Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension Overview
The back of the head lying tricep extension is an arm move. You lie flat on a bench. You hold dumbbells over your chest. You lower them behind your head by bending your elbows. Then you press them back up. It works your triceps, the muscles on the back of your upper arms. It also works your shoulders a little. You need two dumbbells and a bench. This move builds bigger, stronger triceps. Lowering behind your head gives a deep stretch. That stretch helps your arms grow. It is good for people with some lifting practice. Use it in the middle or end of a push day. It pairs well with pressing moves.
What Is The Point of the Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension?
The back of the head lying tricep extension builds bigger, stronger triceps by working them through a full range of motion. It targets all three heads of the triceps.
How To Do The Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet planted firmly on the floor. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and press them straight up over your chest so your arms are vertical.
- Set your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and brace your core. A stable base here keeps the work on your triceps and off your shoulders.
- Rotate your arms back very slightly so the dumbbells travel toward the top of your head rather than straight down to your chest. This aims the stretch right at the long head of the triceps.
- Keeping your upper arms fixed in place, bend only at the elbows and lower the dumbbells slowly toward and behind your head. The elbows are the only joint that should move.
- Lower under control for about 2 to 3 seconds until you feel a strong stretch in the back of your arms. Let the weights travel behind your head, not just to your forehead.
- Keep your elbows from flaring wide apart. They will drift a little, but fight to keep them roughly shoulder width so the tension stays on the triceps.
- Pause briefly in the stretched position without letting the weights crash or your shoulders shift. Feel the triceps loaded and ready to fire.
- Press the dumbbells back up by straightening your elbows, driving the weights back to the start over your chest. Squeeze your triceps hard at the top.
- Stop just short of fully locking out if you want to keep constant tension on the muscle, then begin the next rep. Keep the tempo controlled throughout.
- Breathe in as you lower and out as you press up. Work in the 8 to 15 rep range for 3 to 4 sets, since the triceps respond well to this moderate rep work.
Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension Form Tips
- Keep your upper arms still. Only your elbows move.
- Keep your elbows pointing up, not flaring out.
- Lower the weights slowly behind your head.
- Feel a good stretch at the bottom.
- Press up smooth and squeeze at the top.
- Keep your belly tight and your back flat on the bench.
- Breathe in as you lower. Breathe out as you press.
- Keep your wrists straight and firm.
- Keep your head resting on the bench.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension
- Letting your elbows flare out wide. When your elbows splay apart the tension bleeds off the triceps and the movement gets sloppy and shoulder driven. Keep your elbows roughly shoulder width and pointed up so the load stays on the target muscle.
- Moving your upper arms instead of just your elbows. If your whole arm swings, you turn a tricep isolation into a clumsy pressing motion. Lock your upper arms in place and let only the elbow joint open and close.
- Going too heavy and losing control. Overloading this move drops the weights fast and puts your elbows and shoulders in a rough spot near your head. Pick a weight you can lower slowly and control right behind your head every rep.
- Rushing the lowering phase. Dropping the dumbbells quickly wastes the eccentric, which is a huge driver of tricep growth and the safest way to load the stretch. Take 2 to 3 seconds down and own the whole descent.
- Cutting the range of motion short. Stopping at your forehead skips the deep stretch on the long head where much of the growth comes from. Lower the weights behind your head to feel a real stretch, as far as your shoulders comfortably allow.
- Flaring the shoulders and losing your base. If your shoulder blades come unset, the lift gets unstable and the shoulders start doing the work. Pin your shoulder blades into the bench and keep them there the whole set.
- Bouncing out of the bottom. Using a bounce to reverse the weights robs the triceps and strains the elbows in a stretched position. Lower under control, pause briefly, and press with intent.
- Aiming the weights straight down to your chest. A vertical path turns this into more of a press and takes the stretch off the long head. Angle the arms slightly back so the dumbbells travel toward and behind your head.
- Holding your breath through heavy reps. Breath holding raises pressure and can leave you dizzy on a move where the weights are over your face. Breathe in on the way down and out as you press up.
- Locking out hard and resting at the top. Slamming into lockout and pausing dumps tension off the triceps between reps. Stop just short of full lockout to keep the muscle working the entire set.
- Using wrist action to move the weight. Flicking your wrists leaks force and strains the joint on a move that should be pure elbow extension. Keep your wrists neutral and stacked so the triceps do all the work.
Back of the Head Lying Tricep Extension Workout Tips
- Angle your arms slightly back so the weights travel toward the top of your head. That path loads the long head of the triceps through a deep stretch, which is where much of your growth potential sits.
- Keep your upper arms locked in place the whole time. When only your elbows move, the tension stays squarely on the triceps instead of leaking into your shoulders.
- Use a slow 2 to 3 second eccentric on every rep. Controlling the lowering under a stretch is one of the best ways to build the triceps and it protects your elbows.
- Chase the mind muscle connection by thinking about squeezing the triceps to move the weight. Feeling the target muscle work is a reliable way to grow it, especially on an isolation move like this.
- Pause briefly in the stretched position for some sets. A short pause kills any bounce and forces your triceps to do all the work coming out of the bottom.
- Keep your elbows from flaring by imagining them pointed at the ceiling. Tight elbows keep the load on the muscle and keep the movement clean.
- Stop just short of full lockout to keep constant tension. Staying out of the locked position means your triceps never get a rest until the set is done.
- Program this later in your push or arm day. Your triceps are already warm from pressing, and this is a great finisher to add stretch focused volume.
- Work in the 8 to 15 rep range for 3 to 4 sets. The triceps respond well to moderate reps with controlled tempo, and higher reps here spare your elbows.
- Using two dumbbells lets each arm work independently. That evens out any strength difference between your left and right triceps over time.
- Keep your shoulder blades pinned into the bench. A stable base means your shoulders stay out of it and the triceps carry the load.
- Add small weight jumps over time rather than big leaps. Progressive overload with controllable weight beats ego loading on a move where the weights sit near your head.
- Breathe in as you lower and out as you press. Steady breathing keeps you stable and clear headed with the dumbbells traveling over your face.
- Keep your wrists neutral and stacked over your forearms. A firm, straight wrist transfers force cleanly and keeps the joint happy.
- Try slightly different arm angles to find your best stretch. Small tweaks in how far back you aim can change how strongly you feel the long head working.
- Never train this to hard failure with heavy weights over your head. Leave a rep or two in the tank so a failed rep never leaves the dumbbells crashing toward your face.
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