You're probably bored with the same old pushdowns. Most people who own a Total Gym or any incline trainer eventually hit a wall where they feel like they’re just sliding up and down with no real "pop" in the muscle. It’s frustrating. You bought the machine for the convenience, but if your arms aren't growing, what’s the point?
The truth is, total gym tricep exercises are actually superior to dumbbells for one specific reason: constant tension. When you use a dumbbell for a kickback, there is zero tension at the bottom of the movement. Gravity just pulls the weight toward the floor. On a Total Gym, the cable system is pulling against you throughout the entire arc. That’s a game-changer for the long head of the tricep—the part that actually makes your arm look thick.
The Science of the Stretch
Most lifters focus on the "squeeze" at the bottom of a rep. That’s fine, but research, including studies published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, suggests that muscle hypertrophy is heavily driven by mechanical tension at long muscle lengths. Basically, if you aren't stretching the tricep under load, you're leaving gains on the table.
The Total Gym is a literal "stretch machine" if you use it right.
Take the overhead extension. On a flat bench with a barbell, the weight gets "light" at the top because your bones take the load. On an incline trainer, because you are pulling against a percentage of your body weight via the glideboard, that tension stays locked on the muscle fibers. Honestly, it feels way more like a high-end cable stack at a commercial gym than a piece of home equipment.
Why Your Elbows Hurt (And How to Fix It)
We have to talk about elbow pain. It's the "tricep tax" most people pay. Standard skull crushers with a straight bar are notorious for causing tendonitis because they force your wrists and elbows into a fixed, often unnatural path.
The beauty of the Total Gym handles is the rotation. You aren't locked in. If your elbows start to flare or ache, you can shift your grip from overhand to neutral mid-set. This subtle shift moves the stress from the tendon to the lateral head of the tricep. It's a simple fix that most people ignore because they think they have to follow the "perfect" form they saw in a magazine from 1994.
The Big Three Total Gym Tricep Exercises
If you only did these three movements, you’d have better arms than 90% of the people at your local YMCA.
1. The Kneeling Overhead Extension
This is the king. Situate yourself facing away from the towers. Grab the handles and lean forward slightly. As you extend your arms, keep your elbows tucked near your ears. Don't let them flare out like chicken wings. The incline of the board allows you to get a deeper stretch than you'd ever get with a cable machine.
2. The Lying Tricep Press (The "Total Gym Skull Crusher")
Lie on your back, head toward the towers. This is where the glideboard shines. Because you can adjust the height of the rails, you can find the exact angle where your triceps scream but your joints feel fine.
3. Single-Arm Reverse Grip Pulls
Kinda niche, but incredibly effective. Use one handle. Turn your palm up (supinated grip). Pull down. This targets the medial head, which sits near the elbow and provides that "horseshoe" look. Most people skip this because it’s hard and you can't use as much weight. Do it anyway.
Variations You Haven't Tried Yet
You can actually use the glideboard itself as a weight. Most people think only about the cables. But have you tried Total Gym Tricep Dips using the dip bar attachment? It’s different from a standard parallel bar dip because the board moves.
This adds a massive stability component. Your core has to fire to keep the board from slamming into the top of the rails. It’s intense. If the dip bars feel too easy, slow down the tempo. Take three seconds to go down and one second to explode up.
Another "pro" move is the Decline Close-Grip Press. You lie on the board with your head toward the bottom, pushing the handles away from you toward the ceiling. It mimics a close-grip bench press but removes the ego-lifting element. You can’t bounce the weight off your chest here. It’s all tricep, all the time.
Mechanical Drop Sets: The Secret Weapon
The Total Gym is built for drop sets. Usually, you’d have to stop, get up, move a pin in a weight stack, and sit back down. By then, your heart rate has dropped and the pump is fading.
With total gym tricep exercises, you can do what’s called a "mechanical drop set."
Start at a high incline for overhead extensions. Go to failure. Without letting go of the handles, quickly slide off, drop the rail height by two notches, and jump back on. You’ve just lowered the resistance, allowing you to squeeze out five more reps. Do this three times. It’s a level of intensity that’s hard to replicate with dumbbells unless you have a full rack and a lot of patience.
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The Problem With "Bodyweight" Logic
A common misconception is that the Total Gym is "too easy" for serious lifters. That’s total nonsense. If you’re at the top of the rails and it still feels light, you aren't using the law of physics to your advantage.
- Increase the Time Under Tension (TUT).
- Add a pause at the peak contraction.
- Use a weight bar attachment to add plates to the glideboard.
Even a 250-pound bodybuilder can get a productive workout on a Total Gym if they understand that intensity isn't just about the number on a plate. It’s about how much of that weight is actually being felt by the muscle fibers.
Setting Up Your Routine
Don't overcomplicate this. You don't need a 12-exercise arm day.
Try a "Tri-Set" approach.
- Move 1: Overhead Extensions (12 reps) - Focuses on the long head stretch.
- Move 2: Lying Press (10 reps) - Focuses on overall mass.
- Move 3: Kneeling Kickbacks (15 reps) - Focuses on the peak contraction.
Run that sequence four times with 60 seconds of rest between sets. Your arms will feel like they’re about to pop out of your shirt. It’s efficient and hits every single function of the tricep.
Why Consistency Trumps Variety
You’ll see influencers posting "10 New Total Gym Hacks" every week. Ignore them. The tricep only does two things: it extends the elbow and it helps with shoulder extension. You don't need "hacks." You need to get progressively stronger at the basic movements.
If you did 10 reps at level 6 last week, try for 11 reps at level 6 this week. Or move to level 7. That's it. That is the entire "secret" to building muscle. The Total Gym makes this easy because the levels are clearly marked. It’s a data-driven way to train in your living room.
Actionable Next Steps
To get the most out of your tricep training starting today, follow these three steps:
- Check Your Rail Height: Most people set the incline too low because they want to do more reps. Raise it. Challenge yourself. If you can do 20 reps easily, the incline is too low for muscle growth. Aim for the 8-12 rep range where the last two reps are a genuine struggle.
- Focus on the Negative: On the way back up (the eccentric phase) of a tricep press, count to three. This is where the most muscle damage—and subsequent growth—happens. Don't let the machine pull you; you control the machine.
- Integrate Tempo: Stop "pumping" the weight. Move with intention. A one-second pause at the bottom of a tricep extension, when the muscle is fully stretched, will recruit more motor units than 50 "fast" reps ever could.
Start your next session with the overhead kneeling extension. It’s the hardest movement and requires the most energy, so do it first while your nervous system is fresh. Once you've mastered the tension on the Total Gym, you'll likely find it hard to go back to standard gym cables.