower the bar.
5. Aim the bar toward your forehead, around the area just above your nose.
6. Stop just before the bar touches your forehead.
7. Press the bar back up by straightening your elbows until your arms return to the starting position.

Key form cues

• Only your forearms move, your upper arms stay still.
• Keep your elbows shoulder width apart, not flared wide and not pressed together.
• Maintain a sturdy body position with your feet flat, glutes lightly engaged, and core active to avoid arching your back.
• Do not let your upper arms drift back or forward because that can shift work away from the triceps and into the lats or shoulders.

Behind the head variation

You can also angle your arms slightly toward your head and lower the bar behind your head instead of to your forehead. In this variation:

• Your upper arms tilt back a bit toward the top of the bench.
• You bend at the elbows and lower the bar behind your head.
• This can create an intense stretch in the long head of the triceps.
• Some lifters find this position more comfortable on the elbows.

Both variations target the triceps effectively, so choose the one that feels better and lets you maintain clean control.

Programming guidelines

• Start with 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps once or twice a week.
• As you get stronger, gradually increase the weight and lower the reps to 6 to 8 while keeping your form tight.
• If your elbows feel irritated, experiment with the behind the head version or slightly lighter loads.

Try JM press for advanced tricep overload

The JM press blends a close grip bench press with a skull crusher. It is a niche move, but if you already lift with good form, it can be a powerful way to overload your triceps.

What makes the JM press different

• Uses a shorter range of motion than a full bench press
• Keeps most of the tension on the triceps rather than the chest
• Allows heavier loads than a strict skull crusher
• Trains both pressing strength and isolation in one motion

How to perform the JM press

1. Set up as you would for a close grip bench press with a shoulder width grip.
2. Unrack the bar and hold it above your upper chest with elbows tucked.
3. Begin lowering the bar by bending your elbows and letting the bar drift slightly toward your throat.
4. Think of combining a small bar path shift toward your head with an elbow bend similar to a skull crusher.
5. When your forearms are slightly past vertical and your elbows are bent deeply, press the bar back up.
6. Focus on driving the weight up by forcefully extending your elbows, not by bouncing off your chest.

Reps and difficulty

• Best done in lower rep ranges, around 4 to 8 reps per set.
• Consider 3 to 4 working sets.
• This is a challenging movement with no simpler progression, so it is better for intermediate to advanced lifters who already control their bar path well.

If you are newer to strength training, focus on close grip bench presses and skull crushers first, then experiment with JM presses later.

Use floor press for safer heavy triceps work

The floor press looks like a bench press performed on the floor. It shortens the range of motion, which is helpful if your shoulders are sensitive, and it emphasizes the top half of the press where triceps take over.

Benefits of the floor press

• Reduces shoulder strain by limiting depth
• Targets triceps lockout strength from a dead stop
• Works well with a close grip to further load your triceps
• Encourages strict control because your upper arms pause on the floor

How to do a floor press

1. Lie on your back on the floor with a barbell set on low safeties or handed off by a spotter.
2. Bend your knees with feet flat on the floor, or keep your legs straight if you prefer.
3. Grip the bar with a close or shoulder width grip.
4. Unrack the bar and hold it above your mid chest.
5. Lower the bar until your upper arms gently touch the floor.
6. Pause briefly, then press the bar back up by driving through your triceps.

Recommended rep ranges

• For strength focused work, perform 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps.
• Use a weight that forces you to stay tight and controlled off the floor.

Because the bar starts and stops on the floor, this variation is especially useful for improving your lockout and overall pressing power.

Consider other barbell tricep options

Several other barbell based moves can also contribute to bigger, stronger triceps. As of December 2021, six standout barbell tricep exercises for mass and strength include:

• Barbell close grip bench press
• Floor press
• Single arm landmine press
• JM press
• Skull crusher
• Board press

The single arm landmine press and board press both provide useful ways to challenge your triceps, especially if you want more stability work or partial range overload. You can cycle these in once you are comfortable with the main movements.

Compare key barbell tricep exercises

Here is a quick side by side look at how these main barbell tricep exercises differ.

Put it together into a simple tricep workout

If you want a straightforward barbell focused tricep workout, start with one heavier compound exercise and follow it with more targeted isolation.

Here is a sample routine to use once or twice a week:

1. Close grip bench press

• 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps

1. Floor press or JM press

• 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps

1. EZ bar skull crushers

• 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps

Guidelines to keep in mind:

• Rest 1.5 to 2 minutes between heavier sets, and about 1 minute between lighter ones.
• Focus on quality reps, not rushing.
• Progress gradually by adding small amounts of weight or extra reps from week to week.

Protect your joints while you train

Stronger triceps help with shoulder health, elbow stability, and overall athletic performance in sports that rely on powerful elbow extension like football, baseball, and basketball. To keep gaining without setbacks, pay attention to these safeguards:

• Keep your elbows close but not jammed in, and avoid aggressive flaring.
• Use a grip that feels natural on your wrists, not forced too narrow.
• Maintain full but controlled range of motion unless pain tells you to stop earlier.
• Do not chase heavy weight at the cost of your form.

Skull crushers in particular demand careful technique. Since the bar moves close to your face, always use a manageable weight and a spotter or safety bars when possible.

When to add dumbbells instead

Although this guide focuses on barbell tricep exercises, it is worth knowing when dumbbells might help. Many lifters enjoy dumbbell skull crushers or overhead tricep extensions because they sometimes feel more natural on the elbows and allow independent arm paths.

Some people also report that dumbbell overhead tricep extensions give them a better long head stretch and even more intense tricep feeling than cables. Others find that back support while doing dumbbell overhead extensions makes the movement feel stronger and more stable compared with cable versions. On the other hand, cables theoretically provide constant tension and let you pull apart at the top, so the right option for you will be the one that feels best and that you can perform consistently with solid form.

If you do not have access to an EZ bar for skull crushers, you can also replicate the movement with dumbbells by using roughly half the usual bar weight and focusing on the same elbow driven motion.

Bringing it all together

If your goal is to boost arm size and pressing strength, barbell tricep exercises deserve a regular place in your program. By prioritizing:

• Close grip bench presses for heavy mass and strength work
• Skull crushers for targeted tricep isolation
• Floor presses and JM presses for extra lockout power

you can build stronger, more defined triceps that carry over to every upper body lift you do. Start with one or two of these movements, focus on consistent form, and progress your weights gradually. Over time, you will feel the difference every time you press a bar off your chest or overhead.

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