In today’s video, we partner with IFBB Pro and Nutrex Research Athlete, Joel Thomas, to get his insight into what he believes are the best tricep exercises when it comes to building mass.
Joel has supernatural strength and is an absolute mass monster. If there’s anyone out there who knows how to build big and strong tricep muscles, it is him.
So, which exercises are the big guy’s favorite?
1. Dumbbell Tate Press
The first tricep exercise Joel shows us is the dumbbell Tate press. The Tate press is a very popular powerlifting movement and is one Joel has paid special attention to over the years.
Not only is it a good tricep mass builder, but it’s also a good exercise to help with getting stronger at any press movement. So, if you want to increase your bench press or overhead press, add the Tate press to your tricep training days.
To perform the Tate press, start with the dumbbells on your chest with both ends touching. From there, extend at the elbow while keeping the dumbbells touching throughout the entire range of motion. Once you’ve reached the top of the movement, reverse it and bring the dumbbells back together towards the chest.
Focus on building strength within the 8-12 rep range with this particular exercise. Get stronger within that rep range and watch as your pressing ability skyrockets.
2. Cable Pushdown
Second on Joel’s list is the cable pushdown. And while that may seem like a basic exercise selection, he likes to add an intensity technique by performing them as 1.5 reps.
1.5 reps are where you perform a full rep of an exercise followed by a partial or half rep. Doing so constitutes one rep when you’re doing 1.5 reps.
When you do this using the cable pushdown, you do a full extension to begin the repetition. Once you reach the top of the range of motion, bring the bar halfway down to the point where your forearms are parallel with the ground. Reverse the movement and bring the weight back to the starting position.
This exercise is all about time under tension for the tricep muscle. When it comes to rep ranges, keep this particular movement in the 10-15 rep range. As far as sets go, 4 sets is a good amount of sets for the 1.5 rep cable pushdown.
3. Chest Supported Dumbbell Kickbacks
The third and final movement is the chest supported dumbbell kickback. Joel likes to use this exercise as a tricep finisher on pressing days.
Performing the kickback while supporting your chest allows you to focus on isolating the triceps.
To set this exercise up, you’ll need an incline bench. Lay with your chest on the bench. Bring your elbows up as high as you can. Then kickback the dumbbells, holding the squeeze on the triceps briefly before reversing the movement.
For reps and sets, focus on pumping blood into the triceps by performing 12-15 reps.
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