Should I do more reps or weights for triceps?

Author: Reba Kilback  |  Last update: Friday, November 28, 2025

If strength is your goal, do 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps with moderate to heavy weights. To focus on tricep power (which will help when you need to exert force in a short period of time — for example, when shooting a basketball), do 4 to 6 sets of 1 to 5 reps with relatively heavy weights.

Should you do reps or weight for triceps?

If your goal is to build big triceps, you'll want to stick within the hypertrophy rep range for the majority of your training (8-12 reps @ 60-80% of your 1 rep max) [3]. If tricep strength is of higher importance, keep the majority of your rep ranges low (1 to 5 reps @ 80-100% of your 1 rep max).

Is it better to go heavy or light on triceps?

The triceps are fairly small bodyparts anyway and, as such, should never be trained with the same number of sets you might use for back or chest. Although the total sets should be kept low, the intensity of your triceps training should be high.

Do triceps respond well to high reps?

The triceps still have 35 to 50 percent slow-twitch muscle fibers, which respond better to higher reps, more time under tension, and reduced rest periods.

Do triceps need high volume?

However, it appears that a high training volume is better to induce muscle mass gains in the triceps brachii (p = 0.01). According to the results of this review, a range of 12-20 weekly sets per muscle group may be an optimum standard recommendation for increasing muscle hypertrophy in young, trained men.

HEAVY VS LIGHT WEIGHT For Muscle Growth (THE TRUTH!)

How much is too much for triceps?

Within a training session, we recommend including between 1 and 3 different triceps exercises, but no more than that in most cases, as doing more than 3 triceps movements in one session is likely just a needless burning of potential exercise variations you can save for later mesocycles.

Which muscles take longest to grow?

Muscle Groups That Grow Slowly:
  • Calves (Gastrocnemius and Soleus):
  • Forearms (Flexors and Extensors):
  • Abdominal Muscles (Rectus Abdominis, Obliques):
  • Lower Back Muscles (Erector Spinae):

How many reps to tone arms?

Reps For An Arm Workout

Aim for a moderate rep range of around 8-12 reps per set for optimal muscle growth, strength, and hypertrophy in the biceps, triceps, and other arm muscles.

Will bench press build big triceps?

If you have goals of increasing muscular hypertrophy of the pecs (the pectoralis major in particular), the bench press is where it's at. However, the bench press will hit the triceps indirectly, but will result in less muscle growth.

Can you overtrain triceps?

Overtraining. One of the biggest mistakes you could make when training triceps is overdoing it. This is because your triceps are involved in several upper body workouts such as pushups, benches, presses, etc.

Do bigger biceps or triceps look better?

The triceps muscles are at the back of the upper arm. Big triceps make your arms look better, even with adequate biceps muscle.

What size weight to tone arms?

I recommend starting with 5-pound weights. Halfway through the month, do a check-in with your body to see if they feel too light. If so, you can move up to 7.5- or 8-pound weights. If you notice you are building muscle too quickly, or bulking instead of toning, I recommend staying lighter with your weights.

Should I go heavy on triceps?

You should go heavy on triceps if you are looking to build muscle mass.

What is the best exercise for tricep size?

These are the best dumbbell-only tricep exercises you need to supercharge your arm training and supersize those triceps.
  • Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press.
  • Laying Tricep Extension.
  • Laying Single Dumbbell Crush Extension.
  • Overhead Single-Arm Dumbbell Tricep Extension.
  • Single Dumbbell Behind the Neck Tricep Extensions.

Is 15 sets enough for triceps?

4 to 8 sets per muscle per week is now your minimum. If that's what you were doing as a beginner, you'll want to aim for 8 to 15 sets per muscle per week. At this point, your weekly volume will be much more manageable if you train three to five days a week, working each muscle at least twice.

Do skull crushers hit the whole tricep?

Skull crushers work all three heads of the tricep and can be a helpful tool for building strength and size in the arms. Working your triceps will help to improve pushing movements like the bench press, and can help build overhead throwing strength. Can Beginners Do Skull Crushers?

How do you get killer triceps?

Three exercises that hit all 3 heads of the triceps are:
  1. Cable Triceps Pushaway for long head.
  2. Diamond Cutter Pushup for lateral head.
  3. Close Grip Bench Press for medial head – try an underhand grip to see if you feel it more.

What is the best superset for triceps?

We can use a mechanical superset to take advantage of mechanical differences between exercises to allow us to take a muscle to failure and then train it beyond failure. The best mechanical superset for triceps is the Pancake Pushup into a Divebomber Pushup into a Diamond Cutter Pushup.

Will 10lb weight tone arms?

Durable 10 lb dumbbells provide the perfect amount of resistance to help you build strength and tone your muscles effectively. Whether you're targeting your arms, shoulders, or even your core, these dumbbells offer the versatility to work multiple muscle groups.

What is the best rep range for tricep growth?

Here are the best rep ranges for the popular triceps exercises:
  • Bench press: 5–15 reps per set.
  • Overhead press: 6–12 reps per set.
  • Close-grip bench press: 8–15 reps per set.
  • Dumbbell bench press: 8–15 reps per set.
  • Dips: 8–15 reps per set.
  • Skull crushers: 10–20 reps per set.
  • Overhead extensions: 10–20 reps per set.

Are 20 reps too much?

On the other hand, Sheridan says that beginners just looking to tone up might aim for a maximum of 20 reps per set. “If you can implement above 20 reps, there is a chance that you are practicing with light or easy weights, which will not help you improve or grow,” he warns.

At what age is it harder to grow muscle?

Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.

What is the easiest muscle to get big?

For most folks, this means that muscles like the pectorals, biceps, triceps and even lats should be a little easier to grow, whereas the glutes, calves and traps might be tougher, since they have a higher percentage of slow-twitch fibres."

Which muscle is most attractive?

What eventually won as the most attractive muscles on a guy were the arms. Other muscles of interest in order, from most attractive to least, were the chest, back, shoulders, glutes, legs, abs, and, finally, calves, which came in dead last.

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