Build Sleeve-Stretching Triceps Using Just Your Bodyweight with This Push-Up Upgrade

Accessory exercises for smaller muscle groups often get lost in the mix when it comes to bodyweight training. Without cables, dumbbells or specialist equipment, many home workouts end up hammering the chest and shoulders while the triceps simply come along for the ride.

But that doesn't have to be the case.

On Instagram, strength coach Judd Lienhard recently shared a simple tweak to the humble push-up that immediately shifts the emphasis onto your triceps, transforming the movement into an arm-builder that's as humbling as almost any gym-based finisher.

We've covered Russian dips and tiger push-ups before, but this variation offers a great progression if you're not yet strong enough to perform those more advanced triceps-focused movements.

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• Drop into a regular push-up position.
• Descend while keeping your elbows pinned tightly to your sides, shifting your bodyweight backwards slightly so your chest is behind your hands.
• Lower slowly in that position. Rather than bringing your chest to the floor, imagine lowering your forehead towards your hands.
• If you don't yet have the triceps strength to press back up from this position, don't bail on the rep. Simply shift your weight forwards, bringing your hands back underneath your chest into the bottom of a regular push-up position. Keeping your elbows tucked, press back up from this slightly stronger position before rocking back to begin the next rep.

The biggest benefit is that your triceps are going to get absolutely cooked (in the best way possible for muscle-building).

It's a clever way to overload the eccentric portion of the movement while giving yourself just enough assistance to complete the concentric, helping you build the strength needed for more demanding bodyweight triceps exercises down the line.

More than just a workaround when you don't have access to a gym, it's a genuinely effective upper-body exercise wherever you are in your training journey.

• Upgrade Your Dips to Build Bigger, Stronger Triceps – How to Do the Russian Dip
• Develop Arm-Popping Triceps with the Tiger Push-Up – Here’s How to Do it Right
• This Hybrid Bodyweight Workout Promises a Bonus Sleeve Splitting Arm Pump
• How to Actually Build Muscle with Bodyweight Training – and What You’ve Been Getting Wrong

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