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The tricep pushdown is one of the three key tricep isolation exercises, alongside tricep extensions and tricep kickbacks. You perform this exercise at a high pulley cable machine, with either a straight bar or rope attachment. The exercise involves a downward pushing motion, which isolates your triceps muscles.
Popular variations of the tricep pushdown are the straight bar pushdown, reverse grip pushdown, rope pushdown, single arm pushdown and V-bar tricep pushdown. Each variation hits your triceps slightly differently, emphasizing either the lateral, medial or long head of your triceps muscle.
Jump to
- Straight bar tricep pushdown
- Reverse grip tricep pushdown
- Rope tricep pushdown
- Single arm tricep pushdown
- V-bar tricep pushdown
Training biceps vs triceps
When it comes to bodybuilding and weight training, most people would agree that a set of huge arms is a clear indication that a person takes their weight training seriously.
However, experts agree that instead of focusing on your biceps, you should instead focus on your triceps in order to build a set of huge "guns" as it were. "Most people focus too much on training biceps - the triceps play a much more important role in overall arm development. In fact, the triceps make up over 2/3 of the arm” says Tyler Holmes, founder of MovingForwards.
If you're looking for a great triceps exercise, you'd be hard pressed to find a better example of quality exercise than the tricep pushdown, and for that reason, we’ll be looking at this exercise right now.
Benefits of the tricep pushdown
Isolation
Compared to other compound exercises that hit your triceps, like close-grip bench press or dips, the tricep pushdown provides greater isolation of your triceps.
While compound exercises are an excellent way to build overall tricep mass, they also heavily involve your chest and shoulders. This makes them less focused on your triceps compared to the tricep pushdown, tricep extension or tricep kickback.
It's because of this isolation that tricep pushdowns can be an effective way to strengthen your tricep muscle, contributing to your upper body strength as part of a balanced workout routine.
Another benefit of isolation is that you can easily work one arm at a time. This allows you to focus on proper form and to use a full range of motion, and can help address muscular imbalances between your left and right arms.
Lower injury risk
Compound exercises like close grip bench press or dips put stress on your shoulders and wrists, which can make them a higher injury risk compared with tricep pushdowns.
Because tricep pushdowns are performed on a cable machine, it's easier to perform the exercise with a controlled motion. This is because the cable will apply a constant tension through the entire range of motion, something not possible with bodyweight or free weight exercises.
Using a cable machine also makes it easy to adjust the resistance of the exercise to something that matches your fitness level.
Suitable for beginners
Many compound triceps exercises can be difficult for beginners to perform. This is especially true of more advanced movements like tricep dips.
Dips, for example, require a high level of upper body strength to do correctly, and so beginners might struggle to perform it with proper form.
Tricep pushdowns, however, are a simpler exercise and so it's suitable for beginners. Of course, beginners should start with a lower number of sets, with a light resistance. This can be increased over time as you master the proper form of the exercise.
Triceps muscle
The tricep pushdown exercise primarily targets your triceps muscle.
Your triceps are at the back of your arm, and play a particular role in pushing movements. The triceps have three heads, known as the long head, the lateral head, and the medial head.
- Long Head – The long head of your triceps originates from your scapula. This head helps with extension at the elbow and also adduction and extension at the shoulder joint. It runs down the back of your arm to your ulna (the long forearm bone).
- Lateral Head – The lateral head originates from your humerus. It is positioned on the outside of your upper arm and gives your tricep its unique ‘horseshoe’ shape and width. It inserts into the olecranon process of the ulna. The lateral head allows rapid and forceful arm extensions, and is key in any pushing or punching movement.
- Medial Head – The medial head originates from your humerus to your ulna, and plays a key role in precision movements and stability.
The triceps are primarily responsible for the extension of the elbow joint, which allows the arm to straighten.
Straight bar tricep pushdown
You can incorporate the tricep pushdown into your upper body or arm day workout routine. It's a good idea to pair this exercise with others that target different muscle groups. For example, you might consider pairing it with bicep curls or shoulder presses.
