Cable Tricep Pushdown
The cable tricep pushdown is an arm isolation exercise where you press a straight bar or V-bar down from a high pulley by straightening your elbows. It trains the triceps, mostly the lateral and medial heads. It is the standard triceps finisher because it is easy to learn, simple to load and kind to the elbows.
Muscles worked
The cable tricep pushdown 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 pushdown
- 01Set the pulley at the top position and attach a straight bar or V-bar.
- 02Grab the bar with an overhand grip at about shoulder width and step in close to the stack.
- 03Stand tall with a slight forward lean and your elbows pinned to your sides.
- 04Push the bar down until your arms are fully straight and your triceps are tight.
- 05Let the bar rise slowly until your forearms are just above parallel to the floor.
Coaching cues
- Elbows pinned, forearms move
- Lock out and squeeze hard
- Only your forearms should move
Common mistakes
- Letting your elbows flare and drift forward turns it into a press, so keep your upper arms locked to your sides.
- Leaning your bodyweight over the bar to push it down takes the triceps out, so stand tall and lighten the stack.
- Stopping short of full lockout misses the hardest triceps contraction, so straighten your elbows completely every rep.
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 Pushdown alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Free programs that use it
Ready-made splits from the Swole.fit library. Pick one and the app runs the progression.
- Arm Blaster3 days a week, biceps, triceps, shoulders
- Deadlift Religion3 days a week, back, hamstrings, glutes
- Full Body Power3 days a week, chest, back, quadriceps, hamstrings
- Leg Destroyer3 days a week, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes
- Pull Domination3 days a week, back, biceps
- Pump & Circumstance3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your cable tricep pushdown free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.