Hey, I'm a beginner looking for 2 or 3 tricep exercises for people who struggle to feel their tricep being targeted efficiently and/or effectively?
Here are the tricep exercises I've experimented with this week:
Close-Grip Incline Bench (done)
Close-Grip Flat Bench
Dips
Overhead Rope Extension
Single-Arm Overhead Cable Extension
Reverse-Grip Pushdown
Straight-Bar Pushdown
Rope Pushdown
Before this month, I always struggled with elbow pain whenever attempting tricep exercises. But 2 weeks ago, I discovered "elbow circles" warmup exercise which has thankfully fixed that. But now, every tricep exercise feels extremely awkward in one of two ways:
1. It feels impossible to find a tricep exercise with a weight heavy enough to figure out my "6-rep max" (i.e. a weight which I can barely do 6 reps but not 7 even if my life depended on it). The limiting factor is always discomfort rather than the limiting factor being tricep strength (while keeping great form). This is less of a problem if I opt for more reps at lower weight, but I strongly wish to continue the "grease the groove protocol" method which has worked wonders for me the past 3 months and allowed me to move up in strength relatively quickly.
2. Even when the exercise feels "okay-ish", I rarely get that feeling of my triceps clearly doing the work. It often feels like my shoulders, elbows, joints, or just general awkwardness are the main thing I'm noticing instead. Despite tons of effort & exertion, I tend to notice that exertion everywhere else but not the triceps.
For someone in my situation, are there 2 or 3 beginner-friendly tricep exercises that feel natural, stable, and easy to progressively overload? I strongly believe that if I choose 1 or 2 tricep exercises to focus on daily (at low weight, low volume, just mastering the movement), that eventually it will feel comfortable and I can eventually grind my way up to higher weights once I practice letting my triceps familiarize with the movement pattern. I just want to skip the guesswork and only pursue the 1-2 most promising candidates.
Lastly, if you were teaching someone how to learn to feel their triceps working on a particular triceps exercise, what cues or form tips would be most helpful or educational?
30-05-2026 16:33:18
I do these and feel it after the workout
- skullcrushers
- dips using a workout bench
- cable pulldown. I don't have a machine but I do have a power tower. I tie a resistance band to the pullup bar then grip the hanging bands of the loop one in each hand and pull them down. Find the grip height that you like that gives you good resistance. 3 sets of 15 really burns
- I also do diamond pushups, which work triceps
30-05-2026 16:49:51
Whatever exercise, SQUEEEEZE at the top. Really contract that muscle. You will feel it real good.
30-05-2026 20:05:54
My two favorites are the single arm overhead cable extension, and what a call a dumbbell hammer crusher. I do those on an incline of 45 degrees and use a neutral grip. The second being my preferred. I've found that easiest on my elbows and I can really feel my triceps doing the work.
30-05-2026 22:09:59
Have you got a cable setup? I high recommend Cable Tricep Kickbacks. Doesn't need a lot of weight to get a good pump going.
30-05-2026 23:38:05
[quote]Cable Tricep Kickbacks[/quote]
Thank you! I will try them tomorrow 💪
31-05-2026 00:10:20
I would suggest to continue experimenting with dips, especially with a more straight up posture which targets more triceps vs a leaning forward posture which targets more chest.
You can progressive overload forever by adding weight = weighted dips.
As a bonus, they are a great all-around upper body compound exercise.
31-05-2026 01:22:37
Third! This exercise rips my triceps apart. Just what OP is looking for.
31-05-2026 02:24:18
i went a long way with just dumbbells doing single arm extensions. you may also be limited by stuff like grip strength and your joints. 6 reps is great, but if you can’t challenge your target muscle you might look into more like a 12-20 reps range until you can round out those weaknesses.
here’s some that i do that aren’t on your list:
- single and dual arm dumbbell extensions
- skullcrushers, dumbbells and barbells, seated or lying (standing can be a waste of energy, by some accounts)
31-05-2026 02:59:42
You can use bands looped under your feet, to a bar overhead to also help get started. This can also help stabilise and make the movement easier.
I would say though, if you've had troubles with elbow pain in the past Dips are going to hit that pretty hard - also shoulders.
31-05-2026 05:33:01
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