This 30 day tricep challenge is for those who want to get fast results. Although consistent workouts over a number of months are very important for developing your triceps, you can definitely make quick gains by working hard over a 30-day period.
Related: 30 day tricep dip challenge
The 30 day tricep challenge schedule
You’ll be doing the 30 day tricep challenge three times per week. I’ve used Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as example workout days, but you can also do Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday if it’s easier.
You definitely want one day of full rest between your workouts (a full day off actually gives your triceps around 48 hours of recuperation time!). The above schedules also give you two consecutive days of rest per week, which will be very beneficial for your tricep development and recovery.
I know that you might have expected daily workouts, but my experience tells me that a more moderate approach yields better results. Since tricep exercises are quite elbow-intensive, you don’t want to injure your tendons or joints by pushing things too hard.
- Monday: Workout 1
- Wednesday: Workout 2
- Friday: Workout 3
The 30 day tricep challenge workouts
These 30 day tricep challenge workouts contain 2 exercises, each of which is prescribed for 3 sets. Each workout also targets the triceps from a different angle so that you can a) recruit a wide variety of muscle fibers and b) avoid overuse injuries.
It’s important that you perform the workouts in order seeing as the third session causes the most muscle damage (you’ll learn why in a sec) and therefore requires the most recovery—hence why you’ll have two days off after it.
Try to leave 1-2 reps in reserve on every set that you perform. You want to stimulate your triceps rather than annihilate them.
As for rest periods, rest 1-2 minutes between sets or until you feel sufficiently recovered.
Workout 1
The first workout in this triceps challenge focuses on what I’d call pump exercises.
These are movements that create a strong peak contraction in your triceps, meaning that they’re pretty easy to recover from. Make sure to lock your elbows out during every rep so that you can train your tris with a full range of motion.
If you don’t have a cable machine to do pushdowns, then you can easily do them at home with a resistance band and a door anchor.
1: Tricep pushdown — 3 sets of 12-15 reps
2: Tricep kickbacks — 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Workout 2
This bodyweight training session is ideal if you want to do your 30 day triceps challenge with minimal equipment. Close-grip push-ups are a challenging push-up variation that really taxes the triceps, so don’t be surprised if you can’t do that many reps at first.
Tricep dips are easier than close-grip push-ups, and they’re a great exercise for burning out your triceps after a hard and heavy session. You can make them harder by elevating your feet on a chair or weight bench, or you can stick with the standard version where your feet are on the floor.
1: Close-grip push-ups — 3 sets (leave 1 rep in reserve)
2: Tricep dips — 3 sets (leave 1 rep in reserve)
Workout 3
The final workout targets the long head of the triceps with two fiber-tearing extension variations. Since these exercises train your triceps in a stretched position, they naturally create a lot of muscle damage, which is why I’ve programmed the session at the end of the week—so that you have two full days off after.
You can do lying extensions with barbells, dumbbells, and bands. The important thing is that you feel your triceps working, which usually means bringing the weights behind your head rather than lowering them directly to your face.
The single arm overhead extension trains your triceps unilaterally and ensures that both of your arms are getting similar amounts of work.
1: Lying tricep extension — 3 sets of 10-15 reps
2: SIngle arm overhead extension — 3 sets of 15-20 reps
The verdict: What results can you expect from the 30 day tricep challenge?
The 30 day tricep challenge is suitable for anyone who wants to strengthen, tone, or build their triceps muscles in a short space of time. The workouts can be performed at home and in the gym; all you need are dumbbells and resistance bands.
If your triceps are already well developed, then you likely won’t make massive gains from this routine because you’re already close to your genetic potential.
On the other hand, if your triceps are somewhat toned but don’t have much mass, then you can definitely make some good size gains during the duration of this challenge.
Of course, the amount of muscle that you can gain is mainly determined by your diet and how much weight you’re lifting. So if you just want to tone up, you certainly don’t need to worry about making your triceps too bulky; these workouts cater to many different goals.