Just because your triceps feel sore doesn’t mean they’re damaged or weak—sometimes they feel sore even when they’ve fully recovered, and sometimes they’re fine even when they feel fine.

After a tough chest workout, guys using barbells or machines feel sore in their triceps for a few days, but those using dumbbells don’t feel any soreness at all—even though they lifted the same total weight.

Even after a super hard chest workout, the size of the triceps muscles goes back to normal within a day—meaning the workout didn’t actually tear them up much.

When people who’ve never lifted weights before train their chest and arms with the same total muscle tension time, the back part of their triceps (near the elbow) grows more than the middle or shoulder-end parts.

When guys who work out a little bit lift heavy weights (85% of their max), their triceps muscles grow faster and more reliably than when they lift light weights (30% of their max)—so how heavy you lift might change when your muscles start getting bigger.