10 Best Triceps Cable Exercises To Grow Those Horseshoes

For total triceps development, you’ve got started working the muscle from all angles with constant tension and progressive overload. Cable machines mean you can do all three higher than some other style of equipment. By prioritizing tricep cable workouts, you will have the option to stimulate all three heads optimally to advertise maximum gains.

As a veteran personal trainer, I’ve worked with plenty of bodybuilders over time. Switching from dumbbell to cable exercises has often been the important thing to bringing up lagging triceps for a lot of them.

In this text, I’ll lay out ten cable tricep exercises to work every triceps muscle fiber. I’ll also explain why cables are so effective for triceps training and supply some personal trainer suggestions for working the triceps.

Top Ten Triceps Cable Exercises

1. Two-Arm Cable Extension
2. Seated Cable Extension
3. Single-Arm Cable Extension
4. Triceps Pushdown
5. Overhead Tricep Extension
6. Lying Cable Tricep Extension
7. Cable Tricep Kickbacks
8. One-Arm Reverse Grip Pushdowns
9. Kneeling Overhead Tricep Extension
10. Cable Concentration Extension

For the primary two versions of a cable machine pushdown, you will need to machine with a double-weight stack, ideally with the burden stacks shoulder-width apart.

#1: Two-Arm Cable Extension

1. Set the heights of the pulleys barely higher than your head. Place a rope handle on the top of every cable. Stand facing away from the machine, about two feet from it.
2. Grab the rope handles with a hammer grip and bend your elbows so your hands are at chin level.
3. Extend your arms down on an angle that aligns with the cable angle until your elbows lock out.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the movement.

#2: Seated Cable Extension

1. Place a back-supported bench about three feet in front of the machine, facing away from it. Set the heights of the pulleys barely higher than your head when seated. Place a rope handle on the top of every cable.
2. Sit on the bench and lean back so your shoulder blades are on the back pad. Grab the rope handles with a hammer grip and bend your elbows so your hands are at chin level.
3. Extend your arms down on an angle that aligns with the cable angle until your elbows lock out.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the movement.

#3: Single Arm Cable Extension

1. Set the peak of a single cable pulley barely higher than your head. Place a rope handle on the top of the cable. Stand facing away from the machine, about two feet from it.
2. Grab the rope handles with a hammer grip in your right hand and bend your elbow so your hand is at chin level. Grab the frame of the machine along with your left hand for support.
3. Extend your arm down on an angle that aligns with the cable angle until your elbow is locked out.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the movement.
5. Do your entire reps on the appropriate arm after which repeat with the left arm.

#4: Triceps Pushdown

1. Set the peak of the cable pulley barely above your head level. Place a rope handle on the top of the cable.
2. Stand facing the cable pulley machine, about two feet away from it. Hold the rope handle at the bottom with each hands. Bend your elbows to bring your hands as much as your chin level in the beginning position.
3. Keeping your elbows in at the perimeters of your waist, extend your arms down and out consistent with the angle of the cable. Lock out your elbows within the fully contracted position.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#5: Overhead Tricep Extension

1. Set the peak of the cable pulley barely above your head level. Place a rope handle on the top of the cable.
2. Stand facing away from the cable pulley machine, about two feet from it. Grab the rope handle, holding it at its base in each hand. Bring your hands as much as your brow, keeping your elbows consistent with your hands.
3. Extend your arms out consistent with the angle of the cable. Lock out your elbows within the fully contracted position.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#6: Lying Cable Tricep Extension

1. Set the pulley on a cable pulley machine to its lowest setting and place a brief handlebar on the top of the cable.
2. Lie on the ground along with your head about 18 inches from the bottom of the machine. Reach as much as grab the handle and produce it to the extent of your brow within the starting position.
3. Extend your arms out consistent with the angle of the cable. Lock out your elbows within the fully contracted position.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#7: Cable Tricep Kickbacks

1. Set the pulley on a cable machine to its lowest setting and place a rope handle on the top of the cable.
2. Stand about three feet away from the machine in a staggered stance, with the knee furthest away from the cable forward. Grab the bottom of the rope handle and produce it to the side of your waist along with your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle.
3. Extend your arm back to full extension. Remember to keep your elbow at your side throughout the movement.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#8: One Arm Reverse Grip Pushdowns

1. Set the peak of the cable pulley barely above your head level. Place a ‘D’ handle on the top of the cable.
2. Stand facing the cable pulley machine, about two feet away from it. Hold the handle in your right hand along with your palm up. Bend your elbows to bring your hands as much as your waist level in the beginning position.
3. Keeping your elbows in at the perimeters of your waist, extend your arms down and out consistent with the angle of the cable. Lock out your elbows within the fully contracted position.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#9: Kneeling Overhead Tricep Extension

1. Set the peak of the pulley on a cable machine just above your head if you end up in a kneeling position. Place a rope handle on the top of the cable. Now, position a flat bench about three feet in front of the machine so it’s perpendicular to the machine.
2. Kneel about two feet from the machine, facing away from it. Reach as much as grab the rope handle above your head, along with your elbows resting on the bench and bent back to completely contract the triceps.
3. Extend your arms out and consistent with the angle of the cable. Lock out your elbows within the fully contracted position.
4. Return to the beginning position, controlling the eccentric a part of the rep.

