Cable V-Bar Triceps Pushdown

Muscles worked

Triceps

Primary muscle

Triceps

Equipment

Cable

Movement pattern

Push

Difficulty

Intermediate

What it is for

StrengthHypertrophy

Watch the full tutorial

• Flaring the elbows out as you push. With the hands this close, the elbows easily drift away from the body and the push comes from the chest and shoulder. Keep the elbows tight to the ribs through the whole range.
• Rolling the shoulders forward to push. That move brings the pecs and front delts into the exercise and takes work from the triceps. Set the shoulders back and down before you start and do not let them go until the set ends.
• Bending the wrists toward the thighs at the end. The V-bar invites you to turn the hands down for more contraction, but that only loads the wrist. Keep the wrist straight and finish the rep by extending the elbow, not the hand.
• Coming up only a few centimeters. With too much load, the range stays in the bottom half and the triceps only works shortened. Let the forearm rise past horizontal and pick a weight that allows it without the elbows lifting away.

Which muscles does the V-bar triceps pushdown work?

The triceps brachii in all three heads; the V-bar does not change which head works, only how you grip. With the upper arm at your side, the long head, which also crosses the shoulder, does not start stretched, and the lateral and medial heads do much of the effort. The semi-neutral grip asks less of the wrist than a straight bar, so the forearm works less, and the abs and lats fix the torso and arms.

V-bar, straight bar or rope for the triceps pushdown: which one should you pick?

The V-bar is a rigid handle with the hands together and palms facing: the wrist is more comfortable than on a straight bar and it takes almost the same load. The straight bar allows the most weight. The rope lets the hands open at the bottom and lengthens the finish, but the grip tires and the load drops. V-bar when the bar bothers the wrists and you want to keep loading; rope for finishing with high reps.

How many sets and reps of the V-bar pushdown should you do?

Since the handle is rigid and comfortable, it takes heavier sets than the rope: a common starting point is 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, leaving 1 to 3 in reserve, with a brief pause at the bottom. It works as the first triceps exercise after the presses, and since the stack goes up one plate at a time, progress is easy. If the shoulder rolls forward to push, the load exceeds what the triceps moves alone.

How do you hold the V-bar and how high should you come up on each rep?

Hold the handles with the palms facing each other and the thumb wrapped around the grip, hands tight to the center of the V. Stand close to the pulley with a slight lean, elbows tight to the ribs and shoulders back and down. Push to full extension, with the V reaching the thighs, and come up until the forearm passes horizontal, about 90 degrees of elbow or a bit more, without the elbows leaving your sides.