Weightlifting Technique: How to Perform Tricep Cable Extensions

Muscles Exercised

Cable extensions are an isolation exercise for your tricep muscles. The goal of this exercise is to focus directly on building the triceps.

Exercise Technique

• Isolation exercises should be performed after you’ve completed the compound exercise for the target muscle group. For triceps, you should perform close grip bench presses or dips before an isolation exercise such as cable extensions.
• Cable extensions are performed at a machine at your gym allowing you to pull down the bar from overhead. Better machines have a pad for you to lean against allowing you to stabilize your body thereby isolating your tricep more effectively.
• Select a bar to connect to the overhead cable. I prefer an angled bar of some sort, as it allows me to grip it at a more natural angle, and reduces strain on my wrists, just as the EZ-curl bar does for the skull crusher exercise.
• Grip the bar and pull it down to the starting position. To begin this lift, your upper arms should be straight down, perpendicular to the floor with your elbows at your sides, and your upper arms should be pointing up with the bar near your chest.
• Lower the bar until your arms are fully extended. Your arms should pivot only at your elbows, which should remain at your sides throughout the exercise.
• Without stopping raise the bar back up to the starting position.
• Lower and raise the bar in a controlled manner, focusing on the contraction of your tricep muscle.
• Throughout the exercise only your lower arms should move, pivoting at your elbows. If your upper arms begin to move you will begin using momentum to lower the bar, reducing the effectiveness of the lift.
• Select a weight that you can perform your repetitions using proper bench press technique described here. On your last 1-2 sets, your last repetitions should be very difficult.

Additional tricep exercises you may want to try:

• Close Grip Bench Press
• Dips
• Skull Crushers

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