Effective Tricep Sets and Reps That Transform Your Arms

Understand tricep sets and reps

If you want bigger, stronger arms, dialing in your tricep sets and reps is one of the most effective changes you can make. Your triceps make up roughly two‑thirds of your upper arm, so smart tricep training has an outsized impact on how your arms look and perform.

In this guide, you will see how many tricep sets per week to do, how many reps to use for strength, size, and endurance, and how to put everything together into simple, realistic workouts you can stick with.

Key principles of tricep training

Before you think about exact numbers, it helps to understand the big picture behind effective tricep sets and reps.

Train for your main goal

Your ideal rep range depends on what you care about most:

• Strength: heavier weight, lower reps
• Hypertrophy (muscle size): moderate weight, moderate reps
• Endurance: lighter weight, higher reps

Reddit lifters often recommend low rep ranges of 3 to 6 for strength on tricep pushdowns, while 8 to 12 reps are commonly used to grow the muscle. Higher reps such as 12 to 15 are more about endurance and a different type of pump.

Guidelines from Renaissance Periodization (RP Strength) suggest that triceps grow well across a broad range of about 5 to 30 reps per set, as long as you train close enough to failure and use good form. They recommend splitting your tricep work into:

• Heavy sets: 5 to 10 reps
• Moderate sets: 10 to 20 reps
• Light sets: 20 to 30 reps

With about half of your weekly sets in the moderate range and the rest spread between heavy and light, you can balance stimulus and fatigue effectively.

Balance weekly volume and recovery

Your triceps will not grow if you train them hard but rarely, or if you hammer them so often that you never recover.

From the research you have:

• Beginners: about 6 to 9 tricep sets per week
• Intermediates: about 9 to 15 sets per week
• Advanced lifters: 15 to 18 sets per week

Most people do well with 9 to 15 sets per week, spread over 2 to 4 sessions. This aligns with RP Strength guidance that most trainees can train triceps 2 to 4 times weekly between their minimum effective volume and maximum recoverable volume.

The key is to adjust based on how your elbows and performance feel. If you are always sore or your pressing strength is going down, you may need fewer sets or an extra rest day.

Use more than one movement pattern

Your triceps have three heads, and they respond best when you train them in slightly different ways instead of doing only pushdowns.

Across a typical week, try to include:

• At least one compound press that hits triceps hard
• At least one isolation movement in front of your body
• At least one overhead extension that stretches the long head

RP Strength recommends 1 to 3 different tricep exercises per session and 2 to 5 per week. That is enough variation to keep progress moving without turning every workout into a circus.

How many tricep sets and reps per week

Now you can turn those principles into specific numbers for your tricep sets and reps.

Weekly set guidelines

Use these as starting points and adjust over time:

• If you are newer to lifting

• 6 to 9 total tricep sets per week

• 2 sessions per week work well, such as 3 to 4 sets per workout

• If you are an intermediate lifter

• 9 to 15 sets per week

• 2 to 3 sessions per week, 4 to 6 sets per workout

• If you are advanced

• 15 to 18 sets per week

• 3 to 4 sessions per week, 4 to 6 sets at a time, often with intensity techniques like supersets and drop sets

RP Strength notes that most people recover well enough to train triceps 2 to 4 times per week when volume is within their personal minimum effective and maximum recoverable ranges.

Weekly rep range distribution

For hypertrophy, you can structure your weekly tricep sets and reps like this, following RP Strength suggestions:

• About 50% of your weekly sets in the moderate range
• 10 to 20 reps per set
• About 25% in the heavy range
• 5 to 10 reps per set
• About 25% in the light range
• 20 to 30 reps per set

This could look like:

• Heavy: close‑grip bench or dips, 5 to 8 reps
• Moderate: skull crushers or rope pushdowns, 10 to 15 reps
• Light: cable pushdowns or band pushdowns, 15 to 25 reps

If your main goal is strength, you would simply shift a bit more of your sets into the 5 to 8 rep range and do them on heavier compound lifts.

Best tricep rep ranges by goal

You can use tricep sets and reps very deliberately depending on what you want most from your training.

