Triceps pushdown
Straightens the elbow with the arm at your side. It grew the triceps by about 14% in twelve weeks, though the overhead version grew them more.
Why it's here
The pushdown trains the triceps with the arm at your side, and lets you handle more weight than the overhead version. In a twelve-week MRI trial it grew the triceps by about 14% and built strength in proportion to the overhead version — but in the same people, the overhead arm's triceps grew about 1.4 times as much [1]. If you have room for both, the overhead extension is the better-supported choice for size.
The evidence
- Training study Twenty-one young adults (14 men, 7 women) with no structured resistance training in the previous year trained one arm at the side and the other overhead, on a cable machine, twice a week for twelve weeks, five sets of ten. Triceps volume rose about 14% with the arm at the side against 20% overhead. Its one-rep maximum was always higher than the overhead arm's, and rose by a similar proportion [1].
How to do it
- Stand facing a cable stack with the pulley set high, upper arm against your side and elbow bent to about 90°.
- Keeping your upper arm still at your side, push the handle down until your elbow is straight.
- Let it back up under control to about 90°. The trial above used this range, about two seconds each way [1].
Stop an exercise that causes significant or unusual pain and have it assessed. This page describes the movement; it is not rehabilitation advice.
Making it harder over time
This is a isolation exercise in the Progressive Overload Calculator, which adds weight in steps of 2%–5% once every set reaches the top of your rep range, and adds reps until then.
Alternatives
- Overhead triceps extension — Straightens the elbow with the arm overhead. In a twelve-week MRI trial it grew the triceps about 1.4 times as much as the arm-at-side version.
References
- Maeo S, Wu Y, Huang M, Sakurai H, Kusagawa Y, Sugiyama T, Kanehisa H, Isaka T. Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. Eur J Sport Sci, 2023;23(7):1240-1250. doi.org
How we reviewed this page
Every claim is cited to research we opened and read, and labelled with the kind of evidence behind it. Training studies, which measure muscle or strength over weeks, carry the most weight; an exercise is listed only if at least one training study or review supports it. Studies of muscle activation (EMG) can add detail but are never the reason an exercise is here. Sources were last checked on October 16, 2026.
These are four well-supported choices we list for this muscle group, not a ranked "top five" — the research rarely supports one. We list up to five, and fewer where only fewer meet the rule above: an exercise is never added to fill a group.
Drafted with AI assistance, then edited and fact-checked by a human.
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General information only. This is not medical advice.