;)
If you are looking for an effective calisthenics triceps workout, you've come to the right place.
To get big triceps with calisthenics, you need to be doing just a few true and tested exercises in the proper repetition ranges, and progress with them indefinitely.
Keep reading if you want to learn:
And more.
Let's get started.
Calisthenics triceps workout
Let's look at a few bodyweight triceps workouts, which we will be splitting in three levels - beginner, intermediate, and advanced. These will be fairly short because your triceps get a good workout during your chest and shoulder days too.
In the next part of the article you will learn how to do the exercises and how to make them more difficult.
Regardless of which level you are starting at, we recommend you master it before continuing.
Beginner bodyweight triceps workout
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Floor triceps extension | 3 | 8 - 10 | 1 |
Diamond push-up | 3 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Bench triceps dip | 3 | 8 - 10 | 1 |
With the first level you will only be doing three sets.
Once you reach 3 sets of 10 clean repetitions, 15 repetitions for the diamond push-ups respectively, you can progress to the next level.
The exercises will not be changing much throughout the levels. However, the volume (total work) and intensity will change in the subsequent strength levels.
Intermediate bodyweight triceps workout
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Bar triceps extension | 3 - 4 | 8 - 10 | 1 |
Elevated diamond push-up | 3 - 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Bench triceps dip | 3 - 4 | 8 - 10 | 1 |
Once you reach this level, you should increase the intensity of the exercises.
Check the below to learn how to do each exercise and how to make it more challenging by increasing its intensity.
Advanced bodyweight triceps workout
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Bar triceps extension | 3 - 4 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Elevated diamond push-up | 3 - 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Ring triceps dip | 3 - 4 | 10 - 15 | 1 |
Ring support | 2 - 3 | Max hold | 1 |
As you can see, two of these exercises should be done on rings.
While this is not a hard rule, we recommend you to check our article on the best calisthenics equipment and get a pair of rings if you don't have one. Rings will make your workouts more challenging.
However, if you don't have rings and don't want to get a pair, these exercises can be done on parallel bars and a bench or a box respectively.
How to do the calisthenics triceps exercises
When it comes to a calisthenics triceps workout, you don't need many exercises.
Having a few very simple and effective exercises that you progress with will take you a longer way than having a wide variety of exercises that you don't stick to.
In the following lines, we will teach you how to do the exercises in the workout and how to increase their intensity. Press on a particular exercise if you want to jump to it:
Floor triceps extension
The floor triceps extension is a great exercise to include in a calisthenics triceps workout, whether it is for beginner or advanced athletes.
Aside from the triceps, this exercise will also target the shoulder and abdominal muscles - albeit to a lesser degree. Being done in a plank position, your core will have to work to stabilize your body throughout the range of motion of the exercise.
To correctly do floor triceps extensions:
To make floor triceps extensions more difficult:
Diamond push-up
The diamond push-up is a great calisthenics triceps exercise, which also targets the shoulders and chest. In fact, we have also featured it in our calisthenics chest workout article.
Doing this variation of the push-up will target the triceps muscle more than any other variation, thanks to the unique position of your hands during the exercise. Furthermore, you will be developing your upper and inner parts of your chest at the same time.
To correctly do diamond push-ups:
To make diamond push-ups more difficult:
Bench triceps dip
The triceps dip or bench dip is an exercise you should incorporate in any calisthenics triceps workout. To do this exercise you only need a bench, chair, or box.
What we like most about this exercise is the fact that it can be progressed for a long time. Not only will you make the exercise harder by extending your legs or elevating them, but you can make it even more challenging by doing it on rings.
To correctly do triceps dips:
To make triceps dips more difficult:
Bar triceps extension
The bar triceps extension is, in our opinion, the best calisthenics triceps exercise. It doesn't only target all three heads of the triceps, leading to global triceps hypertrophy, but it is also very easy to set up, and can be progressed indefinitely.
Additionally, to do the exercise you need to be in a hollow body position. Thus, you are also improving the anti-extension strength of your core by doing bar triceps extensions.
