The lateral head tricep requires specific exercises to grow effectively. If you want to maximize arm growth, you need to give attention to all 3 heads of the tricep, specifically the lateral head.

While all three heads contribute to your arm size, it is the lateral head that is the most appealing when your arms are viewed from the front. In addition, it makes your arms appear wider when viewed from the front and back.

Anatomy of The Triceps

The triceps is situated at the posterior side of the upper arm, which is shaped like a horseshoe. It is made up of 3 heads: lateral, long, and medial.

Both the lateral head and medial head originate from the humerus and the long head originates from the infraglenoid tubercle. The three heads combined are a single tendon that attaches to the bony part of the elbow.

The primary function of the triceps is to extend the forearm at the elbow joint. It also stabilizes the elbow when performing some tasks like writing.

Lateral Head Tricep Exercises

There are a few exercises that put more emphasis on the lateral head. However, it is important to know a majority of the tricep exercises will recruit other heads. There is no way to fully isolate a single head without the others since the tricep is a single muscle.

Compound Exercises to Grow The Lateral Head

Compound exercises, when done with a full range of motion, can fully stimulate multiple muscle groups in one exercise. Although these exercises target other muscle groups at the same time, their potential for overloading the triceps is still huge. Here are some compound exercises that can make your lateral head grow:

1. Close Grip Barbell Bench Press – There is no other exercise like the bench press that can allow you to load heavy weights to promote growth. With a narrow grip on the bar, you place more emphasis on your triceps and take some of the tension off your chest. Make sure to fully extend your arms at the top of the movement for better tricep contraction.
2. Tricep Dips – This exercise can effectively grow your lateral head if done in a specific way. If you are performing dips with parallel bars, try to stay more upright instead of leaning forward. This takes some tension off the chest and transfers it to your triceps. Make sure to fully extend your arm at the top of the movement.
3. Barbell Bench Press – Although this exercise is primarily for chest development, you can still develop your lateral head when done correctly. Fully extending your triceps at the top of the movement will contract the entire muscle and hit all 3 heads.

Isolation Exercises to Grow The Lateral Head

Isolation exercises are excellent for really feeling a muscle contract. They allow you to focus on the target muscle to achieve greater contraction without the hindrance of another muscle group affecting the exercise. Here are some of the best lateral head exercises:

1. Tricep Rope Pushdown (With Flare) – When your arms are fully extended, split the rope by rotating your palms from facing each other to facing the floor. Emphasize the squeeze at the end of the movement.
2. Overhead Rope Tricep Extension – With the cable’s height set at or below neck level, grab the cable and face the opposite side of the cable. Bring the rope behind your head with your elbow pointing up towards the ceiling. Extend your arm and your fist should now be pointing toward the ceiling. Squeeze at the top of the lockout.
3. Single Arm Cable Pushdown – Using a single handle and using one arm at a time, fully extend your arm away and in front of you instead of pushing straight down towards the floor.

Tricep Training Tips for Optimal Growth

Understanding which exercises specifically target the lateral head is merely one aspect among others. Knowing how to place these exercises into your workout routine and how much volume per week are some of the other aspects of tricep training.

Knowing When To Train Triceps

If you perform some type of compound exercise like a bench press for the chest or a military press for the shoulders, you should know that they also work the triceps. Compound lifts should always be a priority in your routines and the isolation exercises, like tricep pushdowns, just complement your routine as added volume for that single muscle group.

In addition, performing an arm routine the day after chest day where a compound lift like a dumbbell flat press or bench press is done is not ideal. Your triceps will go into recovery mode after your chest day and will not be 100% ready for your arm routine the next day. Give your triceps at least 24 hours or more to fully recover before hammering them with exercises on arm day.

You can even place your lateral head tricep exercises at the end of your chest routine to finish them off. This turns the routine into a “push day” where you target your triceps, shoulders, and chest.

How Many Exercises For Lateral Head Growth?

As with any muscle group, you should perform 6-20 sets per week for your lateral head tricep. There is no magic number for the number of sets and exercises since each individual is different.

If you do a lot of pressing movements like the bench press, incline dumbbell press, dumbbell shoulder press, etc., you should count these exercises as volume for your triceps. However, this doesn’t mean that each bench press set counts as 1 set for the triceps. It all depends on how fatigued your triceps feel after those bench press sets. Perhaps you didn’t fully extend your arms at the top of the bench press, minimizing the tension on the triceps, or you didn’t go as heavy as you normally do. All these factors can affect the amount of tricep work you can do.