Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

How to do it

1. Attach a rope to a low or mid cable pulley and take one end in each hand.
2. Turn away from the machine and step forward, bringing the rope up and behind your head with your elbows bent.
3. Take a staggered stance for balance and brace your stomach so the cable does not pull you backward.
4. Set your upper arms alongside your head, pointing forward and slightly up, and keep them there.
5. Extend your elbows to press the rope forward and up until your arms are straight.
6. Separate the rope ends slightly at the end, then let the cable draw your hands back behind your head under control.

Common mistakes

• Letting the upper arms drop as the set gets hard, so the movement becomes a press rather than an extension.
• Standing square and getting pulled backward. A staggered stance with the stomach braced is what keeps you stable.
• Cutting the stretch at the back short. The value of the overhead position is that the long head is fully lengthened there; stopping early gives it away.
• Treating it as interchangeable with a pushdown. They load opposite ends of the muscle — pushdowns favour the lateral and medial heads, overhead work is the only common way to load the long head at length.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Long HeadTriceps