To correctly do bar triceps extensions:
To make bar triceps extensions harder:
Elevated diamond push-up
As mentioned above, the diamond push-up will also target your chest and shoulders. However, your triceps will do a lot of the heavy lifting.
By elevating your legs, more of your weight will be distributed towards the upper part of your body, meaning that the triceps has to work harder to push your body up. For this reason, we believe that the elevated diamond push-up is a great exercise for a calisthenics triceps workout.
To correctly do elevated diamond push-ups:
To make elevated diamond push-up harder:
Ring triceps dip
This is the same exercise as the bench triceps dip but this time around you will be doing it on rings.
And you may wonder what is the difference between them. With rings, you have the option of turning the rings out which will get a bigger contraction in the triceps. And just like the bench variation, this one can be progressed by extending or elevating your legs.
To correctly do ring triceps dips:
To make ring triceps dips harder:
Ring support
The ring support hold is a foundation exercise if you plan on training with gymnastics rings. And in the context of a triceps calisthenics workout, the support hold will work the triceps as a stabilizer in an isometric contraction.
Even though it is not meant to be used as a muscle building exercise on its own, the ring support is a great choice as an end to a workout.
To correctly do the support hold:
To make the support hold harder:
How do we recommend training your triceps with calisthenics?
Even though people want a calisthenics triceps workout, we don't necessarily support this type of approach. There are two other approaches we like more:
Arm workouts where you are training your biceps and triceps
In a way, this approach has you do a triceps workout, as well as a calisthenics biceps workout in the same training session. Here is an example workout:
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Pelican curl | 3 - 4 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Bar triceps extension | 3 - 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Bodyweight curl | 3 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Bench triceps dip | 3 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Obviously, you can mix any two or three exercises from this article and the one for biceps exercises in the same workout, and it will bring good results.
This way of doing your calisthenics triceps exercises is ideal if you are splitting your training on different muscle groups.
Adding triceps exercises at the end of a full body, upper body, or push workout
This is our preferred way of doing it.
Even though you will not have a dedicated day for a triceps workout with calisthenics, you will be integrating one or two triceps exercises at the end of your workout. Here are two examples:
Chest workout with integrated triceps work
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Dip | 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Decline push-up | 3 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Push-up | 4 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Incline push-up | 3 | 12 - 20 | 1 |
Bar triceps extension | 3 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
You may think that now only one exercise is dedicated to triceps, instead of two or three.
However, you are getting a significant amount of triceps activation with the above workout. Besides, if you no longer have a dedicated day for triceps, your body has more time to recover.
This may very well be more beneficial for your end goal of getting bigger triceps (1).
Upper body workout with integrated arms work
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Pull-up | 4 | 8 - 10 | 1:30 |
Dip | 4 | 8 - 10 | 1:30 |
Inverted row | 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Push-up | 4 | 8 - 15 | 1 |
Ring triceps dip | 4 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
Bodyweight curl | 4 | 8 - 12 | 1 |
In this workout, taken from our upper body bodyweight workout article you will be working on your chest, shoulders, back, and arms with a single workout.
Even though it may seem like there are not enough exercises, remember that this workout will be done around three times per week. That is a total of around 24 sets per muscle group per week, which is plenty to build muscle - quite around the upper range of how many sets you should be doing (2).
With this workout, your triceps will be targeted by three exercises.
Is a calisthenics triceps workout even necessary in this case?
How does a strong triceps help with calisthenics?
Having a strong triceps is important for the stability of the shoulders and elbows and improves the flexibility and range of motion in these two joints.
However, how is the triceps important in calisthenics?
So, as you can see, doing a calisthenics triceps workout doesn't only involve aesthetics, but it also feeds into your performance with this sport.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a reliable calisthenics triceps workout, we have provided not one, but three.
Training the triceps is important not only to look better but to also increase your performance and efficiency in some of the more difficult exercises in calisthenics.
However, we still feel that the best way to go about it is to have a day where you train both your biceps and triceps, or to include triceps exercises in your full body workout, upper body workout, or push workout.
We do not recommend a day only dedicated to triceps because it will be very inefficient from a time investment perspective. But different people have different needs so…
Over to you.
