maratoolSeated Overhead Triceps Extension with Barbell
How to do the seated overhead triceps extension with barbell
- Sit on a short straight back chair with your feet firmly placed on the floor and your back straight.
- Grasp an EZ or Curl bar, or barbell with a grip about 6 inches apart.
- Raise the bar to arms length above your head and then lower the bar in an arc towards the floor behind your head.
- Return to starting position.
Muscles worked
The prime mover is the triceps brachii, which straightens the elbow, and through its long head helps pull the arm back at the shoulder.
Every exercise for:Triceps
How this movement works
Everything happens at one joint. That gives you direct control over where the tension sits; the trade-off is that the muscle gets no help, so the load that feels hard here is a fraction of what a multi-joint version of the pattern would take. Slow, complete repetitions beat heavy ones.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
A barbell locks both hands to one bar, so neither side can drift and the load climbs in plate-sized steps. That makes it the simplest way to add weight and the least forgiving thing to bail out of.
Every exercise using:Barbell
These train the triceps too, using equipment this one does not:
- Seated Triceps Pressdumbbell
- Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Presssmith machine + machine
- Speed Band Overhead Tricepsband
- Standing Low-Pulley One-Arm Triceps Extensioncable
- Standing Triceps Extension with Towelbody only
Illustration: Everkinetic — CC BY-SA 4.0 — license. Modified versions are shared under the same license. Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.