Triceps Pushdown - Rope Attachment

Triceps

Equipment: Cable

New to this

Your first triceps pushdown - rope attachment

What weight should I start with on the triceps pushdown - rope attachment?

Start at 20 to 30 lb. Beginners tend to load this one up and then lean their whole bodyweight into it, which trains almost nothing.

You have got it right if you can do 12 reps standing upright with your elbows locked at your sides.

What usually goes wrong on the triceps pushdown - rope attachment?

Clip a rope to the high pulley and take one end in each hand. Stand about a foot back from the stack with a small forward lean and your elbows tucked in.

Push the rope down until your arms are straight, pulling the two ends apart at the bottom, then let your hands rise until your forearms are just past parallel with the floor.

Most common mistake: the elbows flaring out and drifting forward, which turns it into a chest press. If they move, the weight comes down.

If the cable stack is busy

Triceps dips are the heavier compound version of the same push and train more muscle at once. The lying triceps press needs only a bench and an EZ bar. The overhead rope extension hits the long head of the triceps, which the pushdown mostly misses.

How to do it

Attach a rope attachment to a high pulley and grab with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
Standing upright with the torso straight and a very small inclination forward, bring the upper arms close to your body and perpendicular to the floor. The forearms should be pointing up towards the pulley as they hold the rope with the palms facing each other. This is your starting position.
Using the triceps, bring the rope down as you bring each side of the rope to the side of your thighs. At the end of the movement the arms are fully extended and perpendicular to the floor. The upper arms should always remain stationary next to your torso and only the forearms should move. Exhale as you perform this movement.
After holding for a second, at the contracted position, bring the rope slowly up to the starting point. Breathe in as you perform this step.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.