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Exercises

Triceps warm up: get your elbows ready for pressing

Published October 24, 2026

Do 2 minutes of jumping jacks, 10 arm circles each way, 15 band pull-aparts, 10 push-up plus and 8 to 10 close-grip push-ups or bench dips, then 2 to 3 ramp-up sets of your first triceps exercise. Seven minutes, and the elbows have locked out under light load before the heavy sets.

  1. Jumping Jack Calves, Quads
  2. Arm Circles Shoulders
  3. Push-Up Plus Chest
  4. Close-Grip Push-Up Triceps, Chest
  5. Bench Dip Triceps
  6. Cable Triceps Pressdown Triceps

Raise: 2 minutes

Jacks or the air bike: both move the arms while they raise your heart rate.

Raise: quick cardio, no equipment

Jumping Jack

Calves, Quads

The arm sweep overhead is the first thing your shoulders feel today.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with feet together and arms at your sides.
  2. Hop your feet wide as your arms sweep overhead.
  3. Hop back to the start as the arms come down, staying light on the balls of your feet.

Cues

  • Quiet landings
  • Full arm sweep

Common mistakes

  • Landing flat-footed and heavy: stay springy and soft.

Swap for: High Knees, Jump Rope, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Jumping Jack

Raise: easy cardio for arms and legs

Air Bike

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes

The handles push and pull, so the triceps work from minute one.

How to do it

  1. Sit with the seat at hip height and grip both handles.
  2. Work the handles while you pedal, letting the arms share the work.
  3. Hold a steady, easy pace and finish with 20 seconds a little faster.

Cues

  • Push and pull evenly
  • Smooth, not sprinting

Common mistakes

  • Turning it into an interval: keep the effort easy until the last few seconds.

Swap for: Rowing Machine, Stationary Bike, Jumping Jack

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Shoulders: 1 minute

Overhead extensions and dips put the shoulder at the end of its range, so circle it first and pull the shoulder blades back.

Mobility: shoulders through every direction

Arm Circles

Shoulders

They move the shoulder before overhead triceps work stretches it.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height.
  2. Draw small circles forward, growing them bigger every few reps.
  3. Reverse direction and repeat, finishing with a few full-size circles.

Cues

  • Small to big
  • Ribs down

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging the shoulders into your ears: keep them low and relaxed.

Swap for: Band Pull-Apart, Walkout, Plank IYTW

Build a session with Arm Circles

Activation: upper back and rear delts

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

Pulling the shoulder blades back balances all the pressing to come.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms, hands shoulder width apart.
  2. Pull the band apart until it touches your chest, pinching the shoulder blades.
  3. Return slowly until the arms are back in front.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades meet
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to make it easier: use a lighter band and keep the arms long.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Band Rear Delt Fly, Band Scapular Retraction

Build a session with Band Pull-Apart

Bodyweight lockouts: 2 minutes

Push-up variations and bench dips warm the triceps through a full lockout at bodyweight. Stop each set with 4 or more reps left.

Activation: serratus and shoulder blades

Push-Up Plus

Chest

The extra push at the top wakes the muscles that hold the shoulder blade during presses and dips.

How to do it

  1. Start in a push-up position with your hands under your shoulders.
  2. Do a push-up, and at the top push the floor away a bit more so your upper back rounds slightly.
  3. Lower and repeat.

Cues

  • Push the floor away at the top
  • Body in one line

Common mistakes

  • Sagging hips: brace like a plank.

Swap for: Push-Up, Kneeling Push-Up, Plank to Push-Up

Build a session with Push-Up Plus

Activation: triceps at bodyweight

Close-Grip Push-Up

Triceps, Chest

A narrow push-up is a light triceps set with a full lockout.

How to do it

  1. Place your hands under your shoulders, a little narrower than a normal push-up.
  2. Lower with your elbows brushing your sides.
  3. Press up until your arms lock out.

Cues

  • Elbows brush your ribs
  • Lock out every rep

Common mistakes

  • Hands so close the wrists hurt: shoulder width is narrow enough.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Bench Dip, Push-Up

Build a session with Close-Grip Push-Up

Activation: triceps at bodyweight

Bench Dip

Triceps

At bodyweight it moves the elbow through a deep bend; keep it shallow if the shoulder complains.

How to do it

  1. Sit on a bench edge, hands beside your hips, and slide your hips off with legs out.
  2. Bend your elbows to lower your hips until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
  3. Press through your palms back to straight arms.

