Muscles Used in Tricep Pushdowns.

Tricep Pushdown is basically a training exercise in order to strengthen our tricep muscles that are actually at the back of our arms.

This exercise is used by fitness athletes to remain fit and powerful since triceps are the major muscles for your stability and performance and to do various activities and to participate in different championships, it’s important for the athletes to remain fit and powerful ( Tricep Pushdowns target muscles and build it stronger)

Jeff Nippard, a great powerlifter and a huge example of bodybuilding, has also given training techniques for tricep pushdowns. He has given a lot of focus on tricep pushdowns and mentioned their advantages in his videos.

Not only Jeff Nippard but websites like T nation also emphasize tricep pushdowns. According to T nation, Tricep Pushdown is the best exercise to maintain a strong and firm back arm. Athletes and bodybuilders can then carry heavy weights easily after they are used to this exercise.

Tricep Pushdown can also be referred to as Tricep pull-down and some people can also say it as Cable Tricep Pushdown, so don’t confuse yourself with different wordings.

Moving forward, we will be discussing the major muscles used in tricep pushdown and it can either be overhand Tricep Pushdown or even rope tricep pushdown.

Muscles worked in Tricep pushdown

Tricep Pushdown muscles include primary and secondary muscles, out of the seven muscles connected in the elbow joint, these two are involved in triceps pushdown.

When you do Tricep Pushdown, A motion called elbow extension occurs during this exercise and this eventually involves these muscles that are connected with the ulna and they then straighten your arm once you bent your arm.

• Primary Muscles
  In this exercise, the person pulls down a bar in front of him which is connected to a cable, therefore, tricep pushdown works mostly on a cable system, however, there are different variations in this pushdown as well. You can check them here; they are listed below.

Primary Muscles are of course the triceps, also called Tricep Lachi (In Latin). During the tricep pushdown, it separates the medial head and the lateral head of the triceps.
These triceps are called “Three-headed muscles” and when they’re tensed, they form a horseshoe shape.

 

• Secondary Muscles.

After the primary muscles, the muscles worked in tricep pushdowns are the secondary muscles which include lats, abs, obliques, pecs, and traps.

These muscles play little role in triceps pushdown as they are all interconnected with this exercise. All these muscles support this motion,

however, you should make sure that during tricep pushdowns, you don’t use your shoulder or chest to bring down weight. If you don’t follow this then you won’t be getting the key benefits of triceps pushdown and you can even make your life risky.

Variations in Tricep Pushdown:

Along with the normal Tricep Pushdowns, there are different variations in it as well.

• One arm tricep pushdown alternative to the two arms Pushdowns

Now, here is the first variation, and it’s not very different, people are going for one-hand Tricep Pushdowns, which means athletes can do this one by one.

Some athletes face muscle imbalance in their stronger or weaker arms. This alternative will help them avoid the imbalance. It is the same as the two arm Pushdowns but you’ll do it first with one arm than with the other. This is also called single-arm tricep pushdown.

• Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdown.

Apart from the one-arm tricep pushdown, the second variation is the reverse Tricep Pushdown, muscles used here are the same as in the normal tricep pushdown and this is also just a variation.

What happens here is first, the arms are facing upwards unlike in the normal tricep pushdown where the arms face down. Secondly, in this variation, that is the reverse-grip tricep pushdown, you will be lifting less weight comparatively.

Therefore, this variation will work out best for the ones having problems relating to elbow flare and who want to tighten their elbows. You can go for this on handles as well, which means you can do this without the cables and instead use the handles.

• One Arm Reverse Grip Triceps:

One arm reverse grip triceps can also be done, Just like in the picture above, you can do it by one hand at a time as well. This exercise will be best for bodybuilders as it increases the sizes of the triceps and strengthens them.

• Resistant Band Pushdown

Now here comes the resistant band Pushdown or rope Tricep Pushdown, it works the same but the only difference is that it uses a rope or a resistance band instead of the cable.

This will be perfect for the one who wants to work out at home as this is cheaper and easier to set up. As you do the pushdowns, the resistance of the band increases whereas, in the common cable pushdown, the resistance is the same throughout.

