The triceps muscle is particularly troublesome for women, but a lot of men also need to tone the back parts of their upper arms. You use your triceps for pushing and pulling, so having strength there will not only make you look fit but also help prevent injury.
Triceps pushups. Grab a chair and sit on the edge with your hands holding onto the front of the seat, palms to the back. Stretch your legs out straight and position yourself so your back is almost touching the front of the chair. Bend your arms to slowly lower your body till your rear end almost touches the floor, and then push yourself up until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked. You can do a similar movement, lifting your bodyweight, on parallel bars. If you use parallel bars, keep your legs hanging straight down under your torso.
Triceps pushdowns. Now sit on the chair and grab it at the sides of the seat, stretching your legs out and locking your elbows. Slide your butt off the chair and lower yourself as far as you can, then push down to raise yourself back up.
Triceps extensions. Stand or sit with a dumbbell in one hand. Straighten your arm so the dumbbell is overhead. Bend your elbow so your forearm moves behind your head, inhaling as you move. Then press the dumbbell up as you exhale. You can also do this exercise with a dumbbell in each hand, raising them simultaneously. Try to keep your upper arms stationary, next to your head; don’t move anything except your forearms.
Do two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps of these exercises.
