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Exercises

Tricep exercises at home: from push-ups and dips to one dumbbell

Published October 19, 2026

The best tricep exercises at home are the close-grip push-up, the chair or bench dip, the pike push-up and, if you own one dumbbell or kettlebell, the overhead triceps extension. Push-ups and dips load all three heads near lockout; the overhead extension is the one that stretches the long head, the largest part of the triceps. Do 2 or 3 of them per session, 3 sets each, stopping 0 to 2 reps short of failure, twice a week.

  1. Close-Grip Push-Up Triceps, Chest
  2. Bench Dip Triceps
  3. Pike Push-Up Shoulders
  4. Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension Triceps
  5. Floor Triceps Dip Triceps
  6. Kettlebell Skullcrusher Triceps
  7. Triceps Kickback Triceps
  8. Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press Chest

Triceps exercises with no equipment

Push-ups with a narrow hand position and dips off the floor or a chair are the whole menu when you own nothing. Rank them by difficulty: incline, kneeling, then the full close-grip push-up; floor dips are lighter than chair dips. Pick the hardest one you can do for 8 to 20 reps with good form.

Triceps-biased push-up, no equipment

Close-Grip Push-Up

Triceps, Chest

Bringing your hands in under your shoulders makes the elbows bend further and stay close to your ribs, which hands much of the push-up to the triceps. It is the heaviest triceps exercise most people can do with nothing but a floor.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders, fingers forward, body in one line from heels to head.
  2. Bend your elbows straight back along your sides and lower until your chest is a fist's width from the floor.
  3. Press the floor away until your elbows are fully straight.
  4. Keep your hips level with your shoulders through the whole set.

Cues

  • Elbows brush your ribs
  • Chest to a fist from the floor
  • Lock out every rep

Common mistakes

  • Putting the hands so close that the thumbs touch: that strains the wrists without adding triceps work.
  • Letting the hips sag on the last reps: drop to your knees and finish the set there.

Swap for: Incline Push-Up, Kneeling Push-Up, Close-Grip Bench Press

Build a session with Close-Grip Push-Up

Close-grip push-up made lighter

Incline Push-Up

Chest

With your hands on a counter, a table edge or a sturdy chair, less of your weight is on your arms. Keep the close hand position and it becomes a triceps push-up you can take close to failure for clean sets of 10 to 20.

How to do it

  1. Put your hands shoulder-width or a little narrower on a stable surface at hip to waist height.
  2. Walk your feet back until your body is a straight slope.
  3. Lower your chest to the edge with your elbows tracking back, not out.
  4. Push back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • Higher hands, easier set
  • Elbows back
  • Body stays straight

Common mistakes

  • Using a chair that slides: brace it against a wall first.
  • Shortening the range as you tire: touch the edge or end the set.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Incline Push-Up

Floor push-up from the knees

Kneeling Push-Up

Chest

Kneeling cuts the load enough that a beginner can do a full range of motion on the floor. Keep your hands narrow and it trains the triceps the same way the full close-grip push-up will later.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a mat, place your hands under your shoulders and walk them forward until your hips, back and head form one line.
  2. Lower your chest toward the floor with your elbows tucked against your ribs.
  3. Push up until your arms are straight.
  4. Keep your hips forward over your knees, not pushed back.

Cues

  • Knees to head in one line
  • Elbows in
  • Straight arms at the top

Common mistakes

  • Piking the hips up and back: that turns it into a shoulder exercise.
  • Staying on the knees long after 20 easy reps: move to an incline or the full push-up.

Swap for: Incline Push-Up, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Kneeling Push-Up

Triceps dip with no furniture

Floor Triceps Dip

Triceps

Seated on the floor, hands planted behind you, you lift your hips by extending the elbows. The range is short and the load is light, which makes it a useful first triceps exercise or a high-rep finisher.

How to do it

  1. Sit down on the floor, knees bent and feet flat, and your hands behind your hips, fingers pointing toward your body.
  2. Press down into your palms and raise your hips a few inches off the floor.
  3. Bend your elbows to lower your hips back toward the floor without sitting down.
  4. Straighten your arms to lift again, and repeat.

