15 Bodyweight Triceps Exercises: Beginner to Advanced

You are at the right place if you are looking for the best bodyweight triceps exercises for gaining muscle mass and toning your arms.

To strengthen your triceps, you need exercises that work all three heads of the triceps. And Bodyweight exercises are an effective way to train the triceps without any equipment.

This article describes almost all the major bodyweight triceps exercises you can do at home or the gym.

We have covered everything you need, from the classic diamond push-up to the dips to bodyweight tricep extension.

Bodyweight Triceps Exercises

Below, you will find the 15 best bodyweight triceps exercises to help you build stronger and bigger triceps.

1. Bench Dip

A bench dip is medium-intensity, fairly simple to learn, and can be done almost anywhere.

It’s one of the easiest and best bodyweight tricep exercises to add to your workout routine.

How To Do

1. Sit on the edge of a bench or a sturdy chair.
2. Place your hands on the edge of the bench, next to your hips, with your fingers pointing forward.
3. Extend your legs forward with your heels on the floor and your toes pointing up.
4. Slide your buttocks off the bench in front of the seat.
5. Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows.
6. Lower down until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle.
7. Straighten your arms to lift your body back up to the starting position.

Tips

• Ensure your back is close to the bench.
• Really squeeze the triceps at the top of the movement to get the most out of this exercise.
• Do not dip down too low, as it places unnecessary strain on the shoulder joints.

2. Diamond Push-Ups On Knees

The diamond push-up is a bodyweight exercise that provides all the benefits of a normal push-up, with a special focus on the triceps and inner chest.

To practice knee diamond push-ups, bring your hands close together to form a diamond or triangle shape below your chest.

How To Do

1. Get into a push-up position.
2. Support your body on your hands and knees instead of on your hands and forefeet.
3. Your hands should be positioned in such a way as to form a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers.
4. Keep your body straight and rigid and your elbows close to your body.
5. Exhale as you extend your elbows and push your body back up to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your elbows tucked into your body.
• Keep your body straight and rigid.

3. Kneeling Bodyweight Triceps Extension

Kneeling bodyweight triceps extension is one of the best exercises to isolate your triceps without dumbbells, barbells, and weight machines.

It’s an ideal beginner’s tricep exercise for those with limited upper body strength.

To make it more difficult, you can either move your knees backward or lean forward so that more of your body weight is over your hands

How To Do

1. Get on all fours with your hands together under your chest
2. Lower your elbows to the floor, shoulder-width apart.
3. Lean forward so that your elbows support your body weight.
4. Exhale as you push your body off the floor by extending your elbows.
5. Inhale as you lower your elbows to the starting position by flexing your elbows.

Tips

• Keep your elbows tucked into your body. Do not flare them out.
• Stop the exercise if you feel pain in your wrists

4. Diamond Push-Ups

If you’re looking for a good bodyweight triceps exercise, then diamond pushups are the one movement you should do.

Diamond push-ups are a more advanced variation of the classic push-ups. This is a unique movement because it does a great job of developing the lateral (outermost) tricep head.

During my early training days, I did lots of diamond and close grip pushes, which helped build bigger triceps.

How To Do

1. Get on all fours with your hands together under your chest.
2. Position your index fingers and thumbs so they’re touching, forming a diamond shape and
3. Now, extend your arms to elevate your body.
4. Lower your chest towards your hands.
5. Stop just before your chest touches the floor, then push back up to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your body straight and rigid.
• Ensuring you don’t flare your elbows out to the sides.

5. Bench Dip With Elevated Legs

The Bench Dip with elevated legs is a bodyweight exercise that targets the triceps muscles, as well as the shoulders and chest.

The legs are raised, which makes the exercise harder and challenges the triceps muscles even more.

When you raise your feet, you also make your chest and shoulders work harder.

How To Do

1. Sit on the edge of a bench or chair.
2. Place another bench or stable surface in front of you to elevate your feet.
3. Place your hands on the edge of the bench, fingers facing forward.
4. Extend your legs and place your heels on the elevated surface, keeping your legs straight.
5. Slide your glutes off the bench with your arms extended, supporting your weight.
6. Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until they form a 90-degree angle.
7. Make sure you extend your elbows to return to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your back close to the bench.
• Avoid rapid or jerky motions.
• Don’t lower too deep to avoid shoulder strain. Stop when your shoulders are just below elbow level.
• During the upward movement, avoid locking your elbows completely to maintain tension on the triceps.

6. Parallel Bar Triceps Dip

Parallel bar triceps dips are one of the most effective compound exercises for the upper body. It trains the chest and triceps and anterior deltoid.

It is one of the best bodyweight exercises for building triceps mass when performed on narrow parallel bars with elbows back and your torso upright.

It is one of my favorite exercises, which I must do during my push workout routines.

