Can You Do Biceps After Triceps Day? (Solved!)

There are multiple factors which determine how effective your workouts are.

Common ones being:

• Number of sets & reps
• Rest time between sets
• Amount of weight being lifted

One of the less common ones, however, is the order in which you train different muscle groups throughout the week.

So, in this article, we discuss whether you can do biceps after triceps day.

We look at the pros and cons of doing so, as well as looking at other muscle groups that you may want to work out after a heavy triceps day.

Ready?

Let’s get to it.

Can You Do Biceps After Triceps Day?

Your triceps and biceps are opposite muscles.

So when your triceps activate, your biceps are resting.

(And vice versa.)

This means that doing biceps the day after triceps is absolutely ok and won’t have any negative impact on either workout.

Bicep exercises don’t activate your triceps and tricep exercises don’t activate your biceps.

So after triceps day, your biceps will still be fresh. Also, you won’t be putting any unnecessary stress on your triceps when you train biceps which helps them recover. 

Benefits of Doing Biceps After Triceps Day

It Allows Your Triceps To Fully Recover

It’s important to consider rest and recovery time when training 2 days in a row.

After you’ve trained one muscle group, it’ll need some time to rest and recover before your train it again.

If you train your biceps the day after your triceps, then you’ll still be able to progress your fitness goals while allowing your triceps time to repair and rebuild.

It Reduces The Risk Of Fatigue

Your triceps and biceps are fairly small muscle groups compared to others.

This means that you can train them hard without worrying about general fatigue impacting your training.

For example, your legs, chest and back are large muscle groups that require heavy weights and big compound movements to train them properly.

After training one of these muscle groups, you’ll likely feel fatigued the next day.

This can reduce your motivation and the effectiveness of your workout the next day.

Whereas you’re much less likely to feel fatigue the next day if you’re training a small muscle group like your triceps.

Drawbacks of Doing Biceps After Triceps Day

Slower Cardiovascular Health Progress

Sometimes, training two small muscle groups consecutively can hinder your progress.

When you train a big muscle group, you’ll burn more calories during (and after) your session and your heart rate will be higher. This improves your cardiovascular health.

Whereas if you train two small muscle groups back-to-back, your cardiovascular progress will likely be slower.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it ultimately depends on your fitness goals. Some people are content with their cardiovascular health, and so, will likely be less concerned by this drawback.

Should You Do Biceps After Triceps Day?

There aren’t any reasons per se why you shouldn’t do biceps after triceps day.

Your decision will likely boil down to your training goals and personal preferences.

If you enjoy it, then by all means, do it!

Is It Safe To Do Biceps After Triceps Day?

As long as you’re aware of overtraining and are training to your fitness levels, then it’s perfectly safe to do biceps after triceps day.

As always, there’s some level of risk involved in resistance training, but this risk is minimal.

Is It Better To Do Triceps After Biceps Day?

While many people do triceps after biceps day, it’s probably more effective to train your triceps first.

This is because your triceps are a bigger muscle, and as a general rule, you should always train your bigger muscles first.

The reason being, bigger muscles usually move heavier weights, so you need your muscles to be as fresh as possible to be able to lift them effectively.

Other Muscle Groups To Train After Triceps Day

Legs

It may be a good idea to give your upper body a rest after triceps day.

Hence, training your legs can be a great way of progressing your fitness goals while resting your upper body.

Your triceps will hardly be involved in your leg workout, meaning they can rest and recover while you’re training your legs.

Back

Many people like to alternate between pushing and pulling muscle groups when it comes to their training.

Your triceps are pushing muscles, so focusing on a pulling muscle, like your back the next day can be a great way of doing this.

Back exercises require very little triceps involvement, so they should be able to rest and recover while you’re hitting them deadlifts.