Tricep Workout for Mass (HARDGAINER EDITION!) – ATHLEAN-X™

A tricep workout for mass is especially important when the person doing it is a hardgainer. In this video, I’m going to show you a hardgainer tricep workout for mass that will help you to build bigger triceps if you stay consistent with it. Jesse is back to demonstrate the tricep exercises while I switch roles and step behind the camera to give you a trainers eye view of the action.

As we get started, we select a triceps exercise that would normally not be thought of to be appropriate in a hardgainer tricep workout. That exercise is the triceps kickback. The reason why we include this movement is because one of the biggest issues for hardgainers when it comes to building bigger triceps (and all muscles for that matter) is a lack of a laser focused mind muscle connection.

The tricep kickback exercise is going to allow you to put the triceps in its most shortened position. While this may not equate to the strongest contraction because of something called active insufficiency, it will allow the more novice lifter to immediately feel what a tricep contraction should feel like because of the shortened position of the muscle.

The shortened position would have the arm extended behind the body with the elbow extended fully (or as full as you can if you have elbow issues) while keeping it tucked tight against your sides. After doing 3-4 sets of 10 reps to failure here, we move onto the next exercise in this triceps workout for mass, which is the rocking tricep pushdown.

By utilizing the rocking range of motion here, we can ensure that the tension stays on the tricep for longer. If you realize that the line of force is going through the cable, then you would want to make sure that the cable stayed perpendicular to the forearm for the entire exercise if possible. Jesse will start upright and close to the bar and then rock backwards allowing the cable to stay more perpendicular to the forearm throughout.

To maximize the volume that could be compromised by the use of heavier weights for a hardgainer, I like to include a drop set to a different exercise that allows the lifter to continue for more reps even after reaching failure on the first exercise. In this case, we drop to the floor to do the bodyweight tricep exercise known as cobra pushups. This entire combo is performed 3-4 times with minimal rest in between before moving onto the final tricep exercise in this triceps workout for hardgainers.

The last movement is the elbows tucked or close grip dumbbell bench press. Here you want to make sure to keep the elbows tight to your sides throughout and if anything, angled backwards or vertical but not forward at the top. Once more, we drop to a second exercise for triceps after reaching failure here. This one in particular is the bench dip. Here, Jesse will work to shorten his range of motion to keep his shoulders in an appropriate position rather than forward.

Workouts for hardgainers like these are important on so many levels. It’s not just the exercises that you choose, but maybe more importantly the way you do them when you are struggling to add mass to your triceps. If you want a complete step by step plan for building muscle as a hardgainer, be sure to visit and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System.

For more videos on how to build bigger triceps and full workouts for tricep mass, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at

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