Exercise guide · evidence-graded

Cable Tricep Pushdown

The cable triceps pushdown is an arm isolation exercise: standing at a high cable pulley with your upper arms by your sides, you straighten your elbows to push a bar down to your thighs. It works mainly the lateral and medial heads of the triceps, with the cable keeping tension on the muscle through the whole movement.

Also called: Tricep Pushdown, Rope Pushdown, Cable Pressdown, Cable Pushdown · Equipment: cable · Pattern: push

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How to do it

Step by step

Attach a straight bar to a cable pulley set at or above head height.
Face the stack and take an overhand grip on the bar with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
Step back half a pace, set your feet hip-width apart with soft knees, and lean your trunk very slightly forward from the hips.
Pull the bar down until your elbows are bent to about 90° and your upper arms are pinned to your sides. This is the start position.
Straighten your elbows to push the bar down until your arms are straight, moving only your forearms.
Pause briefly with your arms straight, then let the bar rise under control until your elbows are back to about 90°.
Keep your upper arms still and your trunk braced for every rep.
After the last rep, let the bar rise slowly to the top before letting go.

Coaching cues

Elbows pinned to your sides
Only your forearms move
Push the bar all the way to straight arms
Squeeze at the bottom, then control the bar back
Wrists straight, knuckles facing forward

In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.

Muscles worked

What it trains

Muscle	Role	Evidence
Triceps brachii: lateral head	Prime mover	C
Triceps brachii: medial head	Prime mover	C
Triceps brachii: long head	Secondary	B
Forearm flexors	Stabiliser	D
Anterior deltoid	Stabiliser	D

Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.

Common faults

What goes wrong, and the fix

Upper arms drifting forward

Fix: Pin your elbows to your sides and move only at the elbows.

Leaning bodyweight onto the bar

Fix: Stay tall and braced, with a load you can move without leaning.

Short, partial reps

Fix: Move from elbows at about 90° to fully straight arms on every rep.

Wrists bending back under the bar

Fix: Keep your wrists straight so the bar sits in line with your forearms.

Letting the stack yank the bar up

Fix: Take one to two seconds to let the bar rise back to the start.

Programming

What the research says

Muscle growth · first choiceGeneral fitness · first choiceStrengthRehab & prehabEndurance

Arm position — A controlled trial found triceps extensions with the arms by the sides grew the triceps less than the same exercise overhead, a difference driven by the long head. Many lifters pair the pushdown with an overhead extension.
Load and reps — Research comparing loads finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure. Many lifters use about 8–15 reps, with 15–25 for pump-focused sets.
Effort — Studies show sets that finish a few reps short of failure capture most of the growth benefit; true failure adds only a small extra effect.
Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. Pressing also works the triceps, and counting those sets improves volume estimates.
Drop sets — A trial in trained men found drop sets and rest-pause sets produced growth similar to traditional sets when total volume was matched. The quick stack change makes drop sets common on this lift.

Alternatives · VALDA FLEX

Swap it mid-workout

With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.

Log the cable tricep pushdown in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.

General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.