#10: Cable Concentration Extension

1. Set the pulley on a cable pulley machine at head height. Place a ‘D’ handle on the top of the cable.
2. Grab the handle in your right hand after which kneel on the ground along with your left knee on the ground and your right knee bent at a right angle with the foot planted on the ground.
3. Press your elbow into your knee with the elbow bent at a right angle.
4. Extend your elbow right down to full extension, holding the top position for a two-second count.
5. Return to the beginning position under control to benefit from the eccentric a part of the movement.

Triceps Anatomy

The triceps is a three-headed muscle group positioned in the back of your upper arm. It consists of the next triceps heads:

1. Lateral head
2. Medial head
3. Long head

The function of the triceps is elbow extension. It’s the antagonist to the biceps muscle in order that when the triceps muscles are flexed, the biceps relaxes, and vice versa.

The long head of the triceps is the a part of the muscle closest to your torso. It originates on the scapula and runs all of the method to the elbow joint.

Unlike the opposite heads, the long head crosses each the shoulder and elbow joints. In consequence, it plays an element in shoulder and scapula stabilization.

The opposite two heads originate at the highest of the upper arm bone (humerus) and insert into the elbow joint.

The Advantages of Using Cables for Triceps Exercises

While you use a cable machine to work your triceps, you provide yourself with a variety of advantages over free weights like dumbbells and barbells. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Constant Tension

While you’re using a cable, you’re working against the resistance of the machine from the second the burden lifts off the stack until it returns to it. That is different from free weights, where the resistance is set by gravity. That signifies that there are points throughout a free-weight exercise where there is no such thing as a resistance in any respect.

The constant tension that you just get with cables makes sure that your triceps are engaged throughout your entire exercise.

2. Angle Variety

A cable machine permits you to adjust to a number of angles. This implies which you can work the triceps in accordance with the direction of the muscle’s natural movement pattern. To optimally load a muscle, the muscle must be directly opposite the resistance. That is the principle of opposite position loading.

Cables mean you can align the direction of your resistance along with your muscle’s direction of movement in accordance with this principle. For instance, the two-arm cable extension, the primary exercise on our list, provides a direction of movement that’s perfectly opposite to the direction of the cable.

The range of angles available on a cable machine also permits you to give attention to each of the three triceps heads individually.

3. Triceps Isolation

A cable machine permits you to work your triceps in isolation more effectively than free-weight alternatives. While you use dumbbells or barbells, you’ll be able to’t help but bring other muscle groups, reminiscent of the deltoids and core, into the movement.

Compare this to a tricep pushdown, which permits you to completely isolate the backs of the upper arms.

4. Adjustable Resistance

While you’re using a cable machine, you’re in a position to quickly adjust the resistance on the burden stack. This makes using cables ideal for techniques like drop sets.

That is if you do the utmost variety of reps you’ll be able to achieve with a certain weight, then immediately lower the burden and push out a couple of more reps. You perform 4-5 drops inside your set.

The triceps pushdown is amazingly effective when done in a drop-set fashion.

Tricep Training Suggestions (from a Certified Personal Trainer)

1. Vary Your Weights and Reps

The triceps are made up of each fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers, with the fast twitch being barely more quite a few. Fast twitch fibers respond best to heavy weights and low reps, with the alternative being true for slow twitch fibers. To work the muscle completely, you could do a mixture of high and low reps.¹

Here’s a suggested tricep workout set and rep scheme for all versions of press downs that has been very successful with my bodybuilding clients:

• Set One: 30 reps
• Set Two: 20 reps
• Set Three: 12 reps
• Set 4: 10 reps
• Set Five: 8 reps
• Set Six: 6 reps

Increase the burden on each succeeding set.

2. Keep Your Elbows In

When you’re doing any style of triceps pressing exercise, it’s best to consciously keep your elbows tucked at the perimeters of your body. Doing so forces the triceps to take all the load.

While you allow the elbows to flare out, other muscles within the shoulders and chest are brought into play. Flared elbows also place undue stress on the shoulder joint.

3. Use Full Range of Motion

I see plenty of people within the gym who pile an excessive amount of weight on after which only do half, or sometimes quarter, reps of an exercise. You do not need to be one in all these people. Unless you fully extend the muscle from full contraction to full extension, you will be leaving most of your gains on the table. So, never sacrifice the full range of motion with a purpose to lift more weight.

To be able to prepare on your workout, discover the eight best stretches on your triceps.

Wrap Up

Few things are as impressive as fully defined, shirt-splitting triceps. To get them, you have to coach smart in addition to hard. Which means prioritizing cable tricep workouts. Cables allow for the perfect resistance angle, versatility, constant tension, and isolation ability you could promote optimum muscle growth.

I like to recommend including a minimum of two cable machine exercises in every triceps workout. Then, add in a dumbbell exercise, reminiscent of the skull-crusher, to round out the session. Do a complete of 10-14 sets for triceps twice per week, with a minimum of 72 hours rest between sessions. Do that consistently, and you will be rewarded with a pair of muscular horseshoe-shaped triceps.

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