Overhead Triceps
Also works: Lats
A partner-assisted contract-relax stretch for the long head of the triceps. You sit tall, put one hand behind your neck, and push up into your partner's resistance for 10-20 seconds before letting them ease the elbow further back. The isometric push is what buys the extra range — without it this is just a hand-behind-the-head stretch with a second person watching.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Sit upright on the floor, legs comfortable, with your partner kneeling directly behind you.
- Raise one arm straight overhead, then bend the elbow so the hand drops toward the middle of your upper back.
- Keep your ribs down and your lower back flat — do not arch to gain range you have not got.
- Your partner holds the point of your elbow with one hand and your wrist with the other.
- Agree a stop word before you start. The person being stretched decides when it is enough.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Breathe normally through the isometric push, then take one long exhale as you release and let your partner take the arm further. Never hold your breath through the contract phase.
Before you load it
- The person being stretched calls the depth, not the partner. Any sharp pain at the front of the shoulder or a pins-and-needles feeling down the arm means stop immediately.
- Skip this straight before heavy overhead pressing — a long assisted stretch can temporarily dull force production in the muscle you are about to load.
How much, how often
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
No external load — the only load is your partner's hands and your own submaximal push. Two rounds per arm of 10-20 seconds contracting plus 10-20 seconds relaxing. Do it two or three times a week; daily partner work on the same joint gives no extra range and wears out the goodwill.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Sit against a wall with your lower back flat against it. Whatever range you get in that position is your real overhead range; work from there.
The partner's job in that phase is to be immovable, not to move you. They should feel your push and match it exactly, adding pressure only after you have relaxed.
Use about 30 percent of your strength. A maximal push into a fixed hand cramps the triceps and makes the relax phase worse, not better.
Stop and reduce the elbow angle. Sharp anterior shoulder pain here is the joint complaining, not the triceps lengthening, and no partner pressure fixes it.
Why bother
Only the long head of the triceps crosses the shoulder, so it is the only part that lengthens when the arm goes overhead. Full shoulder flexion with a bent elbow is the position that puts it on stretch, and it is also the position most people cannot reach on their own without the ribs flaring to fake it.
The push-then-relax cycle is the point. Contracting the triceps against a fixed hand for 10-20 seconds, then relaxing, lets the arm settle a few degrees further than a passive hold reaches. That extra range is real but short-lived — it is a way to work at end range, not a permanent length change from one bout.
Where it fits
After pressing work, or on a day when overhead position is the thing you are chasing. It needs a competent partner who will hold, not shove, so treat it as a coached drill rather than a warm-up staple. Two rounds per arm, two or three times a week, is plenty.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Asked and answered
Can I do this without a partner?
You can do the passive half alone by reaching behind your head and pulling the elbow with the other hand. What you lose is the contract-relax element, because you cannot resist your own triceps with the same arm. A doorframe or squat rack upright can substitute as the immovable object for the isometric push if you are careful about the elbow angle.
Why do I feel this in my lat rather than my triceps?
Because the lat also resists full overhead position, and if it is the tighter tissue it will hit end range first. That is useful information, not a fault. Keep the ribs down, and if the lat is doing all the complaining, work overhead lat range separately before expecting the triceps stretch to bite.
Will this make my triceps permanently longer?
No. Repeated sessions improve the range you can access, largely by changing how much stretch your nervous system tolerates, and some of that persists with regular practice. A single bout gives you minutes of extra range, not a structural change. If overhead position matters to you, train strength at the end of that range too.
How hard should the partner push in the second phase?
Enough to reach a firm stretch and no further. The elbow should move a few centimetres past where it settled on its own, not be forced toward the floor. If the person being stretched has to tense up to tolerate it, the partner has gone too far and should back off until the arm relaxes again.