Cues

  • Fingers toward your hips
  • Hips hover between reps
  • Straighten fully

Common mistakes

  • Driving with the legs: keep your feet light so your arms lift you.
  • Flaring the elbows wide: point them straight back.

Swap for: Bench Dip, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Floor Triceps Dip

Dip from a chair or bench edge

Bench Dip

Triceps

Hands on a chair seat or bench and legs out in front, you lower and lift your body with the triceps. Straight legs make it harder; bent knees make it easier. Go only as deep as your shoulders tolerate.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair or bench with your hands beside your hips, fingers over the edge.
  2. Slide forward off the seat and walk your feet out until your legs are straight or slightly bent.
  3. Bend your elbows to lower your hips until your upper arms are about level with the floor.
  4. Press back up until your elbows are straight.

Cues

  • Back close to the seat
  • Upper arms to level
  • Push through the palms

Common mistakes

  • Sinking until the shoulders roll forward: stop at upper arms level.
  • Using a chair on a slippery floor: put it against a wall.

Swap for: Floor Triceps Dip, Machine Triceps Dip

Build a session with Bench Dip

A bodyweight press that works overhead

Raising your hips turns a push-up into a press above your head, which lets you train the lockout overhead without a weight.

Overhead press with bodyweight

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

With your hips high, you press your body upward at an angle that resembles an overhead press, so the triceps works to lock your elbows out above your head along with the shoulders. It fills the gap left by having no heavy weight to press overhead.

How to do it

  1. Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet in and raise your hips until your body forms an upside-down V.
  2. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a spot a little in front of your hands.
  3. Press back up until your arms are straight and your hips are high again.
  4. Keep your elbows angled slightly forward rather than flared out.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Head forward of the hands
  • Full lockout

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the hips into a regular push-up as the set gets hard: keep the V shape.
  • Lowering only a few inches: go until your head nearly touches the floor, or raise your hands on books to get more depth.

Swap for: Handstand Push-Up, Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Build a session with Pike Push-Up

Triceps exercises with one dumbbell or kettlebell

A single weight opens up the extensions that bodyweight cannot copy: overhead work that stretches the long head, lying extensions for all three heads, and kickbacks for the lockout. Most people need only a light to moderate weight for these.

Long head, one dumbbell, stretched

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Triceps

Holding a single dumbbell behind your head puts the long head of the triceps in a deep stretch, which no push-up or dip does. If you own one dumbbell, this is the first exercise to do with it.

How to do it

  1. Sit on a chair or the edge of a bench, back tall, and hold one dumbbell overhead with both hands cupping the top plate.
  2. Keeping your upper arms near your ears, bend your elbows to lower the weight behind your head.
  3. Go until you feel a strong stretch at the back of the arms.
  4. Extend your elbows to raise it back overhead.

Cues

  • Elbows point forward
  • Deep stretch at the bottom
  • Ribs down

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows flare wide: aim them at the wall in front of you.
  • Arching the lower back to finish reps: brace your stomach or go lighter.

Swap for: Kettlebell Overhead Triceps Extension, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

Build a session with Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Long head, kettlebell, standing

Kettlebell Overhead Triceps Extension

Triceps

A kettlebell held by the horns works like the single-dumbbell version standing up. Use it if a kettlebell is what you have at home.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, feet about hip-width, and hold a kettlebell upside down or by the horns above your head, arms straight.
  2. Bend your elbows to lower the bell behind your head, upper arms staying close to your head.
  3. Pause in the stretch, then straighten your arms to raise it.
  4. Keep your ribs and hips stacked so your back does not arch.

Cues

  • Squeeze your glutes
  • Elbows stay narrow
  • Slow lowering

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to get the bell up: brace or sit down.
  • Lowering only to the top of your head: get the bell behind your neck.

Swap for: Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Build a session with Kettlebell Overhead Triceps Extension

Triceps extension lying on the floor

Kettlebell Skullcrusher

Triceps

Lying on the floor and lowering a kettlebell toward your forehead trains all three heads of the triceps without a bench. The floor also limits how deep you go, which keeps the elbows comfortable.

