Non-Traditional Triceps Exercises

Push-Ups

• A standard push-up with your hands placed just slightly wider than your shoulders engages your triceps as assistors, but most of the heavy lifting falls to your pecs. Close-grip push-ups, sometimes called diamond push-ups because you place your hands together so that your forefingers and thumbs form a diamond shape, also work your pecs. However, in this diamond position, the emphasis switches with your triceps becoming the target and your pecs acting as assistors. If you try the diamond and it's too hard, start with a modified diamond push-up on your knees. If you want more of a challenge, try placing both hands on a medicine ball. The trick is to try to keep your elbows in toward your body.

Bench Presses

• Your classic bench press is another exercise that can be modified to target your triceps. Like the push-up, the standard wider chest-press grip targets your pecs. Bringing your hands to shoulder-width apart changes the emphasis to your triceps. You can use a slightly-closer-than-shoulder-width grip, though too close could make the bar less stable and could limit the range of motion. When executing the move, keep your elbows in close to your body rather than out to your sides. As this exercise uses fewer and smaller muscles than the bench press, don't attempt to do this with the same weight you would normally press. Start with something much lower until you know what you can handle.

Declined Cable Exercise

• You may have worked your triceps in a bent-over position with a cable machine and the bar or rope attachment and pulley set high. For more challenge, set the pulley low and lie on a declined bench with your head toward the pulley, thus forcing yourself to work against gravity. Keeping the bar or rope clear of your head will require you to press your elbows back slightly while using an overhand grip when your elbows are bent. As you extend your arms, pull your elbows forward until they are in line with your shoulders. As with any more challenging exercise, start with a lower weight until you are sure you can execute it properly.

Dip Alternatives

• You've probably tried triceps dips with both hands behind you on a bench or on parallel bars. For a different type of bodyweight exercise, try a close-grip type push-up against a bar. Use a weight rack or Smith machine and set the bar at some point lower than your chest. Start with your hands on the bar and your arms extended with your body in a plank or push-up position, then lower yourself toward the bar. For a real challenge, if your gym will allow it, suspend ropes or straps from the bar so that you can hold one end in each hand and perform a similar move. Obviously, the most important part of avoiding injury with these exercises is making sure your equipment is secure and strong enough to hold you.