V-Bar Triceps Pushdown
Trains the Lateral Head and Medial Head.
- Equipment
- A cable station
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner

How to do it
- Clip a V-bar to a high pulley and take it with an overhand grip, hands on the angled sections.
- Stand upright a step back from the machine with your elbows tucked at your sides.
- Start with your forearms at about parallel to the floor.
- Push the bar down until your arms are straight, keeping the elbows pinned.
- Squeeze briefly at the bottom.
- Let the bar rise under control until the forearms are back to parallel, and no further.
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbows travel forward and back. Once the upper arm moves, the shoulder and the lat are pressing the bar down and the triceps are along for it.
- Leaning over the bar to push it down. Bodyweight on the bar makes the stack feel lighter without the triceps doing any more; standing upright is what keeps it honest.
- Letting the bar rise past parallel between repetitions. Above that the elbow starts to drift and the stack begins pulling the shoulder up; parallel is where the set stays under control.
- Expecting a different result from the V-bar than the rope. The angled grip is somewhere between a straight bar and a rope in how far the hands can turn out at the bottom. With the elbows at the sides, all three keep the long head shortened at the shoulder, which is why an overhead extension is the one that reaches it.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Lateral HeadTriceps
- Medial HeadTriceps