How To Do

1. Grasp the dip bars with your arms extended and locked.
2. Keep your body as vertical as possible to keep the emphasis on the triceps and away from the chest.
3. Keep your elbows as close to your sides as possible as you bend them to lower your body down until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
4.  Press your hands forcefully into the bars to extend your arms and raise your body back up.

Tips

• Do not lock out your elbows at the top of the movement.
• To focus effort on the triceps, keep your body upright and elbows tucked in.

7. One Arm Bench Dip

The one-arm bench dip is a challenging and very effective movement that primarily targets your triceps, but your glutes and quads also get worked secondarily.

This is not a beginner’s exercise or for someone with inadequate upper body strength. You could also try bench dip for an easier variation.

How To Do

1. Place your hands (palms) on the side of a flat bench with your back straight, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor.
2. Slide your buttocks off the bench. Raise your left arm and right leg straight out in front of you.
3. Your body weight should be supported by your right arm and left leg.
4. Inhale as you flex your elbow to lower your body until you feel a mild stretch in your shoulder.
5. Exhale as you extend your elbow to push your body back up to the starting position.
6. Repeat 8–10 repetitions and repeat the exercise with your left arm.

Tips

• Keep your body upright and your back straight.
• Keep your elbow close to your body, and do not flare out.
• Keep both feet on the floor to make the one-arm bench dip easier.

8. Close-grip Push Up

The close-grip push-up is a variation of the push-up that focuses on hitting the triceps.

If you have difficulty doing close-grip push-ups, you can perform them with your knees on the ground until you build up your strength.

A study found greater electromyographic (EMG) activity in the triceps brachii when doing close push-ups compared to when executing regular push-ups.

How To Do

1. Come into a plank position with your wrists underneath your shoulder.
2. Keep elbows tucked into the sides.
3. Lower your body until your chest almost touches the ground.
4. Pause, then push back up to the starting position without locking your elbows.
5. Repeated the desired number of reps and sets.

Tips

• Be sure to keep elbows tucked into the sides during the entire pushups.
• Keep the entire body in a straight line from head to toe.

9. Plank to Push-up

A Plank to Push-up is a full-body exercise and variation of a plank. The move takes a standard plank to the next level by adding an element of control, moving arm work.

Maintaining a plank position, you alternate between a forearm plank and a high plank. This exercise serves as an excellent core and triceps strengthener.

How To Do

1. Get into the push-up position.
2. Bend your elbows and rest your weight on your forearms instead of on your hands.
3. Keep your core, butt, and quads tight, and avoid arching your back.
4. Press your body up into the top position of a push-up by extending your arms one at a time.
5. Pause, then reverse the movement and return to your elbows. That’s one rep.

Tips

• Keep your legs and body straight.
• Avoid letting your hips sag during the exercise.
• Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.

10. Hindu Push Up

The Hindu push-up is a variety of pushups that have existed for centuries among Indian martial artists.

It works on core strength, shoulders, hips, and triceps.

How To Do

1. Start in a downward dog pose, with your hands shoulder-width apart, and your body in a V shape.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your chest until it’s just above the floor, going into a low plank pose.
3. In a scooping motion, scoop your head upward while arching your lower and upper back and go into a cobra pose.
4. Push back into the starting position.

Tips

• Engage your core, relax the spine and neck, open the shoulders and keep the movement smooth.
• keep the elbows close to your body.
• Remember to breathe correctly as you do the push-ups.

11. Stability Ball Push Up

The study found that the Triceps brachii sEMG activity was higher during Swiss ball hands than on a stable surface.

Using a Swiss ball (or exercise ball) can bring an extra element to pushups, giving you an uneven surface to increase the difficulty.

When you do push-ups with your hands on a stability ball, your triceps brachii muscles work more.

How To Do

1. Lay with your chest on the stability ball. Place your hands on the ball at the sides of your chest.
2. Place your feet back and lean forward so that your chest is directly over the ball and you are supported on your toes.
3. Push your body until your arms are almost straight (do not lock your elbows). Pause here for a second.
4. Breathe out and extend your arms to bring your upper body back to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your glutes and core muscles contracted.
• Your neck should be aligned with your body, not tilted up, which could strain the neck.

12. Close Grip Medicine ball push-up

The close-grip medicine ball push-up is an upper body strength exercise that targets the chest, and shoulders, with slightly more of an emphasis on the triceps.

The unstable surface of the ball also helps improve core strength and stability.

How To Do

1. Get in the standard push-up position with your hands on a medicine ball directly beneath your chest.
2. Your left thumb and forefinger should touch your right thumb and forefinger.
3. Bend your elbows to lower yourself in a controlled manner.
4. Hold for one to two seconds.
5. Then, extend your arms and push your body back to where you started.

Tips

• Focus on maintaining balance during both phases.
• Your elbows should be tucked at your sides, not flared out.

13. Pike Push Up

Pike Push-ups are a variation of the push-up that increases strength and stability in the shoulders and triceps.

