Overview
The video ranks 20 popular triceps exercises from best to worst for muscle growth, using tension, comfort, and progression as key criteria. The overhead cable triceps extension is crowned the best, while the dumbbell kickback is ranked the least effective.
Evaluation Criteria for Triceps Exercises
- Must provide high tension, especially in the stretched position.
- Should feel comfortable and not cause pain, with a smooth resistance profile.
- Needs a simple progression for adding weight or reps over time.
Anatomy and Exercise Emphasis
- Triceps have three heads: lateral (outer shape), medial (central shape), and long (rear arm bulk).
- Different exercises emphasize different heads, requiring variety for balanced growth.
Rankings and Analysis of Popular Exercises
Cable Pressdowns
- Rope: Good mind-muscle connection but less stable/overload—B tier.
- Bar: Stable, good overload, lacks stretch—A tier.
- Reverse Grip: Less strength, grip limits overload—C tier.
Overhead Cable Extensions
- Bar: High tension in stretch, especially for long head; best supported by research—S tier.
- Rope: Still effective but limits overload slightly—A tier.
Katana Triceps Extension
- Individually targets arms and fixes imbalances; setup is complex—A tier.
Dumbbell French Press
- Effective for long head, but can be awkward with heavy weights—B tier.
- One arm at a time reduces awkwardness—A tier.
Skull Crushers
- Easy bar or barbell: High stretch, easy to overload—S tier.
- Dumbbell: Feels less stable—A tier.
JM Press
- Elbow discomfort and less long head stretch but good for strength—B tier.
- Smith Machine: More stable and tricep-focused—A tier.
Kickbacks
- Cable: Great for contraction, even tension—A tier.
- Dumbbell: Poor stretch tension, less effective—C tier.
Dips
- Close Grip: Strong contraction, but can hurt shoulders—B tier.
- Bench Dips: Awkward to overload, better triceps isolation—C tier.
- Machine Dips: Stable, but pecs/delts can take over—B tier.
Presses and Push-Ups
- Close Grip Bench: Great for overload, limited long head activation—A tier.
- Close Grip Push-up: Hard to overload after beginner stage—C tier.
- Diamond Push-up: Harder, good as a finisher—B tier.
Conclusions and Recommendations
- Pressing alone is not enough for full triceps development, especially for the long head.
- Include isolation work, especially overhead exercises, for maximal growth.
- Best overall exercise: Overhead cable triceps extension.
- Least effective: Dumbbell kickback.
Decisions
- Best triceps exercise is overhead cable triceps extension.
- Worst triceps exercise is dumbbell kickback.