How to do it

  1. Lie back on the floor, knees bent, and hold a kettlebell by the horns above your chest, arms straight.
  2. Tilt your arms slightly back toward your head.
  3. Bend only at the elbows to lower the bell toward your forehead.
  4. Straighten your elbows to bring it back up over your face.

Cues

  • Upper arms stay still
  • Bell toward the forehead
  • Arms angled back a little

Common mistakes

  • Turning it into a pullover by moving the shoulders: only the elbows bend.
  • Dropping fast near your face: lower for two seconds.

Swap for: Dumbbell Skullcrusher, Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Build a session with Kettlebell Skullcrusher

Triceps, fully shortened

Triceps Kickback

Triceps

Leaning forward and straightening your arm behind you makes the triceps work hardest at full lockout. It needs only a light dumbbell and something to lean on, like a chair seat.

How to do it

  1. Lean forward with one hand and knee on a bench or one hand on a chair seat, back flat.
  2. Raise the working upper arm so it sits along your side, elbow bent at about 90 degrees.
  3. Straighten your elbow until your forearm points back, then squeeze for a second.
  4. Bend the elbow back to 90 degrees and repeat; finish one arm before the other.

Cues

  • Upper arm level with the floor
  • Squeeze at lockout
  • Only the forearm moves

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the dumbbell up: start lighter than you think.
  • Letting the elbow drop toward the floor as you tire: keep the upper arm level.

Swap for: Cable Triceps Kickback, Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Build a session with Triceps Kickback

Floor presses for heavy triceps work

When push-ups get easy, a dumbbell floor press is the way to keep adding load at home. The floor replaces the bench and stops each rep where the elbow is safe.

Heavy close press with one dumbbell

Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press

Chest

Pressing one dumbbell from the floor with your elbow tucked lets the triceps handle more weight than any extension, and the floor stops the elbow at a safe depth. One dumbbell is enough because you work one side at a time.

How to do it

  1. Lie back on the floor, knees bent, and hold one dumbbell over your chest, palm facing in.
  2. Lower it until the back of your upper arm rests on the floor, elbow tucked in.
  3. Pause for a beat on the floor, then press straight up to a locked arm.
  4. Do all reps on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Elbow tucked
  • Pause on the floor
  • Lock out

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the elbow off the floor: let it settle first.
  • Flaring the elbow out to the side: keep it within about 30 degrees of your torso.

Swap for: Dumbbell Floor Press, Close-Grip Bench Press

Build a session with Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press

Two-dumbbell floor press, palms in

Dumbbell Floor Press

Chest, Triceps

With a matching pair, the floor press lets both arms press at once with a neutral grip, which keeps the elbows in and the triceps loaded. It is the strength builder for a home with a pair of dumbbells and no bench.

How to do it

  1. Lie back on the floor, knees bent, a dumbbell in each hand over your chest, palms facing each other.
  2. Lower both until your upper arms touch the floor.
  3. Pause, then press both dumbbells up until your arms are straight.
  4. Keep your wrists stacked over your elbows.

Cues

  • Palms face each other
  • Upper arms touch down
  • Press straight up

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the reps: the pause takes away the bounce, which is the point.
  • Pressing the dumbbells together hard: keep them a few inches apart.

Swap for: Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press, Close-Grip Bench Press

Build a session with Dumbbell Floor Press

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Nothing but the floor and a chair

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentFlat Bench

You train in your living room or a hotel room and own no weights.

Without weights, load comes from leverage, so each session has one push-up you can do for 8 to 15 reps, the pike push-up for overhead work, and a dip for the end. The push-ups stop 1 to 2 reps short of failure because form breaks quickly when they are the hardest lift you have; dips go to 0 to 1 since they are the last exercise and a missed rep is safe. Nine sets a session, twice a week, is enough for triceps that are not also doing heavy bench pressing.

