In this lesson, you will learn how to do bent-over cable triceps extensions using a rope attachment. Of course, you can also use a straight bar or an angled triceps bar. Perform this exercise on a high or mid-level pulley machine. The higher the pulley, the more intense the end of each repetition. The lower the pulley, the more intense the first 90° of each repetition. Find more triceps exercises on the weight training main page.
Execution
- Stand with one leg in front of the other and grasp the rope attachment behind your head. Thumbs point backward, palms face each other.
- Bend forward, round your back slightly, and contract your abdominals lightly. This keeps your spine in a healthy and stable position, especially when lifting heavy weights.
- Keep your arms close to your head and your elbows close to your eyes. Your upper arms should stay close to your head throughout the entire exercise.
Reasons why you should not raise your head:
- You don’t want the cable to scratch your scalp.
- Keeping your head down makes it easier to position your elbows correctly.
- Raising your head tends to cause you to arch your back, which makes it difficult to contract your abs properly; your abs are important to protect your spine.
- Extend your arms and exhale slowly. Your upper arms don’t move at all, and your elbows stay close together.
- If you are using a rope attachment, you can twist your hands at the end so that your thumbs point toward each other, which helps work all three heads of your triceps. However, moving your hands in a hammer motion is also fine.
- Then bend your arms again and return to the starting position. Make sure to keep your upper arms and elbows parallel and still during the entire exercise. The backward motion should be slower than the forward motion. Inhale as you bend your arms.
- Stop shortly before your triceps lose contraction. Your forearms should never rest on your biceps.
Advice
- Warm up your elbows and stretch your triceps between sets and exercises.
- When you extend your arms, move your body forward slightly (see animation).
- If you did the first set with the right leg in front, do the second set with the left leg in front.
- The more weight you use, the more important it is to keep your abdominals tight.
- If you don’t have a pulley machine, you can also do this triceps exercise with an elastic band.
Suggestions
- Close Grip Triceps Bench Press
- Triceps Extension
- Triceps Pushdown
- Triceps Kickback
- Triceps Dips – One Bench
- Triceps Dips on Parallel Bars
- Bench Dips
