Aditya Sahu ‧ CPT & Head Coach
Aditya is an ACSM certified personal trainer with more than 7 years training various people and transforming people's lives. He has written various publications for various sports and fitness magazines.
Fitness athletes and beginners can use the triceps pushdown exercise to increase muscle mass and tone up their bodies.
It is vital to fit in various compound exercises in your workout. Each compound exercise will target different muscle groups and help tone them up.
Two muscles make up the upper area of your arm- the triceps and biceps. Of the two, the tricep makes up two-thirds of the arm and is an important muscle group that should be trained while working out.
This triceps pushdown guide will cover tricep pushdown form and technique, common mistakes, targeted muscles, variations, and benefits.
What Is Tricep Pushdown?
Triceps pushdown has many different names, such as; tricep rope pulldown, cable tricep pushdown, or pull down. But no matter the name, the exercise, and its effectiveness remains the same.
Tricep pushdown is an isolation exercise that targets the tricep muscles and can be performed by any athlete or gym-goer (beginner to advanced levels). A cable machine is needed to perform this exercise through which you can choose different amounts of weights according to your resistance levels.
Tricep pushdown is a compound exercise that targets the muscle group of the triceps. It is one of the essential and ideal exercises to be added to your arms or an upper-body day at the gym. It will help you achieve a more muscular look to your upper arms.
Triceps Pushdown Form & Technique
Tricep pushdown is an easy exercise to perform, but a few mistakes or an incorrect posture won't have the same results. Incorrect form and posture can cause other muscles to steal the tension and not affect the triceps.
To Perform The Tricep Pushdown Correctly:
Prepare:
- Attach the specific weight to the cable machine. (It is best to start with the lowest weight and then work up to higher weights).
- Face the cable machine while being a couple of steps behind the cable.
- Adjust the cable length so that it comes to your chest level.
Execution And Perfect Position:
To have the complete advantage of an exercise, it is essential to execute it correctly, in a proper form. It means that you should be correctly positioned while putting stress on the targeted muscles-triceps.
In this case, the perfect position or form is as follows:
- Stand back a couple of paces from the machine with your legs slightly apart. But not much apart; they should be closed with a slight bend at the knees.
- Lean your upper body forward slightly. Your chest should be forward while the hips should be back, making a diagonal back.
- Pin your elbows to your abdomen and keep your shoulder back.
- Now on an exhale of breath, pull down the cable with an overhand grip until your arms are fully extended, and the weight cable reaches your thighs.
- At this point, you should resist moving or bending forward and keep your back straight, slightly bending your knees—push down on your triceps for a second or two to keep them under stress.
- Then while inhaling, move the cable back to its original position so that your arms are perpendicular to your body. Do not let go of it abruptly to avoid the weights from crashing.
- Repeat the exercise for the desired number of repetitions.
Common Mistakes While Performing Tricep Pushdowns
Incorrect Elbow Position
In many cases, while doing a tricep pushdown, the elbows seem to flare out. The correct way is to keep the elbows close to the abdomen as they should be.
While in this position, you may be able to perform the exercise quickly and lift heavier, but it won't be targeting your triceps, making the exercise ineffective.
Curling The Wrist
Some people tend to curl the wrist at the end of the repetition, which can put extra stress on your elbows. This incorrect form can make the tricep pushdowns ineffective and strain your wrist instead of your triceps, which can cause injury.
Focusing On The Bicep Instead Of The Triceps
While training the arm, most gym-goers tend to pay more attention to the biceps than their tricep muscles.
The thinking behind this is flexing the biceps or being fitted into a t-shirt. But the tricep muscle makes up two-thirds of the whole upper arm, so it is necessary to train them vigilantly and adequately.
Tricep pushdowns are an excellent exercise for your triceps muscle.
Not Performing The Exercise Properly
It is essential to put the stress on the tricep or push down on the tricep for one to two seconds to reap the full benefits of the tricep pushdown exercise.
This will stipulate the different groups in the triceps to enhance proper and proportional muscle growth in the arm.
