Dumbbell Floor Triceps Extension
Lie on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight and elbows above your shoulders. From there, bend your elbows and lower the dumbbells slowly beside your head, as far as the floor allows. Then straighten your arms hard to full extension.
The floor triceps extension trains the triceps through elbow extension — the same movement as the Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension on a bench, with the floor as the limit.
Most of the work happens with the elbow bent. The further your elbows travel back, the more the long head of the triceps is lengthened — the head that also crosses the shoulder joint — and that lengthened position carries the strongest stimulus. At the top, the dumbbell sits directly above the elbow; there the lever arm on the joint is at its shortest and the tension drops off. So don't linger at the top.
The floor decides how far the dumbbells come down. You lose the bottom section of the range you would get on a bench.
From the studio: On the floor I do about five more reps per set than on a bench, more like 15 to 20, to make up for the shorter range. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
Sit on the floor with the dumbbells, rest them on your thighs and lie back in one movement. Knees bent, feet flat on the floor, head resting on the floor.
Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing each other and straighten your arms upwards until your elbows are above your shoulders.
Now bend your elbows and lower the dumbbells slowly beside your head, as far as they go. Your upper arms can tilt slightly back towards your head, while your elbows stay roughly above your shoulders. From the bottom, straighten your arms hard to full extension, then lower slowly again.
The three cues
- Elbows roughly above your shoulders
- Lower slowly — your elbows can follow a little
- Straighten powerfully, lower slowly
- Guide the dumbbells past the side of your head
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The dumbbells hit the floor | Lower slowly and reverse just above the floor. The range ends where you can still control the weight. |
| Your upper arms drift forward over your chest | Elbows stay roughly above your shoulders. Once the upper arms drift forward, the dumbbell sits directly above the joint and the tension drops off. |
| The dumbbells hit your head | Guide them past the side of your head. After a few reps you'll have the groove. |
| Your lower back lifts off the floor | Brace your abs, keep your feet flat, and keep your back down. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Light dumbbells | Practise the movement beside your head and the slow tempo. Move on when every rep looks the same. |
| Full range to just above the floor | Lower slowly as far as you can, then straighten hard — elbows stay roughly above your shoulders. |
| Heavier dumbbells | Once tempo and elbow position stay clean on every rep, add weight in small steps. |
Reps and load
Choose a weight that lets you keep the slow lowering on every rep.
With a bench, do the Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension instead — there the range continues further down. On the floor it pairs well with the Dumbbell Floor Press and push-ups.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Triceps, long head M. triceps brachii, caput longum | Prime mover | Straightens the elbow and also crosses the shoulder joint — works at its longest when the elbows travel back |
| Triceps, lateral head M. triceps brachii, caput laterale | Prime mover | Straightens the elbow |
| Triceps, medial head M. triceps brachii, caput mediale | Prime mover | Straightens the elbow, especially through the last part of the extension |
| Forearm extensors Mm. extensores antebrachii | Stabiliser | Keep the wrist in line with the forearm |
| Abs M. rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | Keep the torso still and the back on the floor |
The triceps is the prime mover: all three heads straighten the elbow, and the long head also crosses the shoulder. The floor marks the bottom of the movement.
Explained in full
Andreas shows the triceps extension on the floor for when there is no bench: the elbow position, the movement beside the head and the pause at the top. · 0:50
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Alves D, Matta T, Oliveira L. (2018). Effect of shoulder position on triceps brachii heads activity in dumbbell elbow extension exercises. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 58(9):1247–1252. DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06849-9 — Measures long and lateral triceps head activity in 21 resistance-trained men during lying and overhead dumbbell elbow extension. The first and middle sections of the range produced more activity than the last, the part near full extension. The basis for not lingering at the top. Measured on a bench at 40 per cent of maximum, with no percentage values in the abstract; the medial head sits too deep for surface EMG. (Evidence type: EMG)
Maeo S, Wu Y, Huang M, Sakurai H, Kusagawa Y, Sugiyama T, Kanehisa H, Isaka T. (2023). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. Eur J Sport Sci 23(7):1240–1250. DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2022.2100279 — 21 people trained elbow extension for twelve weeks, one arm overhead and one in a neutral position. The long head grew markedly more in the overhead position (28.5 versus 19.6 per cent) despite lower loads. The basis for saying the lengthened position of the long head carries the strongest stimulus. A cable exercise in young people over twelve weeks; there is no measurement of the floor variation. (Evidence type: Trainingsstudie)
Pinter IJ, Bobbert MF, van Soest AJ, Smeets JB. (2010). Isometric torque-angle relationships of the elbow flexors and extensors in the transverse plane. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 20(5):923–931. DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2010.05.001 — Measures maximum elbow-extensor torque across the angle range: it peaks at around 55 degrees of elbow flexion and drops off towards full extension. The basis for not lingering at the top. Measured isometrically in the transverse plane with a small sample; the point about the lever with the dumbbell directly above the elbow follows from statics, not from this study. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Kassiano W, Costa B, Nunes JP, Ribeiro AS, Schoenfeld BJ, Cyrino ES. (2023). Which ROMs lead to Rome? A systematic review of the effects of range of motion on muscle hypertrophy. J Strength Cond Res 37(5):1135–1144. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004415 — A review of eleven range-of-motion studies: what matters is less the size of the range than the muscle length trained in; a partial range at long muscle length beat a partial range at short length. The basis for describing the lengthened part of the movement as the valuable one. Few studies per muscle and varied measurement methods. (Evidence type: Systematic review)
Wolf M, Androulakis Korakakis P, Piñero A, Mohan AE, Hermann T, Augustin F, Sapuppo M, Lin B, Nippard J, Refalo MC, Swinton PA, Schoenfeld BJ. (2025). Lengthened partial repetitions elicit similar muscular adaptations as full range of motion repetitions during resistance training in trained individuals. PeerJ 13:e18904. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18904 — 30 trained people trained for eight weeks with a lengthened partial range versus full range, one condition per side. Elbow-extensor thickness and strength endurance developed the same — with the same number of sets and reps. The basis for labelling Andreas' five extra reps as from the studio: no study tests whether extra reps make up for a shorter path. (Evidence type: Trainingsstudie)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.