Cable Straight Bar Triceps Pushdown
The cable straight-bar pushdown is a triceps isolation exercise done standing at a high pulley, pushing a straight bar down with an overhand grip until the elbows are fully extended, with the upper arms fixed at your sides.
TRICEPS · PUSH
How it is executed
- Attach a short straight bar to a high pulley.
- Stand upright and grip the bar overhand at shoulder width with elbows tucked close to your sides.
- Push the bar straight down until your arms are fully extended, squeezing the triceps at the bottom.
- Pause, then return slowly to about a 90° elbow angle without letting the stack rest.
Common mistakes
- Pumping the elbows back and forth. When the elbow travels back on the way down, the shoulder extends and the lat pushes part of the load. Keep the elbows fixed at your sides and still for the whole set.
- Loading your bodyweight onto the bar. If the torso rocks on every rep, bodyweight pushes the bar down and the triceps works less. Set a slight lean and do not change it; if you need the body, lower the load.
- Bending the wrists down to finish. That final flick adds no elbow extension: it shifts the load to the forearm and punishes the wrist. Keep the wrist straight and let the bar drop only because the elbow extends.
- Stopping short of full extension. The last few degrees are where the triceps finishes shortening; stopping halfway gives that part away. Extend fully without snapping into lockout, pause briefly and come back up under control.
Frequently asked questions
- Which muscles does the straight-bar triceps pushdown work?
- The triceps brachii, with all three heads extending the elbow. With the upper arm at your side, the long head, which also crosses the shoulder, is not stretched, so the lateral and medial heads carry a good share of the work; that is why it pairs well with an overhead extension. The anconeus helps at the end of the range, the forearm extensors keep the wrist straight, and the lats and abs fix the arm and torso.
- Straight bar or rope for the triceps pushdown: which one should you choose?
- The straight bar fixes the hands in pronation and allows the most load, although some wrists dislike that position. The rope lets the hands separate at the bottom with a neutral wrist: easier on elbows and wrists and with a longer finish, but the grip tires sooner and the load is lower. Bar for heavy sets of 8 to 12, rope for finishing with higher reps; the EZ bar sits in between.
- How many sets and reps of the straight-bar pushdown should you do?
- A common starting point is 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, leaving 1 to 3 reps in reserve, with a controlled two-second return. It goes after the presses, once the triceps is warm, and is usually the first arm isolation exercise because it takes load well. Progress one plate at a time: big jumps break the elbow position, and if the last rep needs the torso, the load is too high.
- How wide should the grip be and where do the elbows go in the bar pushdown?
- Grip the bar at shoulder width or slightly narrower, thumb over or around it as you prefer, with the wrist straight. The elbows stay tight to the ribs and just in front of the torso; they can drift a few centimeters forward on the way up, but at the bottom they must not travel back, because that motion comes from the shoulder, not the triceps. Step back and lean slightly so the cable runs vertically down to the hands.
Sources and editorial approach
The explanation, variations and FAQs are Kaizer’s editorial synthesis. ACSM’s 2026 guidance provides general context on progression and resistance training in healthy adults; it does not independently validate the technique of each variation.
No individual professional review is recorded for this page.
Variations and substitutions
Routines that program it
Put it to work in Kaizer
Create workout routines with AIFrom goals and equipment to an editable routine in minutes — one that keeps adapting itself, session by session.The best TrueCoach alternatives in 2026The alternatives, including what each one does better.Pricing and plansBasic supports up to 3 clients from USD 5 a month.
Glossary and calculators
Movement patternA movement pattern is the mechanical family an exercise belongs to: horizontal push, vertical push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, knee-dominant, hip-domina...HypertrophyHypertrophy is the increase in muscle fibre size in response to sustained resistance training.RIR ↔ %1RM conversionWhat percentage of 1RM does your RIR correspond to?
