Seated Back Supported Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
Also known as: back supported dumbbell french press
In SetGrip: Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension (Seated, Back Supported)
- Secondary muscles
- Delts
- Body part
- Upper Arms
- Position
- Seated
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Back support turns the overhead dumbbell extension into a pure triceps test: with the pad stopping your ribs from flaring and your spine from arching, the long head does the work your lower back would otherwise share. This is the overhead variant to pick when you want to go heaviest with one dumbbell held in both hands.
How to do the Seated Back Supported Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
- Sit on a bench with your back straight and feet flat on the ground.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands and extend your arms straight up overhead.
- Bend your elbows and lower the dumbbell behind your head, keeping your upper arms close to your ears.
- Pause for a moment, then straighten your arms and return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Keep a slight bend at the top on lying extensions to protect the elbow, but lock out fully on cable pushdowns.
Muscles worked
Primary
Triceps · Arms
The triceps straighten the elbow, and overhead variations stretch the long head at the bottom, so you should feel the whole back of the upper arm working with a hard squeeze at lockout.
Secondary
- Delts — The front delt holds the upper arm in position on overhead extensions and should feel tension but not be lifting.
Common mistakes
- Elbows flaring out — on overhead and lying extensions the elbows should stay pointed forward or up, not out to the sides, since flaring turns it into a press.
- Upper arm moving — the upper arm should be pinned in place and only the forearm should move; if the elbow drifts, drop the weight.
- Not finishing the rep — take every rep to a full triceps squeeze; on pushdowns that means a complete lockout for a count.
- Cutting the stretch — on overhead extensions let the weight travel down behind the head until you feel the long head stretch before pressing up.
Where it fits in a workout
Triceps extensions go after the presses in a push session or at the end of an arm day. Superset them with biceps curls.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without dumbbell
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
- All arms exercises
- All triceps exercises
- All dumbbell exercises
- Dumbbell triceps exercises
- Behind Head Close Grip Barbell Lying Triceps Extension
- Barbell Overhead Triceps Extension
- Seated Close Grip Barbell Overhead Triceps Extension
- Barbell Skull Crusher
- Behind Head Barbell Skull Crusher
- Reverse Grip Barbell Skull Crusher
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.