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EZ Barbell Incline Triceps Extension animation

How to do the EZ Barbell Incline Triceps Extension

TricepsEZ-BarIntermediate

The EZ barbell incline triceps extension places your arms in a stretched overhead position that maximally loads the long head of the tricep through a full range of motion. Master this movement and you will build the kind of dense, full tricep mass that makes your arms stand out from every angle.

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Muscles worked

Primary
Triceps
Secondary
Front deltsChest

Step-by-step

  1. Set an incline bench to 30 to 45 degrees, lie back with the EZ-bar held at arms length directly over your shoulders using a narrow overhand grip on the inner angled knurling.
  2. Keeping your upper arms fixed and perpendicular to the floor, hinge only at the elbows to lower the bar in a controlled arc toward the top of your forehead.
  3. Pause briefly at the bottom when you feel a deep stretch through the long head of the tricep without allowing your elbows to flare outward.
  4. Drive the bar back to the start by forcefully extending at the elbows, squeezing the triceps hard at lockout before beginning the next rep.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the upper arms drift backward as the bar descends turns the movement into a pullover and removes tension from the triceps, so brace your shoulders and keep upper arms locked vertical throughout.
  • Gripping too wide on the EZ-bar reduces the stretch on the long head and shifts stress to the joints, so use the inner angled grip sections to keep hands close and wrists neutral.
  • Using momentum or bouncing out of the bottom position risks elbow strain and cuts the set short, so lower with a 2 to 3 second count and initiate each rep from a dead stop at the bottom.

Pro tip — On every rep consciously think about pulling your elbows slightly inward toward each other as you extend, this subtle cue activates the tricep more completely and keeps the lateral and medial heads engaged alongside the long head for maximum development.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps

Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.

More Triceps exercises

Barbell Close Grip Bench PressBarbell Close Grip Bench PressBarbell Decline Close Grip To Skull PressBarbell Decline Close Grip To Skull PressBarbell Incline Reverse Grip PressBarbell Incline Reverse Grip PressBarbell Lying Close Grip PressBarbell Lying Close Grip PressBarbell Lying Close Grip Triceps ExtensionBarbell Lying Close Grip Triceps ExtensionBarbell Lying ExtensionBarbell Lying Extension
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