Muscles worked
The band pushdown trains your triceps like the cable pushdown, but the resistance behaves differently. A resistance band gets harder the more it stretches, so the exercise is easiest at the start and hardest with your arms straight. Your triceps do almost all the work. You control the difficulty with the thickness of the band and how far from the anchor you stand.
Common mistakes
- A slack band at the start. Stand too close to the anchor and the band has no tension with your hands up, so half the rep comes free. Step back, anchor the band higher or use a shorter band, so it pulls from the very start.
- An insecure anchor. A band that slips off a door or hook can fly back at you. Use a door anchor in a closed door, ideally on the hinge side, or a sturdy hook, and check the band for tears before you start.
- Letting the band snap back. The band pulls hard at the bottom, and if you relax, your hands shoot up. Let them return as slowly as you pressed them down.
Variations and alternatives
- The triceps pushdown is the gym version, with more even resistance and exact weight steps.
- The band overhead extension uses the same band with your arms overhead, a good pairing at home.
- Diamond push-ups train your triceps without a band, using your bodyweight.
- Bench dips can be done on a sturdy chair when you want more resistance than the band gives.
Sets and reps
Bands suit plenty of reps and slightly shorter rest. For muscle, 12 to 20 reps over 2 to 4 sets works well, and end each set with one or two reps in reserve. For endurance, sets can run longer than that. The rest of the set-up is covered in the guide to sets and reps.
Bands have no kilo markings, so note the band's colour or thickness and how far from the anchor you stood. Make it harder with a thicker band, with two bands at once or by holding your straight arms for a second at the bottom. That is progressive overload without a single plate.