How To Do

1. Start in a standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Lift the hips up and back until your body forms an inverted V shape.
3. Slowly lower the top of your head towards the ground.
4. Once your head is about to contact the ground, pause for a second.
5. Then, slowly push back until your arms are straight and you’re in the inverted V position.

Tips

• Make sure you maintain control throughout the movement.
• Keep your glutes and core muscles contracted.

13. Handstand Push Up

The handstand push-up also called the vertical push-up is a type of push-up exercise where the body is positioned in a handstand.

To prepare the strength until one has built adequate balance, the feet are often placed against a wall, held by a partner, or secured in some other way from falling.

How To Do

1. Place hands about 6-12 inches away from the wall and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Kick up into a handstand with your heels touching the wall. O
3. Lower yourself until the top of your head touches the floor/mat. T
4. Press up once your head touches the floor until your elbows reach full extension.

Tips

• Not to arch your back and keep contracting your abs.
• Do not do this move on consecutive days.
• Point your toes, squeeze your glutes, and grip the ground with your fingertips for better stability.

15. Weighted Push Up

Weighted push-ups are not just another chest exercise or something you would do at the end of the chest training days to enjoy the pump. They are an important strengthening exercise for the triceps.

Weighted pushups can have numerous benefits, such as a massive chest, a stronger core, stronger arms, and improved testosterone naturally. They transform the body into a fat-burning furnace.

How To Do

1. Get in the standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Have a partner load a weight plate onto your back.
3. Make sure to keep your elbows tucked in close by your sides.
4. Once your chest touches the ground, pause, then press back up to the starting position.

Tips

• Keep your core tight and back flat.
• Perform each rep in a controlled manner.

Build Bigger Triceps With Bodyweight Workout

You don’t need weights or machines to sculpt defined, chiseled triceps. With targeted reps, sets, and the right techniques, these bodyweight exercises will build tricep size and definition.

Get ready to take your arms to the next level!

1. Know About Triceps Muscles

When we know about the anatomy of the triceps, then we can easily and effectively train with these bodyweight triceps exercises.

The tricep consists of 3 parts: the medial, lateral, and long head.

It begins just below the shoulder blade socket and at two distinct areas of the humerus.

• Long head: The largest part of the tricep that runs along the back of the upper arm.
• Lateral head: The smallest of the three muscles located on the arm’s outside.
• Medial head: Located right around the middle of the upper arm.

2. Add a Variety of Tricep Exercises to Your Workout Routine

Adding various exercises to your tricep workout routine is a good idea to target the muscle from different angles and provide overall muscle growth.

Be smart: don’t limit yourself to bodyweight tricep exercises. Get the benefits they offer and use other tricep exercises to supplement them when needed.

• Triceps Workout With Dumbbells
• Barbell Triceps Exercises
• Triceps Cable Exercises For Building Bigger Arms

A bodyweight workout can be easily incorporated into any training program and can be particularly effective when used alongside dumbbells, barbells, machines, and cables to build the biggest, strongest tricep possible.

3. Select Training Plan As Per Your Goal

1. For muscle endurance: Aim for 3–4 sets of 12–15 reps, with moderate resistance.
2. For muscle strength: Aim for 3–5 sets of 6–10 reps, with more resistance.
3. For muscle hypertrophy (increased muscle size): Aim for 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps, with a moderate to heavy amount of resistance.

4. Warm-Up

Before your workout, take a few minutes to warm up your muscles with some light cardio and dynamic stretching.

This can help reduce your risk of injury and improve your performance.

It is always best to start with fewer reps and sets and then gradually increase as your strength improves.

5. Bodyweight Tricep Workout Routine For Beginner

6. Tricep Workout Routine For Intermediate

Conclusion

For anyone who is interested in building triceps muscles and gaining strength, these bodyweight triceps exercises are highly recommended.

Exercises such as diamond push-ups, close-grip push-ups, and bench dips with elevated legs can help to improve arm and upper body strength, increase muscle endurance, and achieve a more toned physique.

It is important to keep your form and technique correct and do the right number of repetitions and sets for your fitness goals.

If done consistently, the results will speak for themselves.

Thanks for reading; enjoy your workout!

Reference

• Dhahbi W, Chaabene H, Chaouachi A, Padulo J, Behm DG, Cochrane J, Burnett A, Chamari K. Kinetic analysis of push-up exercises: a systematic review with practical recommendations. Sports Biomech. 2022 Jan;21(1):1-40.
• Cogley RM, Archambault TA, Fibeger JF, Koverman MM, Youdas JW, Hollman JH. Comparison of muscle activation using various hand positions during the push-up exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 Aug;19(3):628-33. doi: 10.1519/15094.1. PMID: 16095413.
• Bezerra, E. D. S., Orssatto, L. B. D. R., Werlang, L. C., Generoso, A. M., Moraes, G., & Sakugawa, R. L. (2020). Effect of push-up variations performed with Swiss ball on muscle electromyographic amplitude in trained men: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 24(2), 74-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2019.09.004

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.