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Lateral Head of Tricep Exercises

(BEST LATERAL HEAD OF TRICEP EXERCISES FOR BUILDING MUSCLE AT HOME)

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lateral head of tricep exercises

The Ultimate Lateral Head of Tricep Exercises Guide

Focusing on the lateral head of the tricep is crucial for achieving well-rounded and defined upper arms.

This guide will delve into the anatomy of the tricep’s lateral head and present the best dumbbell exercises tailored for targeting this specific area, all achievable with minimal equipment.

lateral head of tricep exercises

The Ultimate Lateral Head of Tricep Exercises Guide

1. Anatomy of the Lateral Head of the Tricep: Understanding the Muscle Structure

2. Optimal Lateral Head Tricep Exercises: Best Dumbbell Workouts for Targeting the Lateral Head

3. Exercise Videos and Related Guides

Before we dive into the best dumbbell exercises, let’s first examine the anatomy of the tricep’s lateral head to better understand how to target this area effectively.

1. Anatomy of the Lateral Head of the Tricep: Understanding the Muscle Structure

The lateral head of the tricep is located on the outer part of the upper arm and is responsible for the arm’s extension at the elbow joint.

The lateral head is also called the outer head of the triceps, because it sits on the outer side of the back of your upper arm. The triceps has three heads: the long head runs down the inner back of the arm, the medial head lies deep under the other two, and the lateral head forms the outer edge. All three straighten your elbow, so no exercise trains the lateral head on its own, but every move in this guide works it together with the other two heads.

To train your triceps directly, choose exercises that extend the arm while keeping the elbow stationary. The Hammer Kickback, performed by bending over with a dumbbell in hand and extending the arm backwards, effectively targets the lateral head of the tricep.

Hammer Kickbacks

Understanding how to engage the lateral head of the tricep with strategic exercise alignment enhances both the effectiveness of your workouts and the visual impact of your gains. Next, we’ll explore specific exercises that utilize your available equipment to optimally target these areas.

2. Optimal Lateral Head Tricep Exercises: Best Dumbbell Workouts for Targeting the Lateral Head

The best workout plan for the lateral head of the tricep should focus on exercises that extend the arm and keep the elbow stationary to effectively engage this muscle.

Kickbacks, overhead extensions and skull crushers do exactly that. Presses and diamond push ups also bring in your chest and front shoulders, while your triceps straighten your elbows. Incorporating these exercises into your routine will help build a stronger and more defined lateral head of the tricep.

Single Dumbbell Extensions

How to Perform Single Dumbbell Extensions

  1. Prepare Your Position: Stand or sit with a dumbbell held overhead with both hands.
  2. Lower the Weight: Bend your elbows to lower the dumbbell behind your head.
  3. Extend the Weight: Lift the dumbbell back overhead.
  4. Repeat: Perform 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Only your elbows bend, so the triceps do the lifting, and your arms work in the overhead position covered in the FAQ below.

A Frame Presses

How to Perform A Frame Presses

  1. Prepare Your Position: Lie on your back with knees bent and dumbbells held above your chest.
  2. Press Up: Extend your arms to press the dumbbells up, forming an ‘A’ shape.
  3. Lower the Weights: Return the dumbbells to the chest.
  4. Repeat: Aim for 20-30 repetitions.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Targets the middle chest and triceps, improving upper body strength.

Diamond Push Ups

How to Perform Diamond Push Ups

  1. Prepare Your Position: Start in a standard push-up position with hands close together to form a diamond shape.
  2. Lower Down: Bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor.
  3. Press Up: Extend your arms to push back up to the start.
  4. Repeat: Do 10-20 reps based on your fitness level.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Targets the middle chest and triceps, strengthening the core and upper body.

Skull Crushers

How to Perform Skull Crushers

  1. Prepare Your Position: Lay on the ground with dumbbells held above your chest using a neutral grip.
  2. Lower the Weights: Bend your elbows to lower the weights towards each side of your head.
  3. Press Upwards: Extend your arms to return to the starting position.
  4. Repeat: Perform 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Focuses on triceps, increasing both strength and size.

More lateral (outer) head tricep exercises

These four moves give you more ways to load the lateral head: a palms-up kickback, two lying extensions and a close-grip press that lets you use heavier dumbbells.

Reverse Grip Kickbacks

How to Perform Reverse Grip Kickbacks

  1. Prepare Your Position: Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing up, stand with one foot ahead of the other, hinge forward at the hips with a straight back, and bend your elbows to 90 degrees.
  2. Extend: Keeping your upper arms still, straighten your elbows to push the dumbbells back until your arms are straight.
  3. Return: Bend your elbows back to 90 degrees under control, without swinging.
  4. Repeat: Perform 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Only the elbow moves, so the triceps do the work. The palms-up grip is a change from the hammer kickback above.

