Reverse Grip Cable Triceps Pushdown
Also known as: Reverse Grip Tricep Extension, Reverse Pushdown, Triceps Cable Pushdown Reverse Grip
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Description
Facing a high pulley, you hold a short bar palms up and straighten your elbows to push it from your upper chest down to your thighs, working the triceps. All three heads share the load, and you'll feel it most at the back of the arm just above the elbow. Your forearms only hold the bar, but the palms-up grip tires fast, so expect to use clearly less weight than on the overhand pushdown. Most lifters use it as a second or last triceps exercise when they want a different feel from the overhand or rope version.
How to Perform
- Set the pulley at the top of a cable column or lat-pulldown station and clip on a short straight or EZ pushdown bar.
- Grab the bar underhand, palms up, hands about shoulder-width or a little closer. Wrap your thumbs around it and keep your wrists straight.
- Stand about a forearm's length from the stack, feet hip-width, knees soft, torso upright. The cable hangs almost straight down in front of your chest.
- Pin your upper arms to your sides, elbows fully bent and the bar near your upper chest. The plates should already be off the stack.
- Straighten your elbows and push the bar down in an arc to the front of your thighs. Hold the straight-arm position for a second.
- Take 2–3 seconds to let the bar rise until your elbows are fully bent, upper arms still at your sides and the plates still up.
- End the set by guiding the bar all the way up before you let go. Release it at the bottom and the bar snaps up while the plates crash down.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Tips
- Do 2–4 sets of 10–15 reps, up to 20 as a finisher; going heavier than 8–10 rarely pays off, because your wrists and grip give out before your triceps do. Add reps before weight, and move the pin down one plate only when you get 15 on all sets with your elbows pinned. Lat-pulldown stacks often jump 5–7 kg, so use the add-on weight if there is one, or stay at that weight longer and keep adding reps.
- The burn belongs in the back of your upper arms, hardest just above the elbows near lockout. If your chest or the front of your shoulders start doing the work, your elbows are drifting forward or you're leaning onto the bar.
- Palms up puts more stress on your wrists and the inside of your elbows than the overhand grip. Start light and stop if either one hurts. Once a weight feels easy, hold the lockout for 1–2 seconds and take 3–4 seconds on the way up before you add a plate.
- Substitutes: One-Arm Reverse Grip Triceps Cable Pushdown to train each arm on its own; Cable Triceps Pushdown when you want to go heavier with an easier grip; Rope Triceps Pushdown if the palms-up grip bothers your wrists; Band Triceps Pushdown when there's no cable station around.
Common Mistakes
- Elbows drifting forward and up as the bar rises, so your shoulders join in and the rep turns into a press. Keep your upper arms pinned and stop the return when the elbows are fully bent, not when the bar reaches your face.
- Wrists bending back while the bar rolls toward your fingertips. Hold it deep in your hand with the thumbs wrapped around; if your wrists won't stay straight, the weight is too heavy.
- Leaning over the bar and pushing it down with your body weight. Stand tall and close to the stack. If you need a lean to finish a rep, drop the weight.
- Starting with the forearms parallel to the floor and stopping short of straight arms. Use the whole path: fully bent elbows with the bar at your upper chest, down to straight arms with the bar at your thighs.
- Hands too wide on the bar. With your palms up, a wide grip twists the wrists and elbows; keep your hands shoulder-width or closer.
Recommended Exercises
Explore exercises related to Reverse Grip Cable Triceps Pushdown for triceps training and similar movement patterns.
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