If you’re without a gym or prefer not to work out with machines or weights, this article will show you the best triceps workouts without weights to tone your arms.
Doing exercises without weights or machines empowers greater flexibility in your routines, as you can do them just about anytime, anywhere.
Start your day with a morning workout at home or head to the park during a break to get in a workout during lunch.
The workouts below will tone your arms and increase upper body strength, check out the best triceps workouts you can do at home.
Triceps workouts without weights
Arm Circles
You may be thinking arm circles are too easy, but this simple exercise actually targets your triceps, biceps, and shoulders. If you do it right, it’s a great warm-up for the rest of your workout routine.
- Stand with your feet parallel, hip width apart.
- Extend your arms to either side at a 90-degree angle to your body.
- Move your arms together in small fast circles, forward to back.
- Do as many rotations as you can before taking a 30-second break.
- Go back to your original standing position and complete your arm circles in reverse.
Completing as many as you can in each direction is one set. Perform three sets, taking a small break between each one.
As you’re doing these arm circles, make sure you keep your back straight, shoulders down, and abs engaged. You aren’t getting much out of this workout if you slouch!
Triceps Dip
You can do triceps dips on a chair, bench, or even stairs. They really get your triceps and shoulders working.
- Start out sitting on the edge of a chair.
- Grip the front edge with both hands.
- Shift your body forward, so you’re hovering with your weight on your arms.
- Slowly bend your elbows at a right angle and lower your body below the chair.
- Straighten your arms and repeat.
To start off, complete 15 dips and take a 30-second break. Do three sets of 15 before moving on to the next exercise.
Inverted Rows
While this rowing exercise mostly targets your biceps, you’re still using your triceps as important stabilizer muscles, so they get a decent workout.
You’ll want to lay down under something you can grip that can hold your body weight. Find a table or desk that is within arm’s reach when you are flat on your back. You can even set up a pull-up bar low down on a door frame.
- Lay down directly under the table, desk, chair, or pull up bar.
- Grip it evenly with both hands and pull your upper body off the ground.
- Try and keep your body aligned, so that you are a straight diagonal line from head to toe.
- After a few seconds, lower your body back to the floor.
Don’t count how many of these you can do — simply keep going until your arms are fatigued. Take a 45-second break and then do two more sets.
Triceps Extension
For this exercise, you’ll need to use a wall to get the full benefits. If you want more of a challenge, you can set yourself up on the floor. When you use the floor, you’ll get an additional ab workout.
- Stand in front of a wall with your hands flat against it at head height, six inches apart.
- Slowly step back, keeping your hands on the wall until your body forms a diagonal line.
- Bend your arms until your forearms touch the wall, then straighten them again.
You should only be moving at your elbows — no other part of your body should be working. Complete 15 tricep extensions before taking a 30-second break. Do two more sets before moving on.
Inchworm exercise
This is a great upper body exercise. It strengthens the arms, shoulder, triceps and the core. If you find the demonstration below to challenging, do this exercise while kneeling.
- Stand upright and keep your feet hip-width apart.
- Bend forward and place your hands on the floor (as close to your feet as possible). And keep the knees slightly bent.
- Make small strides forward with your hands until you get in the plank position.
- Walk back to starting position and repeat several times.
Avoid sinking your hips while doing this exercise. Keep your butt and abs squeezed throughout to prevent the hips from sinking.
Straight Arm Plank
You may have thought of plank only as an ab exercise, but it’s actually really great for your arms and shoulders too!
If your shoulders and arms are supporting you correctly, you’ll feel all the muscles in these areas working as well. You can do the plank supporting yourself on your elbows, or you can hold the position with your arms extended in a push-up stance.
Hold yourself up for 30 seconds to 1 minute before resting. Complete three sets of plank and then move on.
Downward Dog
Downward dog is another full body exercise that helps build up triceps and arm strength.
- Start standing upright with your feet hip width apart.
- Reach down and touch the floor (bend your knees if needed).
- Walk your hands out from your feet until you can extend your knees completely.
- Your back should be straight and you should be in an inverted “V” position.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds and then realign your body into push up stance.
- Hold in push up position for 30 seconds and then go back to downward dog.
- Move through each position for 30 seconds until exhaustion.
When completing this exercise, make sure your arms, head, and neck are always in-line with your upper body.
Final word
Depending on how long you’d like to work out, mix and match these exercises to create a full workout routine.
You don’t have to spend hours doing these exercises. If you spare 10-15 minutes every morning, you can complete your triceps workout.
What’s your favorite triceps workouts without weight?
This awesome article was written by Carl, the editor at Krav Maga Worldwide.
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