7 Best Medial Head Triceps Exercises to Get Bigger Arms

Are you looking to build powerful and bigger-looking arms? Well, then you need to focus on the medial head triceps workout. The triceps is a muscle of the arm on the posterior side, which is contributing 70% of the size of your upper arm.

To build an aesthetic look of your triceps muscle, you really need to understand the triceps muscle, how they move and how much area they cover. Triceps muscles have three heads long head, a lateral head, and a medial head.

The medial head is contributing to getting shape from the lower portion, which is the discussed subject of the article.

Anatomy behind medial head triceps

The triceps is a major muscle of your upper arm which is contributed on the posterior side about 70% shape of your arm. The triceps muscle is a group of three heads, long head, lateral head, and medial head and these are responsible for extending your arm.

The long head of the triceps is originated from the infraglenoid tubercle and is inserted into the olecranon process of the ulna bone of the forearm.

The lateral head is originated from the superior to the radial groove of the humerus and is inserted into the olecranon process of the ulna bone of the forearm.

The medial head is originated from the inferior to the radial groove of the humerus and is inserted into the olecranon process of the ulna bone of the forearm.

Three heads originated from different points of the shoulder and distally the heads combined onto one tendon and inserted into the olecranon process of the ulna.

Function

Extension of the upper arm at the elbow.

Nerve Supply

The radial nerve is supplied to three heads of the triceps.

7 Best Medial Head Tricep Exercises

As the triceps muscle is work as an arm extensor at the elbow joint so to build this muscle stronger, all exercises will be extension types. Actually, each muscle is made of millions of muscle fibers, to get well-structured muscle you have to hit all muscle fibers from every direction.

To hit the medial triceps muscle perfectly from every direction we are finalizing 9 best exercises that are maximally targeted on the medial head of the triceps muscle. Do these exercises carefully and with concentration.

You can train your triceps muscle by using Barbells, dumbbells, and cables. we are discussing each type of variation in this article. Let’s start.

Train your medial head triceps using barbells

You can train your triceps medial head using barbells. What is the position, how much weight, and some tips about training you will discover now?

1. Flat Bench Skull Crushers

A Skull crusher is one of the fundamental medial head triceps exercises where you lay down on a flat bench and slowly lower the barbells to your forehead. During exercise, you have to stable your shoulder muscle protract your back slightly, and pull up weight slowly.

Equipment used

A flat bench and a barbell with medium-lightweight.

How to do bench skull crushers

1. Hold your barbells by your hand and carefully sit on a flat bench.
2. Contract your core and hip muscle, slowly lying down on the flat bench.
3. After lying down, extend your arm straight, 90 degrees to your body.
4. Slightly tilt your upper arm a few degrees back towards your head.
5. Slowly lower your barbells by bending your elbows.
6. When the barbell reaches near your head, extend your elbow and back to starting position.

Keep in mind during bench skull crusher

1. Keep your core engaged during exercise.
2. Stable your upper arm and upper back before starting.
3. When you set your position with your elbow extended and straight, but slightly back towards the head, then you will feel a good amount of tension on the triceps.
4. Keep your hand grip tight during exercise, the most important thing.

To grow your medial head triceps perfectly, the muscle-mind connection is so important. Actually, muscle mind connection is that you concentrate on your movements and feel your muscles struggle, feel tension around the whole muscle.

Do these exercises very carefully and with concentration. Do three to four sets of 15 to 20 repetitions. Repeat it for desired hypertrophy of your triceps.

2. Barbell French Press

The barbell french press is the best alternative to bench skull crushers which is performed in an upright position . Standing and sitting can be the best position to do this exercise with a vertical upright.

In the barbell french press, your arm angle increases from 90 degrees to almost 180 degrees around your shoulder joint. In this position, you put more weight on your medial head triceps and train it from the inside. This load is so beneficial for your medial head of the triceps.

Equipment used

A lighweight zigzag barbell.