Using The Back Or Shoulder
While performing tricep pushdown, you should push the shoulders back, and the back should be straight while leaning the chest slightly forward.
While pulling the cable down, the support should come with a slight bend at the knees, and you should stand with your feet slightly apart.
Muscles Targeted by the Tricep Pushdown
By now, we know that the tricep pushdowns exercise targets the tricep muscles in our arms.
However, the triceps can be further broken down. The tricep muscle or triceps brachii contains three heads hence the word "tri" in its name.
Lateral Head: This gives the shape and curve to the arm and is located outside of the humerus muscle
Medial Head: It is located at the backside of the upper area of the tricep.
Long Head: The longest part runs at the back of the arm.
Tricep pushdown is an isolated exercise that targets specific isolated muscle groups like the lateral and medial head of the triceps.
In addition, it also targets secondary muscle groups like your bicep, obliques, abs, and pecs, which helps stabilize your body motion while exercising.
Tricep pushdowns put pressure on some main muscle areas as a secondary part and primarily target your triceps.
Tricep pushdown can have different variations, for instance, doing a single-arm cable push down.
Some of these variations in tricep pushdown are mentioned down below.
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Different Variations Of Tricep Pushdown
Tricep pushdowns need a cable bar to be done correctly, and for that, you can use the V-bar, EZ bar, pulley machine, ropes, or the straight bar.
The bar-type will not change the effectiveness of the exercise, but you should choose it depending on your comfortability.
1. Using A Resistance Band:
If you do not have access to the gym and still want to try this exercise, do not worry because it can be done easily at home with the help of a resistance band.
You can attach the resistance band to a door, hook, or similar anchor while ensuring it is properly connected. And voila! You have got yourself a simple version of the cable bar.
You can pull on the end of the resistance band and target your triceps easily (maintaining the form mentioned above).
As the length of the band increases, the resistance also increases with it.
2. Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdown:
Reverse grip tricep pushdown is another way to perform this exercise. In this variation, instead of holding the cable string from the front, you hold it from the back (the palms facing you).
This isolation exercise has the same benefits and effectiveness but can be done by those who struggle with maintaining the correct upper body (especially elbow) positions.
3. Single Hand Tricep Pushdown:
In this variation of tricep pushdowns, you use a single hand while standing sideways to the machine instead of using both hands to perform the exercise.
It is more effective as you are applying pressure on the muscles of a single arm to pull the whole weight instead of dividing it between both arms. Single hand tricep pushdown should be repeated with the other arm.
4. Alternative Tricep Pushdown:
This is another modification of the triceps pushdown isolation exercise. You usually hold the cable using both hands but pull it down using one hand. Another way athletes perform this exercise is to balance the arm muscle and coordination.
Tricep Pushdown Benefits
The triceps brachii muscle is located at the back end of your upper arms and has three components: the long, lateral, and medial head. The tricep pushdown works your triceps, which helps build up your arms.
Tricep pushdowns add valuable strength and hypertrophy to the triceps and work muscles on the back of your upper arms.
1- Build Strength And Muscle Size
The triceps pushdown solely targets the triceps, strengthening your triceps. Strong triceps stabilize your shoulder joints and elbows. They are an ideal exercise for building arm strength and muscle size. Triceps pushdown will also allow you to lift heavier.
2- Work Muscles Throughout Your Upper Body
Though tricep pushdowns are an isolation exercise focused only on your triceps, they activate other muscle groups as stabilizers, including your glutes, lats, traps, and pecs. They also increase the aesthetic appearance of your arms, which can be a bonus.
3- Improved Lockout Strength And Compound Exercises
The triceps are responsible for elbow, wrist, and shoulder stability in the extended position, which is necessary for the lockout strength in the close-grip bench press, overhead press, diamond pushups, and many other compound exercises.
The triceps are often overlooked, but they are essential for many exercises and serve a purpose other than aesthetics.
Conclusion
Tricep pushdowns benefits are endless, suggesting this exercise's importance. While training your body and arms, it is essential not to forget about working on your triceps.
Triceps pushdown is an ideal way to increase muscle mass, gain strength, and improve the overall look of your arms.
