Barbell Overhead Tricep Extension
The barbell overhead tricep extension is an isolation exercise where you lower a bar behind your head from overhead and press it back up by straightening your elbows. With your arms overhead, the long head of your triceps works in a deep stretch. Pick it to bias the long head and build fuller upper arms.
Muscles worked
The barbell overhead tricep extension trains the triceps.
Primary
Weekly sets for triceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for triceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the barbell overhead tricep extension
- 01Sit on a bench with back support or stand tall, holding the bar overhead with a narrow overhand grip.
- 02Brace your trunk and keep your ribs down so your lower back doesn't arch.
- 03Bend your elbows to lower the bar behind your head, keeping your upper arms close to your ears.
- 04Lower until you feel a deep stretch in your triceps, without forcing the range.
- 05Extend your elbows to press the bar back to full lockout overhead.
Coaching cues
- Elbows point forward, not out.
- Ribs down, stay stacked.
- Reach deep for the stretch.
Common mistakes
- Flaring your elbows wide lets your shoulders take over, so keep them pointing forward near your head.
- Arching your lower back to get the bar up shifts the load, so brace your trunk or sit with back support.
- Going too heavy for the stretched position shortens your range, so use a weight you can lower fully behind your head.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Barbell Overhead Tricep Extension alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your barbell overhead tricep extension free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.