How to do barbell french press

1. You can do this exercise in a standing or sitting position.
2. Hold a barbell tightly, and keep contracting your arm and shoulder.
3. Slowly pull your barbell over your head, and both hands will be straight.
4. Bend your elbow down, feel the stretch and hold for 1-2 sec.
5. During bending at 90 degrees your triceps medial head is mostly targeted.
6. Extend your arm to push the barbell back and go to starting position.
7. Repeat it slowly for the desired number of repetitions.

Keep in mind during the barbell french press

1. Stand on your feet slightly wider apart.
2. Keep straight your lower body, and engage your lower back and core muscle.
3. Stable your shoulder girdle, during pull-up barbell overhead.
4. Your hand grip should be enough tight, to prevent any injury or accident.
5. Repeat the movement until you feel hypertrophy in your muscle.

To target, your medial head triceps perform this exercise slowly and with care. You can do three to four sets of 20 repetitions . Let,t try it out and tell us in the comment section below, how its feels.

3. Incline Skull Crushers

An incline skull crusher is another best exercise to hit your medial head triceps muscle perfectly. In this exercise, you have to use an incline bench instead use a flat bench.

A larger angle between your upper arm and body creates maximum tension on the medial portion of the triceps. Do it slowly and carefully, let’s talk about how to perform.

Equipment used

An incline bench and a straight barbell with medium weight.

How to do an incline skull crusher

1. Use an incline bench to perform this exercise.
2. Set your bench angle to 30 degrees, then the angle between your arm and body will be around 130 degrees, the best position to hit the middle head.
3. Hold weight by hand tightly and slowly sit on an incline bench.
4. Rest your back on an incline bench, and tighten your core muscle.
5. Lift up your barbell straight and tighten your arm.
6. In the down, the angle between the body and arm will be around 90 degrees.
7. Repeat it for your desired hypertrophy.

Keep in mind during Incline skull crushers

1. Perfectly set your incline bench.
2. Keep your core and lower back engage during exercise.
3. Doing some mobility exercises before performing, will prevent injury.
4. Start from lightweight, then progressively increase the weight of your barbell.

This exercise will be one of the most beneficial medial head triceps exercises. Do this exercise carefully and with concentration. Do three to four sets of 20 repetitions to get desired hypertrophy.

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Train your triceps medial head using dumbells

You can train your triceps medial head by using dumbells also. In this section, we will discuss various exercises you can do with a pair of dumbells. How to perform the, how much weight you have to use, some precautions and tips about this exercise.

4. Single Dumbbell French Press

The dumble french press is the same type of exercise as the barbell exercise, instead of a single barbell, you are using a pair of dumbells there to train your medial head triceps. In this, your grip will be close with more internal rotation of your upper arm.

Equipment used

A flat bench and a medium-weight double.

How to do a single dumbbell french press

1. Use a flat bench to do this exercise and a medium-weight dumbbell.
2. Sit on the flat bench with a dumbbell grab with palms on the inside of one end.
3. Lift the dumbbell carefully near your upper back level.
4. Then try to straighten your elbow overhead.
5. Feel the contraction in an extended position or straight position and hold for 2 sec.
6. Keep your upper arm straight and bring down the dumbbell carefully and slowly behind your head by bending your elbows.
7. From starting position again you have to extend your elbow and feel the contraction in the triceps medial head.

Keep in mind during dumbbell french press

1. Keep your core, lower back, and upper back engaged while you do this exercise.
2. Start from lightweight, then progressively overload to prevent injury.
3. Stabilize your shoulder when you pull up the dumbbell overhead.
4. When you bend your elbow, keep straightening your arm and perform carefully.
5. Do not do this exercise too first, do slowly feel the contraction and repeat

Dumbbell french press is an amazing exercise to hit your medial head triceps and make it stronger, and bigger. Do this exercise slowly to create microtears in your muscle and get maximum hypertrophy.

Do three to four sets of 20 repetitions to train your triceps medial head perfectly. Don’t use heavy weights in this exercise, it can injure your shoulder joint.

Watch this video on YouTube

5. Neutral Grip Dumbbell Skull Crushers

Neutral skull pressure is another amazing form, the same as the barbell skull crusher which mainly targets your medial head triceps. In this, your palms face each other during the movements. To get a Horse’s hoof shape triceps muscle you have to train all three muscles intensely.

