10 Best Resistance Loop Band Tricep Exercises (2024)

For those who want to build strong and sculpted triceps at home with resistance bands, I’ve shared the ten best exercises in this article that you can do at home with and without an anchor.

These exercises will target all long, medial, and lateral heads and help you build sizeable triceps.

Having solid triceps add definition to your arms and make them look exceptional, as well as help you perform better during the push exercises.

Muscles of Triceps and How They Stimulate

The triceps is located on the back of your upper arms. It comprises three heads – the long, medial, and short. These heads stimulate when you extend your arms fully.

For example, they are activated when you perform arm extension exercises, such as pushdowns, bar dips, press-ups, and french presses.

You can target all three heads by doing the proper exercises with bands only.

Benefits of Doing Triceps Workouts with Bands

Resistance bands are excellent equipment that allows you to perform myriad exercises at home with and without attachment.

They also allow you to control the tension level and range of motion so that you can work on each head effectively.

Bands also allow you to perform compound and isolation exercises that are great for developing muscular triceps.

Bands are compact and portable and require little space. So you can do them anywhere, such as at home, in the gym, or on the beach.

Resistance Loop Band Tricep Exercises (No Anchor)

1. Overhead Tricep Extension

The overhead tricep extension is an excellent way to hit your tricep’s long head and build up strong arms.

Exercise Level: Beginner to Intermediate

How to:

1. Sitting on the floor, grab a mini band firmly with your right hand, bend your elbow, and let the band hand behind your back.
2. Take your left hand behind your back and grab the opposite end. That’s the starting position.
3. Contracting your triceps, extend your right arm until it is straight overhead.
4. Hold for a moment, feel the contraction and then return to start and repeat.

Recommended reps and sets: 8-12/side x 3

2. Triceps Kickback

Kickback is one of my favorite exercises as it stimulates the triceps heads to the highest level and improves muscle definition.

Exercise Level: Intermediate

How to:

1. Stand in the split stance, place the band under your leading (right) foot, bend your torso forward, and grab the opposite end with your left hand. That is your starting position.
2. Kick your arm back until you feel the full contraction in your triceps.
3. Hold for a second and then return to the start. That’s one repetition.

Recommended reps and sets: 8-12/side x 3

3. Diamond Push-up

The diamond pushup is a compound movement that works throughout the upper body, especially the chest and triceps. It is also known as a triangle pushup.

The triangle pushup elicits the highest muscle contraction in all heads of the triceps, as shown in a study published by the ACE (American Council of Exercises).

It may be challenging, but it helps develop bigger triceps.

Exercise Level: Intermediate

How to:

1. Wrap the band around your back just under your armpits gripping both ends with your hands.
2. Get into a high plank position, adjust your hands and form a triangle shape. Make sure the band is firmly fixed under your hands on the ground. That’s your start.
3. Bend your elbows, slowly lower your chest toward the ground, and then press back to starting position. That’s one rep.

Recommended reps and sets: Perform three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps.

4. Bench Assisted Dips

Bench dip without weight is sufficient to shape your triceps but adding resistance to this exercise makes your triceps more powerful. Weighted bench dips also engage shoulder, biceps, and abdominal muscles and build a strong upper body.

Exercise Level: Intermediate

How to:

1. Wrap the band around your shoulder and sit on the bench with your feet on the ground.
2. Take your butt off the floor, feet a couple of inches away, and hold your arms straight beside your hips.
3. Bend your elbows and dip down.
4. Press your hands into the bench until your triceps are fully activated. That’s your one rep.

You can use any elevated object to perform a dip exercise.

Recommended reps and sets: Perform three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps.

5. Banded Floor Press

The resistance band floor Press is an excellent exercise for developing strength and muscle mass in the upper body. It bolsters the chest, shoulders, and triceps simultaneously and helps improve overall strength.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

1. Wrap the band around your upper back and grab the ends firmly with your hands.
2. Lie supine on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat.
3. Press the band toward the ceiling until your arms are straight. Straightening your arms are important here as you’re training your tricep muscles.
4. Return to the beginning and repeat.