For strength

If you are chasing more weight on your bench or dips, focus on:

• Sets per week: 6 to 9 direct tricep sets
• Rep range: 3 to 6 on your main heavy movements
• Exercises:
• Close‑grip bench press
• Weighted dips (if your shoulders tolerate them)
• Heavy pushdowns or lying extensions

An example strength‑focused setup:

• Close‑grip bench: 4 sets of 4 to 6 reps
• Weighted dips or heavy pushdowns: 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps

The research shows that low rep heavy work can build tricep strength effectively, particularly when paired with compound pressing.

For hypertrophy (size)

If you mainly want bigger arms, you can use a mix of rep ranges but center your work in the middle:

• Weekly sets: 9 to 15 for most people
• Per‑set reps:
• Heavy: 5 to 10
• Moderate: 10 to 20, main focus
• Light: 20 to 30

An example weekly distribution:

• 6 to 8 sets of 10 to 15 reps
• 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps
• 3 to 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps

One example from a push day:

• Overhead press: 4 sets, triceps as secondary movers
• Incline press: 4 sets, triceps secondary again
• Skull crushers: 3 heavy sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Rope pushdowns: 2 lighter sets of 12 to 15, with a drop set on the last one

That gives you 5 direct tricep sets on top of pressing, which is a solid amount if you train them several times per week.

For endurance and conditioning

If your goal is more muscular endurance or finishers at the end of a workout:

• Weekly sets: 6 to 12
• Rep range: 12 to 20, occasionally up to 25 or 30
• Exercises:
• Cable pushdowns
• Band pushdowns
• Machine extensions

You can still grow muscle with these higher reps, especially when you push close to failure, but the sensation is very different from grinding heavy sets.

How many exercises per workout

You do not need a huge list of movements for effective tricep workouts. The research and RP Strength guidelines keep it simple:

• Per session: 1 to 3 tricep exercises
• Per week: 2 to 5 tricep exercises total

Types of exercises to rotate over time:

• Compound presses that load triceps hard
• Bench press variations
• Overhead press
• Dips
• Horizontal or standing extensions
• Skull crushers
• Cable pushdowns
• Machine pushdowns
• Overhead extensions
• Dumbbell overhead extensions
• Cable overhead extensions

Over several months, try to include all three categories regularly instead of sticking to just one favorite.

Rest times between tricep sets

Rest periods are part of your tricep sets and reps, even if they are usually not written in your logbook.

RP Strength suggests resting until you feel “very good” recovery, which usually lands between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, depending on the movement and your conditioning.

Use this as a guide:

• For heavy barbell or dumbbell extensions, and heavy presses
• 1.5 to 2 minutes rest
• For moderate cable work
• 60 to 90 seconds rest
• For very light, high‑rep cable pushdowns or band work
• 30 to 60 seconds rest can be enough

The main sign that you are ready is your breathing and your ability to focus. If your form breaks down early in the next set, your rest is probably too short.

Example tricep workouts you can use

You can use the research on tricep sets and reps to build quick sessions that fit into your week. Here are a few templates that match different goals and schedules.

Two‑day tricep focus (10 to 14 sets per week)

This works well if you train upper body twice per week.

Day 1, heavier focus

1. Close‑grip bench press

• 3 sets, 5 to 8 reps

1. Skull crushers

• 3 sets, 8 to 10 reps

Total: 6 sets

Day 2, lighter and moderate focus

1. Rope pushdowns

• 3 sets, 10 to 15 reps

1. Overhead dumbbell extension

• 3 sets, 12 to 15 reps

Total: 6 sets

Weekly total: 12 direct tricep sets, with a blend of heavy and moderate work.

Three‑day tricep touch (12 to 15 sets per week)

Use this if you train push, pull, legs or upper, lower, full body.

Day 1, push day

• Flat bench press
• Main lift, not counted as direct tricep work
• Rope pushdowns
• 3 sets, 12 to 15 reps

Day 2, upper or full body

• Close‑grip bench press
• 3 sets, 5 to 8 reps

Day 3, accessory or arm day

• Skull crushers
• 3 sets, 8 to 12 reps
• Overhead cable extension
• 3 sets, 12 to 15 reps

This structure gives you heavy, moderate, and lighter tricep sets and reps spread out across the week.

