Bigger arms are essential for competitive bodybuilding, but large, well-developed triceps are also the target for lifters and athletes keen to create strength. Triceps muscle development increases upper body pressing and pushing power.
Typically, arm exercises focus on the biceps and ignore the triceps. However, tricep training is crucial for balanced arm strength and that sculpted look. The triceps have three parts called heads, and you can work these, including the medial head, for massive arms and incredible power.
We've curated the 10 best exercises for the tricep medial head, along with tips and techniques that produce excellent results. There's also a little bit of science along with guidance on reps and rest intervals, which we’ll look at below.
Understanding the Medial Head of the Tricep
The triceps muscle has a distinctive horseshoe shape and three heads: the long head, the lateral head, and the medial head. When developed, the three heads together form an obvious horseshoe shape.
The medial head is the smallest and least visible of these. It's situated at the back of the arm, just above the elbow, starting from the top of the upper arm and extending right down to the elbow joint.
The medial head of the tricep governs the stability and force of the elbow and is responsible for extending the arm below the elbow joint.
Importance of the Medial Head
So much arm size and strength training focuses on the biceps. In reality, 70% of upper arm bulk comes from the triceps because of its role in pushing and pressing. The triceps perform an antagonistic function to the biceps in the contract-relax cycle.
Each tricep head has a different mix of fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers. So, from a strength and development perspective, you'll need a blend of low reps with a heavier weight for fast-twitch and higher reps for the slow-twitch, geared towards endurance.
The lateral and long heads cover a large percentage of the medial head, and the medial head connects the other two. You’re not wrong in thinking it's hard to isolate that one head.
However, if you want to develop an impressive upper arm, there'll be a visible gap between the long and lateral heads if you ignore the medial head.
So, can you isolate the different tricep heads and craft exercises to suit each one? The answer to this is no. All three heads insert at the same place: the elbow joint. The medial head also shares its point of origin, the humerus, with the lateral head.
However, even in tricep exercises which activate all three heads, like pushdowns, it's possible to accentuate a particular head by changing body position, grip, or hand placement.
Using a reverse grip or keeping your elbows at your sides and touching your waist will help isolate the medial head. The number of reps in the program is also relevant; ideally, aim for 15-30 reps.
Here are 10 practical exercises to help develop the tricep medial head. Many of these are familiar, but the technique twists are designed specifically to target the medial head.
10 Effective Medial Head Tricep Exercises
Reverse Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
This is much like a regular dumbbell bench press, but reversing your grip puts more stress on the medial head.
Lie on the bench and hold the dumbbells firmly with a reverse grip, palms facing your head. Keep your feet flat on the floor.
Raise your arms above your chest, ensuring your elbows are in at your sides, then lower the bells to your rib cage. Push the triceps hard to return to the base position. You can use a heavier weight with fewer reps.
Reverse Grip Barbell Bench Press
Using a weight bench, lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Reach up to a barbell using an underhand grip; your thumbs should be roughly 12" apart.
Lift the bar from the rack and bring it to the middle of your chest, lowering it slowly until it touches your chest, keeping your elbows tucked into your sides. Push up hard to return to the start position.
Start with a lower weight until you have mastered the technique – it's safer.
Cable Rope Pushdowns
Set the cable on your Speediance Gym Monster 2 to the highest setting and stand facing the machine about two feet away. Take the base of the rope handle in both hands and bring your hands up to chest level, keeping your elbows at your sides.
Press downwards until your arms are completely straight, then contract the triceps again once you reach the bottom position.
Using arm control, return slowly to the start position. Maintaining an erect posture to isolate the triceps and avoid using the biceps is essential.
Skull Crushers
Lie on the bench flat on your back with your feet on the floor. Hold a pair of dumbbells directly over your upper chest with palms facing each other.
Keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides, bend the joint to bring the dumbbells alongside the sides of your head. Use a triceps push to return the dumbbells to the start position.
The key to the success of this exercise is keeping your elbows in, as this isolates the different tricep heads and prevents the chest and shoulders from assisting.
Tricep Dips
Stand between a pair of dip bars, hold the bars, and swing up into an elevated position so your arms are straight and you're suspended mid-air. Cross your feet.
Keeping the body straight and your posture erect, bend the elbows so your body lowers toward the floor. Keep traveling downward until your elbows are at a right angle. Don't lean forward; if you do, the focus will switch to your pecs.
Push the triceps to return to the start position with an extra contraction when you reach the top.
Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdowns
On a cable pulley machine, set the pulley to the highest level and stand facing the machine about two feet away. Reach up to the short bar handle and take it with a reverse grip so your palms are face up.
