PDA

View Full Version : pushdowns



msktyshha
04-04-10, 10:44 pm
cable push downs for triceps have different variations. I see some guys leaning in too much, some step way back from the pully, some do a push down on the bar, some do an extension sort of a push down. Also there is straight bars, v-bar, ropes for attachment to do pushdowns. How do you guys do your push downs and I wanna know what is the most correct form that really isolates the tris.

NaturalTrainee
04-05-10, 3:16 am
I have two ways of doing them.
1) The traditional stick hands to your side stuff with mental connection with the muscle and a slow, steady movement with arms relaxed, traps and the whole body moveless.
2) The NT ones. I lean a bit forward, put one foot behind, let my elbows come just in front of my rib cage, relax all the other muscle groups, keep a thumbless grip and push the bar away from my body and then let it travel towards me. Hit some partials with this form after failure and you'll burn.

Toro
04-05-10, 4:48 am
Hi msktyshha,

leaning in to much is never a good idea since you tend to put more of your front delts in the exercise. The best way to do it is as NaturalTrainee pointed out, elbows on your sides and rest of the body is motionless as just the forearms go down.

Rope extensions differ from the pushdowns as they stress the longer head of the triceps more, with that slight wrist turn at the end of the movement. I also like to pop in a couple drop sets to go beyond failure.

Survivor831
04-05-10, 9:19 am
Isolating the triceps requires a good mind muscle connection and experimenting with a couple of different positions. True. There are a lot of ways to do the pushdown, however, each one will hit the tricep in a slightly different angle. Plus, we are all built different. So what works best for you might not work best for the next guy. Try them all and see which one feels the most comfortable to you and see where that gets you.