Elevate your tricep workout game with these long head tricep exercises at the gym. The long head, one of the three tricep muscle heads, spans across both the elbow and shoulder joints, making it crucial for overhead motions. By targeting this area, you can improve your arm strength, shoulder stability, and overall push-related performance.
Dedicating a portion of your workout to long head tricep exercises is essential for comprehensive muscle development and balanced strength. Here, we'll highlight the best long head tricep gym exercises, their benefits, and proper execution techniques.
Overhead Extension Variations
The overhead extension is the primary movement for targeting the long head. Here, we'll discuss two of its most effective forms.
Remember, keep your shoulders engaged and avoid excessive forward motion to maintain shoulder health and active tension throughout the movement.
Adjustable dumbbell overhead extension
To perform, hold a heavy dumbbell with both hands, arms extended overhead. Bend your elbows while keeping them close to your ears, lowering the weight behind your head. Pause briefly, then contract your triceps to lift the dumbbell back up.
For added intensity, use a heavier dumbbell, or perform this exercise while sitting on a stable bench, ensuring your core and lower body stay engaged.
Crossbody cable extension
Using a cable machine, attach a rope attachment at the highest setting. Grab the rope with both hands, step back, and maintain tension on the cable. Keeping your elbows close to your ears, extend your arms out to the side and down, squeezing your triceps at the top of the movement. Return to the starting position slowly.
This exercise encourages a wider range of motion and constant tension due to cable resistance. It's perfect for targeting both the long and lateral head of the triceps.
Adjunct Exercises for Comprehensive Development
While long head tricep exercises form the foundation of your workout, incorporating adjunct exercises can help develop overall tricep strength and balanced arm development.
Explore the following two exercises to complement your long head tricep workouts.
Close-grip Bench Press
By using a narrower grip on the barbell, you emphasize tricep engagement during this classic chest exercise. Set up like a traditional bench press, using a medium-width grip (just inside shoulder width). Perform the movement, ensuring your elbows remain tucked close to your body.
This exercise also develops upper chest strength, symmetry, and overall upper body power.
Push-down variations
Utilize various push-down grips to target different tricep heads. The wide-grip version emphasizes the long head, while a narrow or V-grip focus shifts more towards the lateral and medial heads.
Perform these exercises using a straight bar, V-bar, or rope attachments for varied stress and muscle engagement.
Incorporating these long head tricep exercises into your gym routine will not only foster stronger, more defined arms but also enhance your overall posture, shoulder health, and upper body performance. So, grab those dumbbells, get on that cable machine, and pump up those triceps!