The Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdown is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the triceps. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesTriceps
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdown
Set a straight bar on the high pulley of a cable stack and select your weight.
Face the machine and grip the bar palms up with your hands shoulder-width apart.
Pull your elbows in against your ribs and hinge forward very slightly.
Press the bar down by straightening your elbows, keeping your upper arms still.
Stop just short of lockout and hold the bottom for a beat.
Let the bar rise under control until your elbows are fully bent, then repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
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.
03 Don't do this
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.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdown, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