Equipment used

A flat bench and a pair of medium-weight dumbbells.

How to do Neutral Grip Dumbbell Skull Crushers

1. Use a flat bench and a pair of medium-weighted dumbbell to perform this exercise.
2. Hold the dumbbell in each hand tightly with a neutral gripe.
3. Stable your shoulder and lay down on the flat bench carefully.
4. Press the dumbbell to arm’s length and straighten your elbow.
5. Tilt your arm slightly posterior toward your head.
6. Bring down the dumbbell on either side towards your head by bending your elbows.
7. Extend your arm, hold for 2 sec, feel the contraction, and repeat for the desired repetitions.

Keep in mind during neutral grip dumbbell skull crusher

1. To hit the medial head triceps angle between the upper arm and chest should be 90 degrees.
2. Keep contracting your core and upper back during exercise.
3. When you bend your elbow, at first stabilize your shoulder complex.
4. Start from medium weight and progressively overload.
5. Perform this exercise slowly to get maximum hypertrophy.
6. Your grip should be close grip and neutral.

A neutral grip skull crusher is an ideal exercise to hit your medial triceps head and help to look bigger in your upper arm. Do this exercise very carefully to prevent shoulder injury.

Do three to four sets of dumble skull crusher and 15 to 20 repetitions to put desired tension on the medial head of the triceps.

Train your triceps medial head using cables

Cables are also the best alternative option to perfectly train your medial head triceps. In this type of exercise, you mainly need a cable pull machine which is easily available in all gyms. Start with lightweight and slowly increase your weight. Cable exercises are putting more constant tension on your muscles and fiber throughout the movements.

6. Cable Tricep Pressdown

Cable triceps press-down is an alternative exercise that is directly hit your medial head triceps. For overall muscle shape, you have to train all of these muscles lateral, medial and long head. Cable triceps press-down is helped to grow your medial head triceps directly.

The medial head of the triceps is situated in the downward position in the humerus bone. To form a base of triceps muscle cable triceps press down is a great exercise or great option.

Equipment used

Cable pully machine and a dual-headed rope.

How to do Neutral Grip Dumbbell Skull Crushers

1. You need a cable pulley machine and a dual-headed rope.
2. Set the cable machine on the top point of the weight bar.
3. Hold the rope by each hand, facing each another.
4. Keep your back straight and tuck your elbow into your sides.
5. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, or you can place one foot in front of the other.
6. Pull down the cable, until your hand reaches near your thigh and hold for 2 sec, feel the contraction.
7. Then slowly release the bar back to the starting position.
8. Slowly repeat the movements according to the instruction above and get desired hypertrophy.

Keep in mind during neutral grip dumbbell skull crusher

1. Keep your grip close and neutral, slightly pronated from the inside.
2. Don’t stand too close to your cable pull machine, the distance between the cable pull machine and your foot should be 1.5 feet to 2.5 feet accordingly.
3. Hold for 2 seconds at the bottom of your movement to get enough hypertrophy.
4. You can stand straight or you can bend your back slightly, stable it and do this movement.

Do this exercise slowly and with concentration to strengthen your muscle and bigger arms. Three to four sets of 20 repetitions are more than enough to create enough hypertrophy.

7. Cable Overhead Extension

Cable overhead extension is another exercise form to hit your medial head triceps. This is almost the same workout as the french press exercise except, in this exercise, you can adjust your arm and body position accordingly.

Read these instructions to perform this exercise properly, If your form will not correct, you can harm your shoulder joint. Let’s know, how you can perform it correctly.

Equipment used

Cable pull machine and a dual-handed rope.