The straight bar tricep pushdown will strengthen your triceps muscles, which will help in functional movements like pushing and throwing.
How to do
- Stand upright and face the high pulley cable machine.
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart on the bar.
- In the starting position, your forearms should be parallel to the floor, with your elbows tucked into your sides.
- Keeping your upper arms fixed in position, push down the bar, extending your arms fully until they are straight, but not locked out.
- Slowly return the bar back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Sets and reps
In most workout routines, doing 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of the tricep pushdown is recommended. This range is ideal for muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth), providing a balance between total volume without too high an intensity.
If you find you can easily do more than 12 reps, it might be time to increase the resistance.
Reverse grip tricep pushdown
The reverse grip tricep pushdown also targets your triceps muscles. But, because of the position of your grip, this variation also engages your forearms and shoulders to a greater extent.
In terms of your triceps muscle, this small change in your grip will result in more engagement of the medial head of your tricep muscle.
How to do
- Stand upright and face the high pulley cable machine.
- Grab the bar with an underhand grip. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart on the bar.
- In the starting position, your forearms should be parallel to the floor, with your elbows tucked into your sides.
- Keeping your upper arms fixed in position, push down the bar, extending your arms fully until they are straight, but not locked out.
- Slowly return the bar back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Rope tricep pushdown
The use of a rope in the rope tricep pushdown means your hands are positioned differently and the range of motion sees you pull your hands apart at the end of the movement. This increases the engagement of your triceps.
Because of the complex movement, you will not be able to lift as heavy a weight when compared with a straight bar pushdown.
How to do
- Stand upright and face the high pulley cable machine.
- Grab the rope attachment with your palms facing each other. Keep your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- While keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and push the rope down by fully extending your arms about your elbows. As your each the end of the movement, your hands should be pulling the rope outwards.
- Slowly return the rope back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Single arm tricep pushdown
The single arm variation of the tricep pushdown allows a greater range of motion, providing a more intense workout for each tricep. Because you work each side of your body separately, it's a good variation to address any strength imbalance you have between your arms.
How to do
- Stand upright and face the high pulley cable machine.
- Grab the rope or handle attachment with your palms facing down. Keep your elbow tucked in close to your body.
- While keeping your upper arm stationary, exhale and push the attachment down by fully extending your arm about your elbow.
- Slowly return the attachment back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
V-bar tricep pushdown
The V-bar attachment allows you to perform the tricep pushdown with a neutral or semi-supinated (palms facing each other) grip. This provides a different stimulus to your triceps compared with the pronated (palms facing down) grip.
How to do
- Stand upright and face the high pulley cable machine.
- Grab the V-bar attachment with your palms facing each other. Keep your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- While keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and push the attachment down by fully extending your arms about your elbows.
- Slowly return the attachment back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Tips
Adjust the resistance
A key benefit of using the cable machine is that you can easily adjust the weight your are lifting. More weight increases the difficultly and stimulates more muscle growth, while a lower weight allows for more reps and will improve your muscular endurance.
Remember to start with a weight appropriate for your current level of fitness. Once you are able to comfortable achieve all reps, consider gradually increasing the weight to make the exercise more challenging.
Change the grip
Your grip will affect how your triceps are worked. Different positions will place more emphasis on each head of your triceps muscle. A wider grip tends to work the long head of your triceps, while a narrow grip will target your lateral head.
Because you perform this exercise on a cable machine, you can try different attachments as part of your regular workout routine. It's a good idea to change the variation from time to time to keep the exercise challenging.
Speed up or slow down
Once you've mastered the proper form for the tricep pushdown, there's some variations you can make to increase the challenge. A simple change is adjusting the tempo of the movement:
- Speed up - faster reps will increase the intensity of the exercise and the activation of your triceps, making it more challenging. It can also increase your heart rate as you'll be working harder.
- Slow down - Slow, controlled movements will engage your muscles more, leading to strength gains. You could also reduce the reps and increase the weight.
Always control the weight - keeping to controlled movements both on the way up and the way down. This will engage your triceps through the entire range of motion.