Recommended reps and sets: 10-12 x 3-4

6. Pull Apart

The pull-apart is a strength and flexibility exercise that bolsters multiple upper body muscles simultaneously, including the tricep brachii.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

1. Stand upright and firmly grasp the ends of a mini band.
2. Keep your arms straight in front of you to your chest. This is your starting position.
3. Pull the band out to the sides until you feel the contraction in your triceps and upper back.
4. Hold for two seconds and then return to starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

Recommended reps and sets: 8-12 x 3

7. Neutral Grip Tricep Pushdown

You can also do tricep pushdown without an anchor. It requires you to stand upright, grab the ends and pull the bottom end until your arm is straight.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

1. Standing upright the shoulder-width apart, grab the end of a band with your right hand and keep your arm straight in front of your head so the band hangs in front of your torso.
2. Hold the opposite end with your left hand at your stomach level with your elbow bent.
3. Contracting your triceps, push the band toward the floor until your arms are fully straight.
4. Hold for a moment and then return to start and repeat.

Recommended reps and sets:10-12/side x 3

Resistance Band Tricep Exercises with Attachment

8. Single-arm Tricep Kickback

Anchoring the band to the door or some other object helps you perform kickback more efficiently and target the tricep muscles effectively.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

1. Attach the band to the door and grab the opposite end with your right hand.
2. Take a few steps back, lean forward, and put your left hand on your knee.
3. Engaging your triceps, pull the band behind as you kick your hand back.
4. Hold and squeeze for a moment, and then return to the start. That’s one.

Recommended reps and sets: Perform two to three sets of eight to ten reps each.

9. Overhead Tricep Extension

The resistance band is a good alternative to a cable machine for doing overhead tricep extensions. It provides similar muscle activation and helps build chiseled triceps.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

• Anchor the band to a standing object, such as the door and bar, and grasp the ends firmly with your hands.
• Contracting your triceps, extend your arms until they are straight.
• Hold for a couple of seconds and then return to start.

Recommended reps and sets: Do three sets of 10 to 15 reps each.

10. Resistance Band Tricep Pushdown

The pushdown is one of the most effective exercises for the triceps. It works all three heads of the triceps and helps develop a nice-looking upper arm.

Exercise Level: Beginner

How to:

• Anchor the band to a higher object and grasp the opposite end with a neutral grip.
• Slightly lean forward and keep your arms bent in front of your chest, elbows tucked to your sides.
• Push the band down until your triceps are fully engaged.
• Hold and squeeze for a couple of seconds, and then return to start.

Recommended reps and sets: 10-12 x 3

You can also perform a single-arm underhand pushdown to work on each tricep individually and even out muscle imbalance if one arm dominates the other.

Do Resistance Bands Build Triceps Muscles?

Yes, doing tricep exercises with resistance bands helps strengthen and tone muscles and increases overall arm strength. A study suggested that training with an elastic resistance band promotes similar strength gains to conventional resistance training.

But bodybuilding is all about the proper application of exercise and diet. You can build an attractive and strong physique if you’re disciplined, punctual, and consistent.

How to Incorporate Resistance Band Triceps Exercises into Workout Routines

The triceps can be paired with any muscle group, such as the chest, shoulder, biceps, and legs. So you can easily fit the resistance band tricep exercises into a push/pull program, full-body routine, or upper/lower split.

Here’s how you can include them in different routines:

• PPL – Incorporate three different exercises on your push day
• Full Body – Perform two exercises every alternate training day.
• Upper/Lower – Do two to three exercises on upper body training twice a week.
• Superset with Biceps: Perform three to five workouts.

You can also train your triceps solo. For example, I’ve shared a couple of examples below.

Example 1 – 10 Minutes Workout without Anchor

Example 2 – 20 Minutes Workout

If you want an ultimate resistance band program, you can down this 12-week workout routine.