How to do Neutral Grip Dumbbell Skull Crushers

1. Attach the rope to the highest point of the cable stack.
2. Stand in front of the cable pull machine, not toward the machine, in the opposite direction.
3. Grasp the rope with a neutral grip overhead, and slightly lean forward by hinging your hips.
4. Start the movement by straight your elbow and holding for 2 seconds.
5. Pull the weight towards your front until your elbows are locked.
6. Slowly release the weight and back to starting position.
7. Perform slowly and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Keep in mind during neutral grip dumbbell skull crusher

1. Engage your core and back muscle during this exercise.
2. Start from lightweight and progressively you can increase it.
3. You have to lock your elbow at the end of the movement.
4. Hold for 2 seconds at the end of the movement to feel more hypertrophy.

Do this exercise to grow your medial head triceps perfectly. Doing three to four repetitions of 20 repetitions is more than enough to get desired hypertrophy. Do it slowly and carefully.

Many Factors about hitting the medial head triceps

To hit your medial head triceps you have to maintain some form and position when you are performing this exercise. Keep in mind, these factors are very important to give proper tension on your medial head. We are discussing that now. Let’s start.

Arm Elevation

You get maximum triceps head activation in the elevation of the arm. Arm elevation means the position of your arm relative to your shoulder girdle. Your arm position is measured in degrees.

• where 0 degrees means your arm is down at your side.
• 180 degrees means your arms are directly overhead.
• 90 degrees means your arms are straight out in front of you.

Studies show that when your arm is at 90 degrees and above, your medial head triceps is more effectively targeted. Therefore when your arm is at your shoulder level or higher, your medial triceps head will be more effectively trained.

Hand Position

To get maximum benefits from exercise, hand position is the most important determining factor. In triceps exercise, the two most used position is supination and pronation. Supination means your palm faces up, and pronation means your palm down.

The position of the hand is not an important thing in this exercise but studies suggest that in a supinated position medial head triceps is more activated from other positions. It’s better to use an underhand grip to perfectly target all the triceps muscles, including the medial head.

Range of Motion

The range of motion of the triceps muscle is from 0 degrees to 150 degrees approximately. A scientific study shows that

• The triceps long head is trained perfectly at around 45 degrees in the elbows.
• The lateral and medial heads are effectively trained at about 90 degrees in the elbow.

In medial head triceps exercise, if you want to put maximum weight on your muscle, in a 90-degree position your medial head is get more hypertrophy.

Repetition and range

The medial head triceps head should respond better in lower force movements with a lightweight. Mainly muscle fibers are divided into two types.

• Types I
• Types II

Type I are mainly working during used lightweight and high-repetition movements. Type II is used during heavy load with low repetition movements. Each muscle is made of both types of muscle fiber, so you have to train your triceps muscle with heavy weight and lightweight also.

When you want to hit your medial head triceps perfectly, it makes sense to use different loads and repetition ranges when you are targeting a specified head.

Programing triceps exercise into your routine:

The triceps muscle is a major group of muscle which is cover approx 70 percent of the whole shape. To put a hit on your muscle fiber from every angle you have to perform various exercises in various forms.

Perform this exercise slowly and incorporate it into your workout routine. Do exercise with proper technique and put maximum hypertrophy on your triceps muscle.

Exercises	Sets and Reps	Rest Time
Incline barbell bench press	Sets 5 and Reps 6	45 secs
Dips	Sets 5 and Reps 12	45 secs
Dumbbell Flyes	Sets 5 and Reps 25	03 min
Close-grip bench press	Sets 5 and Reps 6	45 secs
Close grip EZ bar skull crusher	Sets 5 and Reps 12	45 secs
Triceps cable rope pushdown	Sets 5 and Reps 25	03 min

Bottom Line:

In this article, we discussed the best medial head triceps exercises, which are most beneficial to grow your arm. All of the exercises we discussed above, are based on deep research and year of experience. To hit your surrounding arm muscle, you have to perform a variety of exercises that act as a dynamic stabilizer.

That’s it! Next time when someone wonders, “Best Medial Head Triceps Exercises to Get Bigger Arms” Take charge and start explaining. Have question? Don’t hesitate to let me know in the comment section below. I will try my best to answer all of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

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References

• https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g19547150/best-tricep-workouts/
• https://teachmeanatomy.info/upper-limb/muscles/upper-arm/
• https://www.verywellfit.com/most-effective-triceps-exercises-1231027
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7047337/