It gives the same advantage as the tricep pushdown, it is just that the method is a little bit different.

Do Tricep Pushdowns burn calories?

It is quite obvious that these triceps are a group of small muscles and when you do these tricep Pushdowns, you may feel pain as if your calories are burning but they don’t burn that much as you feel it.

There is a “Low-Calorie Burn” and it just burns 112 calories in a small session of 30 minutes. However, if you go for different exercises like squats or rows and even lunges, you can burn 223-4 calories at the same time. This is because the triceps are a small muscle group.

Alternatives to Tricep Pushdowns:

• Lying Tricep Pushdowns Or Tricep Pushdowns on Bench.

Okay, So the first alternative is here, you can also perform this triceps pushdown exercise on a bench.

Lying on a bench with your feet on the ground, All you need to do is hold the dumbbells above your chest firmly and take them above your ears with your palms facing each other.
When you’ll bring the dumbbells on the top, this will contract your triceps and build them stronger and strengthen it.
You can perform it as Lying down on the ground called Lying Tricep Pushdowns or on the bench calling it Bench Tricep Pushdowns as well. So Start it up, guys!

• Overhand Tricep Pushdowns/ Overhand Grip Tricep Pushdowns.

In the overhand Grip Tricep Pushdowns, the muscles used are the primary ones i.e triceps brachii, and the secondary ones including rotator cuff and Latissimus Dorsi.

Here in the overhand tricep pushdown, you have to do it while standing and your elbows should be at your side, bend it till your arms are straight, just take care that your Elbows are fixed at that time.

Don’t move your back and your shoulders should be forward.

• Tricep Pushdown lat pulldown.

Tricep Pushdown lat pulldown is also a great exercise for your triceps, however, it’s not just a single exercise, along with that, it can strengthen your back too.

This exercise is done while standing and make sure that for the first time, you go for less resistance after securing the bar with the pulley on top and stay at least one foot away from the attachment.

Exhale while pushing down and straighten your arms ( Locking elbows should be avoided) and inhale while bending coming back to the position.

The key to notice is that your spine should be straight and chest lifted to avoid complications and pain later on!

Avoid Mistakes made during triceps Pushdowns:

• Tricep Pushdowns hurt elbows /Tricep Pushdowns hurt shoulders.
  Some people complain that doing tricep pushdowns hurt their shoulders, they think the weight is fine but feel stress on their shoulders. This pain continues for a long time.

Hence, make sure while doing Tricep Pushdowns, you’re leaning slightly and you push smoothly with both arms evenly. You can try kneeling down which can allow more motion, also said as Tricep Pushdown on knees.

Don’t flare your elbows outwards while pushing down, this can also put stress on your shoulders.
Tricep Pushdown Lockout should be avoided (These means don’t lock your elbows)

• Backache
  Be sure that you’re not bending your back or using your shoulders to push the weight down. Bend your knees slightly and use your muscles to push down.

What is Tennis Elbow and how is it caused by Tricep Pushdowns?

Yes, Tricep Pushdowns also cause Tennis Elbow. How?
Firstly, the Tennis elbow is also called lateral epicondylitis by the doctors. It is a minor injury but when a person gets it, he or she needs to rest for a long time.

Tennis Elbows are the weakening of the tendons when you do repetitive work; this repetitive work can be of any kind like painting or even if you use hand tools, you can get tennis elbow.
In the Tennis elbow, you experience pain in your forearm as it meets the elbow.

Now in the tricep Pushdowns, you do repetitive muscle movements which can eventually tear your tendons. This tennis elbow from tricep Pushdowns can last longer if you get it treated and you’ll feel pain while gripping things or doing any work.

Tricep Pushdown Lever Class

During the tricep Pushdowns, your muscles create movement working as a lever. There are three classes of the lever, first, second and third. When your tricep extension occurs, it uses a first-class lever, hence tricep pushdowns also use first-class levers. However, the bicep curls are an example of third-class levers.

Bottom Line
Tricep Pushdown is a great exercise for athletes or anyone looking for the best way to strengthen their triceps and build them powerful. The muscles used in this exercise are primary muscles, the triceps, and then comes the secondary muscles that are connected with this exercise.