Cable Tricep Kickback
The cable tricep kickback is a single-arm triceps isolation exercise where you hinge forward and straighten your elbow back against a low cable. The cable keeps tension near lockout, which is where the dumbbell version is easiest. Use it as a light finisher to hit the triceps hard in their shortened position.
Muscles worked
The cable tricep kickback trains the triceps.
Primary
Weekly sets for triceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for triceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the cable tricep kickback
- 01Set the pulley at the lowest position and attach a single D-handle, or hold the cable ball directly.
- 02Face the stack, grab the cable with one hand and hinge forward until your torso is near parallel to the floor.
- 03Raise your working upper arm until it sits level with your torso, elbow bent to 90 degrees.
- 04Straighten your elbow by pushing your hand back until your arm is fully extended.
- 05Hold the lockout briefly, then bend your elbow slowly back to 90 degrees.
Coaching cues
- Upper arm parallel to the floor
- Squeeze the triceps at full extension
- Move only at the elbow
Common mistakes
- Letting your upper arm swing down as you extend removes the hard top position, so keep it level with your torso.
- Swinging the weight back with your shoulder adds momentum, so slow down and move only the forearm.
- Standing too upright makes the cable fight gravity in the wrong direction, so hinge forward until your torso is near flat.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Cable Tricep Kickback alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your cable tricep kickback free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.