Big Bench Tricep Exercises

Building a big bench press isn't just about having a strong chest -- your triceps play a huge role too. By neglecting your triceps and only focusing on chest assistance exercises, such as dumbbell presses and push-ups, you're selling yourself short and likely won't ever achieve your full benching potential. Adding extra triceps moves to your routine, however, can help you burst through benching plateaus and build a big press.

  1. Close-Grip Presses

    • Just by narrowing your grip on the barbell, you change the bench press from a chest-dominant move to a triceps-dominant one. You don't need a really close grip, advises strength coach Charles Poliquin -- a 14-inch gap between your hands is enough to place the emphasis onto the triceps. Don't just stick to flat close-grip presses either; try them on an incline with your elbows tucked in or flared out, recommends sport conditioning specialist Charles Schultz.

    Partial-Range Bench Presses

    • You might think that performing partial-range exercises is cheating, but with the bench press, performing partial bench presses can give your triceps a big boost. Partial moves give you the chance to lift more weight and target the upper portion of the bench press, where your triceps are most active, according to trainer Joe Meglio of the Underground Strength Gym. Perform either floor presses, which are like bench presses but lying on the floor; pin presses, where you start your bench press with the bar on pins just above your chest; or board presses, where you have a training partner hold a wooden board on your chest and then you touch the bar to the board before pressing back up.

    Bodyweight Exercises

    • You don't need weights to boost your triceps strength and your bench presses. Just as moving your hands closer together when benching works your triceps more, push-ups have the same effect. Close-grip incline, decline, flat and weighted push-ups should be part of your triceps routine if you don't have access to weights. Parallel bar dips are highly effective too. Use a narrower grip and keep your torso upright to take the focus away from your chest and onto your triceps.

    Triceps Isolations

    • Machine moves such as extensions and machine dips, dumbbell skullcrushers and cable pushdowns and extensions are isolation moves because they only use one joint and one muscle. While these excercises work your triceps, they won't have as much carryover to the bench press since the bench press is a multi-joint compound move. Include just one isolation move each workout and place it at the end of your session so you don't compromise your strength on the compound moves.