Cues

  • Hips close to the bench
  • Shoulders down

Common mistakes

  • Dropping too deep and rolling the shoulders forward: stop at parallel.

Swap for: Floor Triceps Dip, Close-Grip Push-Up, Machine Triceps Dip

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Ramp the first triceps lift

Light sets of your first exercise, climbing to working weight.

Main lift or ramp: cable pushdown

Cable Triceps Pressdown

Triceps

The easiest triceps exercise to ramp: move the pin two plates at a time.

How to do it

  1. Attach a bar or rope to a high pulley and grip it with your elbows at your sides.
  2. Push down until your elbows are straight.
  3. Let the handle rise until your forearms are just past parallel, then push again.

Cues

  • Elbows stay pinned
  • Lock out at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows rise and flare: keep them glued to your sides.

Swap for: Cable Cross Pushdown, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Cable Triceps Pressdown

Main lift: triceps from a long stretch

Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

Triceps

It stretches the long head, so its first set should be light even late in a session.

How to do it

  1. Face away from a cable set low, holding a rope behind your head with your elbows pointing forward.
  2. Straighten your arms overhead and forward.
  3. Bend the elbows to let the rope travel back behind your head.

Cues

  • Elbows point forward
  • Deep stretch, full lockout

Common mistakes

  • Elbows splaying wide: keep them close to your head.

Swap for: Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension, Cable Triceps Pressdown, Plate Overhead Triceps Extension

Build a session with Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

Main lift: lying triceps extension

EZ-Bar Skullcrusher

Triceps

Heavy skullcrushers load the elbow most, so they get three ramp-up sets.

How to do it

  1. Lie on a bench holding an EZ bar above your chest, arms straight.
  2. Bend the elbows to lower the bar toward your forehead or just behind it.
  3. Straighten your arms to bring it back over your shoulders.

Cues

  • Upper arms still
  • Lower slow

Common mistakes

  • Turning it into a press: keep the elbows pointed at the ceiling.

Swap for: Dumbbell Skullcrusher, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension, Close-Grip Bench Press

Build a session with EZ-Bar Skullcrusher

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

Cable pushdown first

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentResistance Bands, Adjustable Cable

Your triceps day starts on the cable stack.

Bodyweight lockouts and two pushdown ramp sets are enough because the cable is easy on the elbows.

Triceps
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Push-Up Plus 1 × 10 4 30 s
Cable Triceps Pressdown2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Overhead Cable Triceps Extension1 warm-up set first 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up, then pushdowns and overhead extensions.
How to progress
Add a plate when the last set ends above 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Skullcrushers first

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets10 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentAir Bike, Flat Bench, EZ Bar, Adjustable Cable

You start with heavy skullcrushers.

Lying extensions load the elbow at a deep bend, so this version adds bench dips and gives the skullcrusher three ramp sets.

Triceps heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Air BikeSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Close-Grip Push-Up 1 × 8–10 4 30 s
Bench Dip 1 × 10 4 30 s
EZ-Bar Skullcrusher3 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Cable Triceps Pressdown 2 × 12–15 2 1 min
How to run it
Warm up, then the skullcrusher and pushdown.
How to progress
Progress skullcrushers in small jumps.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

No gym: push-ups and dips

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentFlat Bench

You train triceps at home.

Without a cable stack the bodyweight moves are both the warm-up and the start of the session; the warm-up sets stay easy and the working sets go close to failure.

Home triceps
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Push-Up Plus 1 × 10 4 30 s
Close-Grip Push-Up1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–20 1 1 min
Bench Dip 3 × 10–20 1 1 min
How to run it
Warm up, then take close-grip push-ups and dips to 1 to 2 reps in reserve.
How to progress
Add reps, then slow the lowering.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is a good triceps warm up?

Two minutes of jacks, arm circles, band pull-aparts, push-up plus and close-grip push-ups, then light sets of your first triceps exercise.

What is a good dynamic warm-up for arms?

Arm circles, walkouts and push-up variations at an easy pace, followed by light sets of the first lift.

How many warm-up sets before pushdowns?

Two is plenty. Heavy skullcrushers or close-grip presses get three.

Should I stretch my triceps before training?

Keep long holds for after. Before training, move the shoulder and elbow through their range.

Do I need to warm up triceps after chest?

Usually not beyond one light set; pressing already warmed them.