Machine Triceps Extension
Trains the Triceps.
- Equipment
- A machine
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set the seat so your upper arms rest on the pad with the elbows level with the machine's pivot.
- Sit with your back against the pad and take the handles.
- Start with the elbows bent and the forearms up.
- Push the handles down and forward until the arms are straight.
- Squeeze briefly at the bottom.
- Let the handles return under control until the elbows are bent again.
Common mistakes
- Setting the seat so the elbows sit off the machine's pivot. When the joint and the hinge do not line up, the resistance fights the arm through part of the range and the elbow takes the difference.
- Lifting the upper arms off the pad. The pad fixes the upper arm, and coming off it is the same cheat as the elbows drifting on a pushdown.
- Letting the stack drop back at the end of the set. The lowering half is where the machine still has tension.
- Expecting it to reach the long head. The upper arms are fixed beside the body, so the long head is shortened at the shoulder — an overhead extension is the movement that reaches it.