The resistance band tricep extension is an awesome exercise to perform to isolate the tricep.
Certain variations of the exercise require a door anchor, sturdy door, wall hook, high bar, or something else to hook the resistance around that is sturdy enough to hold the resistance band in place.
As with all resistance band exercises, the banded tricep extension will place the most resistance on the tricep as you reach peak contraction.
Slowly fighting the resistance band back to the starting position will allow for that tension to promote muscle growth and strength in the tricep.
In this article, we will cover 4 different tricep extensions you can perform with resistance bands. Of course, you can utilize a variety of grip positions to increase the variations you’ll have at your disposal.
Resistance Band Tricep Extension (with door anchor)
For most people who work out at home, the resistance band tricep extension using a hook or door anchor can be useful to mimic the traditional cable tricep extension exercise performed in a gym setting.
This exercise variation will help build the lateral head of the tricep which is the largest of the tricep muscles.
After looping the band into the anchor or hook, you’ll position the elbows at your hip and use your triceps to push the weight down.
This will provide a nice stimulus for the triceps. Most will find they have a great mind-muscle connection performing this variation and a few sets will lead to a satisfying tricep pump.
How to perform banded tricep extensions with a door anchor:
- Pick a resistance band that will provide the appropriate resistance.
- Loop the band around the anchor.
- Grab the handles or loop of the band. From here you can take an underhand grip, overhand grip or neutral grip depending on what feels most comfortable to you and allows you to get the best contraction.
- Bring your elbows to your sides. If you’re tall or your anchor is relatively low, you may want to take a kneeling position to perform the exercise.
- Press the resistance down by flexing your triceps and extending at the elbow until you reach a point near lockout.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows and squeeze your triceps.
- Reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Resistance Band Overhead Tricep Extension (With Door Anchor)
The next variation we will discuss is the resistance band overhead tricep extension using a door anchor, hook, or something else sturdy enough to hold the band in place.
Overhead tricep exercises tend to work the long head of the tricep slightly better which can help you build the illusion of thicker arms.
While there’s a couple of ways to perform overhead tricep extensions with bands, this variation will mimic the overhead cable extension you’ll see performed at traditional gyms. It also closely mimics the skullcrusher movement performed with other types of weights/resistance.
How to perform banded overhead tricep extensions:
- Pick a resistance band that will provide the appropriate resistance.
- Loop the band around the anchor.
- Grab the handles or loop of the band. From here you can take an underhand grip, overhand grip or neutral grip depending on what feels most comfortable to you and allows you to get the best contraction.
- Holding the bands, take a position facing away from the anchor point. Bring your elbows up until they are even with your ears. Stsgger your stance to maintain your balance. If you’re tall or your anchor is relatively low, you may want to take a kneeling position to perform the exercise.
- Press the resistance down by flexing your triceps and extending at the elbow until you reach a point near lockout.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows and squeeze your triceps.
- Reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Resistance band overhead tricep extensions (from floor)
Up next, we have another overhead extension. This one is performed with the resistance band on the floor and will be useful to those who do not have a door anchor or wall hook.
Again, overhead tricep exercises train the long head of the tricep. This variation mimics other overhead tricep movements such as the dumbbell tricep overhead extension and the barbell overhead tricep extension.
How to perform banded overhead tricep extensions from floor:
- Pick a resistance band that will provide the appropriate resistance.
- Place the band on the floor and align the midpoint of the band with the midpoint of your body.
- Step onto the band with a shoulder width stance.
- Grab the handles or loop of the band. From here you can take an underhand grip, overhand grip or neutral grip depending on what feels most comfortable to you and allows you to get the best contraction.
- Holding the bands, bring your elbows up until they are even with your ears.
- Press the resistance down by flexing your triceps and extending at the elbow until you reach a point near lockout.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows and squeeze your triceps.
- Reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Resistance band kick backs
The final tricep extension exercise we’ll discuss that you can perform with a resistance band is the banded tricep kickback.
For those without an anchor or hook, this variation will be helpful in training the lateral head of the tricep.
How to perform banded tricep kickbacks:
- Pick a resistance band that will provide the appropriate resistance.
- Place the band on the floor and align the midpoint of the band with the midpoint of your body.
- Step onto the band with a shoulder width stance.
- Grab the handles or loop of the band. From here you can take an underhand grip, overhand grip or neutral grip depending on what feels most comfortable to you and allows you to get the best contraction.
- Holding the bands, bring your elbows in to your sides. Hinge at your hips until your torso is parallel with the floor.
- Press the resistance down by flexing your triceps and extending at the elbow until you reach a point near lockout.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows and squeeze your triceps.
- Reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed 4 different tricep extension exercises that you can perform with a resistance band.
Some of the exercises require an anchor of some kind. Others can be performed with just the resistance band.
Performing tricep exercises can help shape your tricep muscles and make a significant impact on the composition of your arms. They can also help build strength that is transferable to other push exercises.
The exercise variations can be worked in your workout routines by including them into your full body workouts, upper body workouts, push workouts, or arm day workouts.
For those looking to include one or more of the variations listed in their workouts, a general recommendation would be to perform 2-5 sets of 8-15 repetitions. You can progress the exercise by using a thicker resistance band or performing more sets/reps of the exercise.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!