Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Tricep Extension
The dumbbell tricep extension is a single-arm overhead extension, seated or standing, where you lower a dumbbell behind your head and straighten your arm. It isolates the triceps, with a big stretch on the long head. Working one arm at a time lets you fix imbalances and find a comfortable elbow path.
Muscles worked
The dumbbell single-arm 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 dumbbell single-arm overhead tricep extension
- 01Sit or stand tall holding one dumbbell overhead with your arm straight and palm facing in.
- 02Brace your core and use your free hand to support the working elbow if you like.
- 03Bend at the elbow and lower the dumbbell behind your head toward the opposite shoulder.
- 04Lower until you feel a deep tricep stretch, keeping your upper arm pointed up.
- 05Straighten your arm back to the top, then finish all reps before switching sides.
Coaching cues
- Upper arm points at the ceiling
- Only the elbow moves
- Reach deep behind your head
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbow drift out wide spreads the load away from the triceps, so keep it pointing up and slightly in.
- Arching your lower back to get the weight up hides weak triceps, so brace your core and lighten the load.
- Stopping halfway down skips the long head stretch, so lower until your forearm is well past parallel.
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.
Dumbbell Single-Arm 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 dumbbell single-arm overhead tricep extension free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.