Muscles worked
The triceps, on the back of the upper arm, do nearly all the work. All three of its heads straighten the elbow. With your upper arms by your sides all three work, but the long head, which also crosses the shoulder joint, gets more to do when your arms are overhead. That is why many people pair the pushdown with an overhead exercise. A rope lets you pull your hands apart at the bottom, while a straight bar or V-handle often allows a bit more weight.
Common mistakes
- Leaning over the handle. Standing far over the handle lets your bodyweight and shoulders do the pushing instead of your triceps. Stand almost upright with a slight forward lean, and lower the weight if you have to lean in to get the handle down.
- Shoulders rolling forward. At the end of each rep, your shoulders like to follow the handle down and forward. Keep your chest up and shoulders back, so only your forearms move.
- Bent wrists. If your wrists bend as you push, part of the load lands on them instead of your triceps. Keep your wrists straight, in line with your forearms, from start to finish.
Variations and alternatives
- Single arm pushdown: one arm at a time, useful when one arm is weaker than the other.
- Overhead cable extension: arms overhead, where the long head works harder. A good partner to the pushdown in the same programme.
- Machine triceps press: seated with your upper arms on a pad, if you prefer a fixed path.
- Band pushdown: the same movement with a band anchored high, when you train at home.
Sets and reps
The pushdown is an isolation exercise and suits slightly higher reps. To build muscle, 8 to 12 reps over 2 to 4 sets works well. Sets of 12 to 20 for endurance also fit, ideally last in the session. Very heavy sets of 3 to 5 reps are rarely worth it here, because keeping your upper arms still becomes hard. Read more in the guide to sets and reps.
Weight steps on cable stacks vary between machines, and sometimes the jump to the next plate is big. Add reps first, then raise the weight once you reach the top of your range on every set. Use the same machine and attachment each time, or your numbers will not be comparable. That is progressive overload in practice.