Bodyweight A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Close-Grip Push-UpElbows to ribs. Knees down if form breaks. 3 × 6–15 2 90 s
Pike Push-UpHips high. 3 × 6–12 2 90 s
Bench DipChair against a wall. 3 × 8–20 1 1 min

Open Bodyweight A in the session builder

Bodyweight B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Push-UpNarrow hands on a counter. 3 × 10–20 1 75 s
Kneeling Push-UpElbows in. 2 × 10–20 1 1 min
Floor Triceps DipHips hover. 3 × 12–25 0 1 min

Open Bodyweight B in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate Bodyweight A and Bodyweight B with at least a day between them. If close-grip push-ups are too hard for 8 reps, use the incline push-up in their place until they are not.
How to progress
Add reps until you reach the top of every range at the target RIR. Then make the movement harder: lower your hands for incline push-ups, straighten your legs on dips, raise your feet on pike push-ups.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

One dumbbell or kettlebell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Kettlebells

You have a single dumbbell or kettlebell, a chair and some floor space, and about 25 minutes.

One weight covers what push-ups miss: the overhead extension stretches the long head, the single-arm floor press adds heavy load one side at a time, and the kickback trains the fully shortened end. Close-grip push-ups stay in as the first exercise because they are still the heaviest movement you have. Presses and push-ups stop at 1 to 2 RIR; the extensions go to 0 to 1, since one weight that never changes needs hard sets to be enough. About 10 sets a session.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press1 warm-up set firstPer arm. Pause on the floor. 3 × 8–15 1 90 s
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps ExtensionDeep stretch. 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Triceps KickbackPer arm. 1 s squeeze. 3 × 12–20 0 1 min

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Close-Grip Push-UpElbows to ribs. 3 × 6–15 1 90 s
Kettlebell SkullcrusherOn the floor. Bell to forehead. 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension3 s down. 2 × 12–20 0 1 min

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Session A and Session B on different days. If your weight is a kettlebell, use the kettlebell overhead extension and kettlebell skullcrusher where the plan lists the dumbbell overhead extension.
How to progress
When every set hits the top of its range at the target RIR, slow the lowering to three seconds. When that tops out too, do the single-arm moves with a pause at the hardest point, or get the next weight up.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

A pair of dumbbells, triceps after upper-body work

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You already do push-ups or presses at home for chest and shoulders and want a short triceps block to finish those days.

Chest and shoulder pressing already trains the triceps, so this plan adds a heavier pressing lift and one extension rather than a full session. The two-dumbbell floor press loads the triceps more than push-ups can, and the overhead extension covers the long head that presses barely stretch. The floor press stops at 1 RIR so the elbows stay fresh; the extension goes to 0. With pressing counted at half, it gives about 10 triceps sets per session.

Triceps Finisher
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Floor Press1 warm-up set firstPalms in. Pause on the floor. 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps ExtensionBoth hands on one dumbbell. 3 × 10–15 0 75 s
How to run it
Add it to the end of two upper-body days a week. Run the two blocks back to back as a superset if time is tight, resting after the pair.
How to progress
Add weight to the floor press once all sets reach 12 reps at 1 RIR. Add reps to the extension first and weight second.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercises build triceps at home?

Close-grip push-ups, chair or bench dips and pike push-ups build the triceps with no equipment. With one dumbbell or kettlebell, add an overhead extension and a floor press. Choose versions you can do for 6 to 20 reps and take them close to failure.

Can you build triceps without weights?

Yes, as long as the exercises stay hard. A close-grip push-up you can do for 10 reps is as useful as a weighted press for 10. When you pass 20 to 25 reps, switch to a harder version rather than doing more reps.

Can I train triceps every day?

You can, but you do not need to. Two or three sessions a week with sets close to failure builds the triceps well, and the days in between let the elbows recover. Light push-ups on other days are fine if they stay well short of failure.

What is the best exercise for the long head of the triceps?

An overhead extension, because raising your arm above your head stretches the long head before every rep. At home, use one dumbbell held in both hands, or a kettlebell by the horns.

How do I build my triceps and biceps at home?

Pair a triceps exercise with a biceps exercise and alternate them: close-grip push-ups with chin-ups or doorway curls, overhead extensions with dumbbell curls. Do 3 sets of each twice a week. The arm exercises at home page has full plans for both.

Do push-ups work the triceps?

Yes. All push-ups use the triceps to straighten your elbows, and bringing your hands in closer shifts more of the work from the chest to the triceps.