Time‑crunched single‑session approach

If you only have one arm or push day:

• Choose 3 tricep exercises
• Do 3 to 4 sets each
• Aim for 10 to 12 total sets in that one session

For example:

1. Weighted dips: 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
2. Skull crushers: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
3. Rope pushdowns: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps

You will likely want at least 5 or 6 days before your next heavy tricep session if you use this higher single‑day volume.

How to progress your tricep sets and reps over time

You will only get so far repeating the exact same tricep sets and reps forever. Progressive overload is the driver of long‑term gains.

RP Strength recommends managing progression by:

• Keeping your reps steady week to week
• Gradually reducing your reps in reserve (RIR) from about 3 to 4 down to 0 to 1 over a mesocycle
• Increasing weight once you can hit the top end of your target rep range with low RIR

A simple way to apply that:

1. Pick a rep range, for example 10 to 15 reps for pushdowns.
2. Start at a weight that lets you do 3 sets of 12 with about 3 reps in the tank.
3. Each week, either add a small amount of weight or a rep or two per set, while allowing yourself to get closer to failure.
4. Once you are doing 3 sets of 15 at or near failure, increase the weight slightly and start the process over at 10 to 12 reps.

When your elbows feel beat up or your performance drops across several workouts, pull back:

• Cut your weekly tricep sets by 30 to 50 percent for a deload week
• Resume building volume and intensity gradually afterward

What about very low or very high volume?

It is easy to think that more is always better, or that almost no volume is enough if you train insanely hard. The reality is more nuanced.

Dorian Yates, a six‑time Mr. Olympia, used very low volume but brutally hard tricep training. His routine was often only three working sets per session:

• V‑bar pushdowns, one all‑out working set after warm‑ups
• Lying triceps extensions, one working set
• A finisher set of one‑arm reverse‑grip pushdowns or machine extensions

He typically trained triceps after chest, so they were already fatigued. He emphasized that smaller muscle groups like triceps need fewer sets than large back or chest muscles. However, even he suggested that beginners and intermediates should perform about three sets per exercise, including warm‑ups, instead of copying his minimal approach.

On the other end, some lifters on Reddit report doing very high volumes, such as 26 sets per week for biceps and triceps, all to failure. Feedback to those cases often warns that such volume tends to be excessive, especially when all sets are taken to failure. Over time that can limit progress or cause joint issues.

You can take a middle path:

• Start around 9 to 12 tricep sets per week
• Assess your soreness, joint health, and performance
• Increase or decrease by 2 to 4 sets as needed

This approach keeps your tricep sets and reps productive instead of just exhausting.

Technique tips to get more from each set

Good form helps you get more out of every set without constantly chasing higher numbers.

For cable pushdowns in particular:

• Lean forward slightly so your body angle matches the cable path
• Keep your elbows close to your sides and mostly fixed in place
• Use a full range of motion, with a deep stretch at the top and a strong lockout at the bottom
• Think about squeezing your triceps hard on each rep to build a mind‑muscle connection

RP Strength’s general recommendations also point out that effective loading ranges, roughly 30 to 85 percent of your one‑rep max, can all build muscle as long as you train with focus and near‑failure intensity while maintaining control.

Putting it all together

You do not need a perfect plan to build impressive triceps, but you do need a consistent structure for your tricep sets and reps. To recap:

• Choose a clear goal: strength, size, or endurance
• Aim for 6 to 9 weekly sets if you are a beginner, 9 to 15 if you have some experience
• Train triceps 2 to 4 times per week so you are not cramming all your volume into one day
• Use a mix of heavy (5 to 10), moderate (10 to 20), and light (20 to 30) rep ranges, with most sets in the moderate range
• Include at least one compound press and one or two isolation movements each week
• Rest 30 seconds to 2 minutes between sets, long enough to feel ready but not so long that your workout drags
• Progress weight, reps, or effort over time, and deload when your joints or performance tell you to back off

Pick one of the sample templates, plug it into your current routine, and run it consistently for 6 to 8 weeks. By tightening up your tricep sets and reps, you give your arms a clear signal to grow and get stronger, instead of just hoping that random sets will do the job.

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