What you'll gain
The tucked elbow lets the arm extend further behind the body than a standard pushdown.
Emphasizes the long head of the triceps without needing an overhead position.
The underhand grip reduces forearm involvement and eases stress on the elbow.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Set a straight bar on the high pulley of a cable stack and select your weight.
- 2
Face the machine and grip the bar palms up with your hands shoulder-width apart.
- 3
Pull your elbows in against your ribs and hinge forward very slightly.
- 4
Press the bar down by straightening your elbows, keeping your upper arms still.
- 5
Stop just short of lockout and hold the bottom for a beat.
- 6
Let the bar rise under control until your elbows are fully bent, then repeat.
Common Mistakes
Letting the elbows travel forward, which hands the work to the lats and shortens the triceps range.
Locking the elbows hard at the bottom, which drops tension and stresses the joint.
Leaning the whole torso into the bar, so bodyweight rather than the triceps moves the stack.
Gripping too wide, which twists the wrists uncomfortably under a palms-up hold.
About This Exercise
The reverse-grip tricep pushdown is a straight-bar pushdown performed with a supinated grip. You stand facing a high pulley, take the bar palms up, tuck your elbows against your ribs and press down until the arms are almost straight. Turning the hands over cuts how much the forearms contribute and keeps the elbow tight to the side, which lets the arm travel further behind the body and load the long head of the triceps harder. Elbow position decides it: let them drift forward and the lats take over. MoveKit collapses long-head bias into a single Triceps group, so that emphasis lives in the copy. For a library the clip covers a grip variation buyers ask for by name and fits arm accessory blocks, cable machine filters, and elbow-friendly programming for lifters who avoid overhead work.
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Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdown
A cable pushdown taken with the palms up, keeping the elbows tucked so the triceps extend the arm through a long range.
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Specifications
Built for
- Arm accessory slot in upper body hypertrophy templates.
- Elbow friendly triceps option for lifters avoiding overhead extensions.
- Comparison media on overhand against underhand pushdown grips.
- Cable stack listings in a gym floor exercise browser.
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
Cable Bar Pushdown
$4.99A standing triceps pushdown using a straight bar attachment — the most efficient way to isolate the triceps with cables.
Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extension
$4.99Overhead rope extension from a high pulley that stretches the triceps long head before every elbow extension.
Cable Rope Pushdown
$4.99A standing triceps pushdown using a rope attachment that lets the hands separate for a deeper triceps squeeze.
Cable Single Arm Rope Pushdown
$4.99A one-arm rope pushdown that isolates each triceps independently for a deeper squeeze and better symmetry.
Machine Cable V Bar Push Downs
$4.99A V-bar cable pushdown that isolates all three heads of the triceps through a clean, controlled extension.
Single-Arm Overhead Cable Extension
$4.99A standing single-arm cable extension with the handle held overhead, straightening the elbow against constant tension.