Keep your elbows tucked in, raise your hands to chest height, and press down to a full straight arm extension with a triceps contraction when you reach the bottom. Return to the start point with slow control.
Start with a smaller weight while perfecting the technique and allowing your wrists to get used to the added strain.
Diamond Pushups
Put yourself in the regular pushup position, but bring your hands much closer than usual so that your first fingers and thumbs touch. The idea is to create a diamond shape.
Keeping a dead straight line from head to toe, lower your body down to your hands, aiming to touch your chest to your hands. Push back up with control through the triceps to the start position.
If you’re new to this exercise, you can start on your knees to make it easier; this one is challenging! However, it's also excellent for isolating the triceps.
Tricep Kickbacks
Put yourself into a staggered position, kneeling on the bench with your right leg, and bend your body to a 45-degree angle.
Pick up a dumbbell with your left hand and bend your arm to a right angle, keeping the elbow beside your body. Extend your elbow out until your arm is entirely straight. Slowly return to the angled base position.
Ensure that no part of your body moves except the elbow joint and forearm. Keep the torso and especially the shoulder completely still.
Concentration Cable Extensions
Set the pulley on the cable machine to head height when kneeling and add a 'D' handle to the cable. Kneel on your right knee, keeping your left foot on the ground. Take hold of the handle with an underhand grip so your palm is facing upwards.
Bend your arm to a right angle so the elbow is alongside the opposing knee. Extend the arm downwards until it is straight and fully extended.
Return to the start position, maintaining control throughout the movement.
This exercise has the most benefit with a lighter weight and more reps, around 20-30.
Tate Press
Lie on the bench with your feet on the floor and a dumbbell in each hand. With an overhand grip (palms facing away), bring the dumbbells above your chest and allow the ends of the dumbbells to touch.
Bend your elbows so your forearms reach your chest without moving the upper arms. Bring the weights down so they almost touch your chest before pushing back up with the triceps and returning to the base position.
The pitfall here is bouncing the weights off your chest to make the pushback easier. It's better to work with a lighter weight and perfect the technique so you can use the triceps to press upwards, rather than a heavier weight that impedes the exercise.
Tricep Medial Head Training Frequency & Recovery
Recovery is a vital phase for good tricep health and development. It’s when your muscles repair, adjust, and become stronger. If you ignore recovery periods, you'll fail to achieve the aesthetic and strength you want and possibly risk an injury.
After a challenging workout, your muscle fibers will have tiny tears. This stress makes the fibers thicker and stronger after they repair; this is called muscle hypertrophy, which is why recovery is vital.
Recovery involves rest, proper nutrition, and hydration.
Recommended Training Protocols
An untrained triceps medial head can be pretty visible and not create the right aesthetic. However, it's also possible to overtrain this muscle, because it's already getting a workout when you're strengthening the chest.
You should train your triceps twice weekly with no more than 12-14 reps in each session, spread across 3-4 different exercises. Less is more when it comes to working the medial head.
Always start with a compound exercise like the dumbbell press before moving to a cable exercise. Use reps between 15 and 30 for bodyweight exercises, and for cable exercises, 6 to 10 reps for compound movements.
Allow at least 72 hours of recovery between the sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Train My Triceps Medial Head?
Triceps training is ideal if you want larger, more defined arms. Many trainers and lifters focus on the long and lateral heads, but it’s common to overlook the medial head. Training the medial head will create more pressing and pushing strength and thicker arms with more definition.
Do Tricep Dips Hit the Medial Head?
When you do a dip, the medial head of the triceps contracts eccentrically or negatively. An eccentric contraction occurs when the muscle lengthens under stress. Even though the triceps uses energy rather than producing it, eccentric contractions still play a vital role in growing the muscle and developing strength.
Do Tricep Pushdowns Work Medial Head?
Pushdowns are the ultimate exercise for working the medial and lateral heads of the tricep muscle using a cable machine. The underhand position explicitly targets the medial head.
Pushdowns develop strength, leading to a balanced, impressive upper arm aesthetic with strength and power.
Focused Tricep Training Improves Upper Arm Mass
So much gym training focuses on the biceps. However, the triceps are the cornerstone of upper arm mass and strength and are vital to developing upper body pressing and pushing power. And your arms will look great!
You must work the individual tricep heads, including the medial head, for maximum strength and the ultimate aesthetic. You can't completely isolate the medial head. However, these twelve exercises and their subtle variations provide optimal stress and stimulation to achieve the right results when combined with rest and nutrition.
Ace your workouts with the Speediance Gym Monster 2 for impressive triceps. This compact and versatile digital trainer is the ultimate weight-lifting machine for your home gym. Your upper arms won't be the only part of you that'll benefit!
