The 4 Best Tricep Exercises for Mass

by:Robbie Durand

Gustavo Badell was known for having some of the biggest guns in the sport, but having a good bicep needs to be in conjunction with great horseshoe triceps.

If you check out any of Gustavo’s training videos, he loved doing dips off the bench with added weights. You may want to check out the previous article published on Infinite Labs website: Best Bicep Exercise. This is the next installment of the series being the Best Tricep Exercise.

This study was sponsored by the American Counsel of Exercise, so hats off to the organization for funding this research. On the initial day of testing, researchers determined each subject’s one-repetition max (1 RM) for each of the following exercises:

-triceps kickbacks

-overhead triceps extensions

-bar push-downs

-rope push-downs

-closed-grip bench press

-lying barbell triceps extensions

-dips

-triangle push-ups

Researchers applied two sets of electromyographic electrodes on the long and lateral heads of each subject’s triceps brachii (the back of the upper arm) to record real-time muscle activity. The exercises were completed in random order with a five-minute rest between each exercise to ensure proper muscle recovery. Subjects lifted 70 percent of their previously determined 1 RM for the bulk of exercises; body weight was used for the dips and triangle push-ups.

If you look at the graph below, the number one exercise was the triangle push ups, followed by dips and dumbbell kickbacks.

Triangle Push-Up:

Dips:

Dumbbell Kickbacks:

The triangle pushup is not a standard exercise you see bodybuilders performing, but it’s probably one of the most effective tricep building exercises you can perform.