Dumbbell Tricep Extension

Upper Body Dumbbell Workout Video Series

The next fitness video in this series is the dumbbell tricep extension.

This is the first of two exercises in this series that targets the tricep muscle. 

The tricep brachii muscle, Latin for three-headed muscle, is the large muscle in the back of your upper arm.

The three heads of this muscle include the long head, the lateral head and the medial head. These are extensors of the elbow joint.

The superficial part is made up of the long and lateral heads and the deep part of this muscle is made up of the medial head.

The primary purpose of this muscle is to facilitate the extension or the elbow. In other words, straightening your arm.

The opposing muscle is the biceps which are located in the front of the upper arm.

It's always a good idea to exercise the opposing muscles in the same workout to really strengthen that area of the body.

The primary muscle strengthened with this move, as the name suggests, are the triceps. Stabilizers used during this workout include the deltoids, pecs and latissimus dorsi just to name a few.

Exercise #3 - Dumbbell Tricep Extension

The tricep muscle is one of the most under used muscles. So use your lighter weights to start out for this part of your upper body dumbbell workout. Use the steps below to do this move correctly.
  1. Stand with your legs hip width apart and hold one dumbbell weight in both hands.

    Your hands should be gripping the bar just below the weight at one end.
  2. Place your arms straight up reaching to the ceiling with arms next to your ears.
  3. Now slowly extend your arms behind your back bending at the elbows.
  4. Return your arms to starting position and repeat for several reps.
Note:  You can do this exercise with just one arm at a time or as explained above. If you want to do this with just one arm at a time, just use one hand to grip the weight and place your arm straight up with your elbow by your ear.

Watch the video below to ensure you are doing the this move correctly. 


Not all mobile devices will display the video correctly. If you are not seeing the full video (or it's not displaying at all), click here to view the dumbbell tricep extension on youtube.

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