When it comes to working your triceps, the one exercise almost universally included in every workout is the pushdown. The triceps pushdown is an isolation exercise where you feel the contact of the triceps, which leads to big muscle pumps and crunch time. Because it can be done with an assortment of pulley attachments, there are countless ways to mix things up when it comes to your pushup procedure and also countless ways to make those tricep cable pushup mistakes.
However, even though the tricep pushdown isn’t a complex exercise, it regularly gets screwed up.
Here, we’ll dive into proper form for the triceps pushup, which is necessary for good form, and four common mistakes that keep lifters from reaching the horseshoe triceps that 99% of weightlifters want. Why 99%? Because the other 1% are lying to themselves.
How to Do the Cable Triceps Pushdown
- Place the cable at the highest anchor point.
- With your body facing the cable, bring your feet together and arms at your sides.
- Raise your chest, shoulders down, and back flat with your hips tilted slightly forward.
- Grasp the accessory of your choice and extend your elbows to push the handles down.
- Slowly bring your forearms back to just above 90 degrees, keeping elbows in front of shoulders at all times.
What it takes for a good form
The beauty of the triceps pushup is that you can isolate the triceps and feel the muscle contract, which hopefully will give you a nice pump. Here are some essential form tips for triceps push-ups.
- Keep the elbows slightly in front of the shoulders.
- Have a slight forward tilt in your torso due to your forward tilted hips.
- A controlled eccentric contraction.
- Keep your wrists neutral.
- Do not stand too close to the cable machine.
There isn’t too much of a devil in the details, but body position with the triceps push is key.
4 Common Triceps Cable Push Mistakes
Get the most out of this triceps muscle pumping exercise by making NONE of these four mistakes.