If you think that you need a fancy gym to build strong arms, think again. The great thing about strengthening and building your arm muscles is that there are practical exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home that targets your biceps and triceps. Triceps are often overlooked when it comes to upper body strength. Still, building stronger triceps can help with everyday movements that utilize this muscle group - think of anything that requires your arms to engage in a push motion.
There are plenty of effective and alternative methods to dumbbell triceps workouts that you can start right now for toned and sculpted arms. So let’s dive into at-home exercises that require no equipment and then discuss how our Chopper fitness tool might also be an ideal option for your fitness journey.
Alternatives To Dumbbell Triceps Workouts
In a study conducted by The American Council on Exercise (ACE), researchers studied subjects as they engaged in the eight most common triceps exercises while monitoring muscle activity via attached EMG electrodes. After reviewing the results, researchers were able to rank the effectiveness of each exercise. Below are the top three rankings of the movements:
1. Triangle Push-Ups
Triangle Push-ups were named based on the placement of the hands in starting position. The difference between a triangle push-up and a traditional push-up has everything to do with the position of your forearms and hands, which form a triangle position. This non dumbbell triceps workout targets all three parts of the tricep.
To do this move, begin by placing hands directly on the mat under your chest, making a triangle or diamond shape - fingers spread apart while touching together your thumbs and forefingers. Stiffen the torso by contracting your abdomen, straightening your legs into a plank position. If you are a beginner, you can leave your knees on the mat for a modified version. Holding the current position, be sure that your abs are engaged as you bend your elbows to touch your chin or chest to the ground.
2. Dips
Dips are one of the most effective movements to activate tricep muscles, so it’s no surprise that they came in as the second most effective exercise. To do this exercise, you simply need a sturdy chair, bench, or ledge to get into position. To begin this movement, place your hands on the side of your hips - palms facing down and resting on bench while fingers are left to dangle over the edge of the bench or chair. Keep your feet together and extend your legs out in front of you. Using your tricep muscles, lift up onto your hands and lower down until your elbows are bent at about 90 degrees. Keeping the hips very close to the chair or bench, bend the elbows, lowering down until they're at about 90 degrees as you push back to start. It’s essential to keep the elbows pointed behind you.
3. Kickbacks
Although this workout is mostly used with a dumbbell, you don't actually need one to reap the benefits. You can also use a resistance band to perform this exercise. For the purpose of this article, we will explain kickbacks utilizing our resistance band set. To start, you will want to attach one end of your resistance band to something sturdy like a door frame, bar or wall hook. If you are using our Chopper Bands, you'll attach the other end directly to your Chopper. Grab underneath the head of the Chopper with your pinky finger near the handle and bend forward at the waist to lower your back. Slightly bend your knees as you keep your back bent forward and use your triceps to pull the band behind you until your arm is fully extended. Slowly bring back the Chopper to starting position and repeat on both sides.
The Chopper is an all-in-one fitness tool for total body cardio and strength workouts that serve as yet another alternative to dumbbell triceps workouts. The patented weight distribution makes the ultra-durable tool feel more than 4x heavier than it actually weighs. So instead of focusing on individual muscle groups each day, you can target every muscle group with each workout.
No matter which exercises you decide to start with, it’s important to warm up and start small before moving on to more complex movements. And with any new exercise, you should always consult a medical professional before getting started. Let’s go!