Overhead triceps extension

Why it's here

With the arm raised overhead, the long head of the triceps — the part that also crosses the shoulder — is stretched further while it works. In a twelve-week MRI trial, each person trained one arm overhead and the other with the arm at the side; the overhead arm's triceps grew about 20% against 14%, even though it lifted lighter weights ^[1].

The evidence

• Training study Twenty-one young adults (14 men, 7 women) with no structured resistance training in the previous year trained one arm overhead and the other at the side, on a cable machine, twice a week for twelve weeks, five sets of ten. Triceps volume rose about 20% overhead against 14% at the side; the long head about 29% against 20%, and the other two heads about 15% against 11%. Strength rose by similar proportions in both arms, although the overhead arm always used less weight ^[1].

How to do it

1. Face away from a cable stack with the pulley set low, and hold the handle behind your head with your upper arm pointing straight up — the shoulder position the trial above held throughout ^[1].
2. Keeping your upper arm still, straighten your elbow until your arm is fully extended overhead.
3. Lower the handle back behind your head until your elbow is bent to about 90°. The trial used about two seconds each way ^[1].

Stop an exercise that causes significant or unusual pain and have it assessed. This page describes the movement; it is not rehabilitation advice.

Making it harder over time

This is a isolation exercise in the Progressive Overload Calculator, which adds weight in steps of 2%–5% once every set reaches the top of your rep range, and adds reps until then.

Alternatives

• Triceps pushdown — Straightens the elbow with the arm at your side. It grew the triceps by about 14% in twelve weeks, though the overhead version grew them more.