Overhead Triceps

Muscles worked

The muscle under tension is the triceps brachii, which straightens the elbow, and through its long head helps pull the arm back at the shoulder.

A stretch loads it at the far end of the range it normally works in, so the position you hold is itself the resistance.

Nothing travels, but holding the position is not the target muscle’s job alone: the lats keep the upper arm drawn in toward the torso.

Every exercise for:TricepsLats

How this movement works

Nothing travels once you are in position. The muscle holds a length under tension instead of working through a range, so effort is measured in seconds rather than repetitions — and the honest progression is more time in a good position, not a deeper one forced early.

It is filed under stretching, so the target is range of motion rather than force — a position you can settle into and breathe in, held long enough for the tissue to give.

What you need

No equipment at all. The resistance is your own bodyweight, so you progress by changing leverage, range or tempo rather than by adding plates — and you can do it anywhere.

Every exercise using:Body only

These train the triceps too, using equipment this one does not:

• Pin Pressesbarbell
• Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdowncable
• Seated One Arm Triceps Extension with Dumbbelldumbbell
• Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Presssmith machine + machine
• Speed Band Overhead Tricepsband

Difficulty

Listed at expert level. It asks for range, stability or speed that takes time to build, and it punishes a rushed set-up much harder than an easier movement would.

Of the 99 triceps exercises in this database, 2 are listed at expert level.