How to do the Overhead Triceps Extension
Step by step
- Hold one dumbbell upright with both palms cupped under the top plate and thumbs wrapped around the handle.
- Stand or sit tall, brace your core, and keep your ribs down.
- Press the dumbbell straight overhead with your arms extended and elbows pointing forward.
- Bend your elbows to lower the dumbbell behind your head under control.
- Straighten your elbows to press it back overhead and squeeze your triceps.
The thing people get wrong
Cup the top plate firmly with both hands and start light - the weight travels behind your head, so a slipped grip is the real risk here.
Coaching cue
Keep your elbows pointing forward and close to your head instead of flaring out as you lower.
Stay safe
Keep your ribs pulled down; arching your lower back under an overhead weight is how it gets tweaked.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Use a lighter dumbbell and do one arm at a time.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Triceps
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.