You don’t always have to go to the gym to get in a good tricep workout. Discover how to do resistance band tricep kickbacks and their benefits.
Resistance band tricep kickbacks are an exercise where you tilt your upper body forward and stretch your arms against the resistance of bands.
Ideally, you have a good resistance band anchor to make it so your triceps can go through a bigger range of motion under tension.
You could also limit your equipment requirements by anchoring your resistance bands below your feet. Keep in mind that this is slightly less optimal.
Resistance band tricep kickbacks with an anchor can be a great way to grow and strengthen your tricep muscles in a budget-friendly way.
If you don’t have a good anchor, resistance band tricep extensions could be a better choice.
How to do a resistance band tricep kickback
As expected, you need good resistance bands for building muscle to do this tricep kickback variation.
Additionally, a good anchor tends to be helpful too.
Once you have the required gear, take the following steps to do a resistance band tricep kickback:
- Loop the resistance band through the anchor at hip height. Grab the ends of the resistance band with your hands. Hold them in a way where your arms experience equal amounts of tension.
- Step back until you reach the desired tension. Let your lower arms follow the tension of the resistance bands.
- Tilt your upper body forward as far as comfortable or until it is horizontal. Keep your spine straight. Move your upper arms slightly behind your body.
- Slowly stretch your arms until they are slightly less than stretched. Keep your upper arms and the rest of your body in the same position.
- Fold your arms in a controlled motion so that you are back into the position of step 3.
The first thing to keep in mind when doing resistance band tricep kickbacks starts at the anchoring.
You want to make it so your arms get more or less the same tension to avoid muscle imbalances.
Secondly, you want to keep your upper arms and upper body in the same position to really work your triceps.
Theoretically, doing resistance band tricep kickbacks while lying down on a horizontal or incline weight bench is an option too.
These variations make it easier to keep everything besides your lower arms still.
Resistance band tricep kickback muscles worked
Resistance band tricep kickbacks mainly work your tricep muscles. In simpler words, they are a tricep isolation exercise.
Besides that, you can also say your erector spinae (lower back muscles) have to work to a tiny extent.
In combination with the right resistance bands and enough repetitions, resistance band tricep kickbacks can help you grow and strengthen your muscles.
One thing to note is that anchoring your resistance bands around hip height allows your triceps to go through a big range of motion under tension.
It might be worth investing in a good anchor since a bigger range of motion tends to offer more and faster training results.
You can also do resistance band tricep kickbacks by anchoring the bands below your feet but this is somewhat more suboptimal.
Something else to note is that as you get stronger, you will have to increase the tension of the bands you use to keep seeing similar results.
Resistance band tricep kickback benefits
Resistance band tricep kickbacks are not essential for everyone but they do offer nice benefits. Some of these are;
- Stronger muscles: If you do resistance band tricep kickbacks in a smart training routine, you can grow and strengthen your triceps.
- Can improve arm visuals: People who want more toned or bigger arms can consider exercises like resistance band tricep kickbacks.
- Budget-friendly: When it comes to arm workout equipment, resistance bands are budget-friendly options.
- Can improve athletic performance: Your tricep muscles are often involved in throwing things. Strengthening them can improve your performance in certain areas.
You can also work your triceps with other exercises but resistance band tricep kickbacks can be a good option to get the benefits above.
Resistance band tricep kickback alternatives
You may also conclude that you don’t love resistance band tricep kickbacks or simply want to switch things up.
In that case, you can also consider a variety of resistance band tricep exercises and other alternatives. A few of these are:
- Tricep pull-apart
- Close grip pushups (with or without a resistance band)
- Tricep dips
- Resistance band chest presses
- Tricep extensions
- Bench presses
- Tricep pushdown
To choose between these resistance band tricep kickback alternatives you want to think about what muscles you want to work with what equipment.
Are resistance band tricep kickbacks a good exercise?
Resistance band tricep kickbacks with an anchor are a good exercise to work your tricep muscles in a budget-friendly way at home.
The variation without an anchor can offer nice benefits too. However, in that case, standing resistance band tricep extensions tend to be better.
Additionally, you still need to use enough resistance and do enough repetitions to see certain results from resistance band tricep kickbacks.
You also want to remember that enjoying your workouts can benefit consistency.
Banded tricep kickbacks can be good but if you prefer using resistance band alternatives or doing other exercises, these could be better options.
