Building bigger arms doesn’t just mean relentlessly training your biceps – your triceps need attention too. And no, a few token pushdown sets at the end of your workout won’t cut it.

Athlean-X’s Jeff Cavaliere recently trained with Dr Andrew Huberman on YouTube to share 7 techniques designed to help build bigger triceps. From learning how to properly train all 3 heads of the muscle to improving shoulder health, the advice could help unlock gains you might be missing out on.

1. Train the Long Head with Overhead Exercises

The triceps are made up of 3 heads: the long, lateral and medial heads. While the lateral and medial heads only cross the elbow joint, the long head crosses both the shoulder and elbow joints, meaning it’s best trained when the arm is raised overhead.

For that reason, Cavaliere stresses the importance of exercises such as overhead extensions.

‘In that position, we’re going to get a more favourable stretch, influencing more of that long head versus the other two heads,’ Cavaliere explains. ‘Not isolating – that’s impossible because all three contract – but it’s a way to influence them.’

2. Get More from Skull Crushers

Skull crushers, or lying triceps extensions, are a staple arm-building movement. But Cavaliere prefers lowering the weight behind his head rather than towards his forehead to increase the stretch on the triceps.

An incline bench can make this position more comfortable by allowing the arms to travel naturally behind the head without requiring excessive shoulder mobility.

‘I don’t like to target the skull. I like to go back behind the head so I can get more of that stretch on the tricep,’ he says.

‘Some people find that uncomfortable on their shoulders because the arms are overhead and there’s a lot of weight behind the head. If you do it on an incline bench, you solve a big problem.’

3. Keep Your Elbows Tucked

Allowing your elbows to flare during triceps exercises can reduce the range of motion and place unnecessary stress on the shoulders.

In the video, Cavaliere demonstrates how keeping the elbows tucked closer to the head allows for greater elbow flexion and extension while also creating more room at the shoulder joint.

The result is a more effective movement pattern and potentially greater triceps development.

4. Step Back from the Cable Stack

When performing triceps pushdowns, most people stand directly in front of the machine.

Cavaliere recommends taking a step backwards instead.

Moving further from the cable increases tension at both the top and bottom of the movement, forcing the triceps to work harder throughout the range of motion.

‘If I were further back, I’ve made my arm more perpendicular to start,’ he explains. ‘It’s going to be more difficult because there’s more tension. A little further away from the stack causes a little bit more work to be done by the tricep.’

5. Think ‘Push Out’, Not Push Down

Most people think of the movement as a triceps pushdown, but Cavaliere argues it’s more useful to think of it as a triceps push-out.

That subtle mental shift helps emphasise elbow extension rather than simply driving the weight towards the floor.

‘If we want to focus on that medial and lateral head that really just function through extension of the elbow, I just want to extend the elbows out,’ he says.

‘I tend to hold that contraction a little bit at the end to prove that I actually muscled it down there and because I like to feel that muscle working and contracting.’

6. Turn Your Hands Out During Bench Dips

Bench dips remain a viable bodyweight triceps exercise, but they can become problematic if performed incorrectly.

Cavaliere says many lifters place their hands so their fingers point in the same direction as their feet, which can force the shoulders forwards and increase stress on the joint.

The simple fix is to turn the hands out slightly, encouraging external rotation at the shoulder and creating more space for comfortable movement.

7. Don’t Forget the Fully Contracted Position

While much attention is paid to stretching the long head of the triceps, Cavaliere believes lifters should also focus on training it in its shortened position.

One of his favourite ways to do that is with the PJR pullover, a hybrid exercise that combines elements of a dumbbell pullover and a triceps extension.

‘The main goal is to get your arms behind your body and elbows extended,’ he says.

‘What I like about this is that it ties into the back also. There’s one of my favourite exercises we call a PJR pullover, where you go into a regular pullover. As you come up, you stop about halfway and then continue extending through the elbows.’

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