Tate Press

How to Perform Tate Press

  1. Prepare Your Position: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat and the dumbbells straight above your chest, palms facing your feet.
  2. Lower the Weights: Bend your elbows out to the sides to lower the dumbbells until they meet over your chest, keeping your upper arms still.
  3. Press Up: Straighten your elbows to bring the dumbbells back above your chest.
  4. Repeat: Go for 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions.
    5. What Makes It Effective: Only your elbows bend, so the triceps do the work, from a different angle than skull crushers: the dumbbells come down to your chest instead of beside your head.

Close Grip Press

How to Perform Close Grip Press

  1. Prepare Your Position: Lie on the floor with your knees bent and the dumbbells above your chest, palms facing each other and the dumbbells touching.
  2. Lower the Weights: Keeping the dumbbells together and your elbows close to your sides, lower them to your chest.
  3. Press Up: Push the dumbbells back up until your arms are straight.
  4. Repeat: Perform 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions, or more if your dumbbells are light.
    5. What Makes It Effective: This is a pressing move, not an isolation exercise: your chest and front shoulders help, so you can use heavier dumbbells than in extensions while your triceps straighten your elbows.

Backstabbers

How to Perform Backstabbers

  1. Prepare Your Position: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat and both dumbbells straight above your shoulders.
  2. Lower One Dumbbell: Bend one elbow to lower that dumbbell toward its shoulder, keeping the upper arm still and the other arm straight.
  3. Press Up: Straighten the arm to return the dumbbell, then switch arms.
  4. Repeat: Aim for 8-12 or 12-16 repetitions per arm.
    5. What Makes It Effective: One arm works at a time while the other holds still overhead, so your stronger side cannot take over.

Remember, developing a well-defined lateral head of the tricep takes consistent training with exercises that make your triceps straighten your elbows against resistance. Incorporating these exercises into your routine will help you build a stronger and more defined lateral head of the tricep.

Try out the exercises in this section, and you’ll be on your way to stronger and more defined tricep muscles.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive strength training regimen to enhance muscle definition and strength across all muscle groups, explore our LifeBuddy Apps to find the perfect program tailored to your goals and the equipment you have available.

3. Exercise Videos and Related Guides

Every exercise in this guide has its own page in our free exercise library, with a video demonstration, step-by-step form tips, common mistakes to avoid and the muscles it works:

Related guides: medial tricep head exercises, dumbbell tricep exercises and how to get bigger arms.

Want a ready-made plan? Dumbbell Home Workout builds dumbbell workouts for every muscle group around your goal, level and schedule.

Lateral Head of Tricep Exercises FAQ

Yes. Outer head is another name for the lateral head, the part of the triceps on the outside of the back of your upper arm. Every exercise in this guide is also a tricep exercise for the outer head.

No. The long, lateral and medial heads all straighten the elbow, so every triceps exercise trains all three. Moves where only the elbow bends, like kickbacks and skull crushers, isolate the triceps as a whole, and arm position changes how much the heads grow (see the overhead extension question below). Presses and diamond push ups also bring in your chest and front shoulders.

The lateral head is on the outside of the back of your upper arm. Together with the long and medial heads it straightens your elbow, and when it is well developed it forms the outer edge of the horseshoe shape at the back of the arm.

Yes. In a 12-week study, overhead cable extensions grew the lateral and medial heads about 1.4 times more than the same exercise done with the arms at the sides, even though lighter weights were used (Maeo 2023, in the references below). Mix overhead moves like single dumbbell extensions with presses and kickbacks.

With minimal equipment, these three are good choices:

  • Hammer Kickbacks – Only your elbow moves, so the triceps do the work.
  • A Frame Presses – A press that works your chest and triceps together, with help from your shoulders.
  • Diamond Push Ups – Engages the lateral head and improves overall tricep strength.

To build the tricep’s lateral head, train moves that straighten your elbow against resistance, such as the kickbacks, extensions, skull crushers and presses in this guide. No exercise works the lateral head on its own, so mix several of them and add reps or weight as they get easier. There is no quick fix, and it’s steady training over weeks that builds muscle. Work your triceps at least twice a week: in a review of 10 studies, training a muscle twice a week built more muscle than training it once a week with the same weekly workload (Schoenfeld 2016, in the references below).

REFERENCES
Eur J Sport Sci. 2023 Jul;23(7):1240-1250. Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position

J Strength Cond Res. 2019 May;33(5):1286-1294. Partial Range of Motion Exercise Is Effective for Facilitating Muscle Hypertrophy and Function Through Sustained Intramuscular Hypoxia in Young Trained Men

Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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