Beginner

Reverse-Grip Triceps Pushdown

Flipping to an underhand grip pulls the elbows tight to the ribs and puts the medial head in charge, so the arm finishes hard at the bottom. It is an easy-to-load, joint-friendly finisher that most lifters can push close to failure without much fatigue cost. Use it late in a session when you want to hammer the lower triceps and lockout strength.

Equipment
Cables
Body part
Triceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Elbow Extension
Muscles worked
Target
Triceps Brachii Medial Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head
Secondary
Triceps Brachii Long Head
Tertiary
Extensors

How to do it

  1. 1

    Attach a straight bar to a high pulley and grip it underhand at shoulder width, palms facing up.

  2. 2

    Set your feet, hinge slightly forward, and pin both elbows against your sides.

  3. 3

    Keeping the elbows fixed, drive the bar down until the arms are fully straight and squeeze the triceps.

  4. 4

    Control the bar back up until your forearms reach roughly parallel to the floor.

  5. 5

    Exhale as you press down, inhale on the return, and keep the wrists neutral throughout.

Tips

  • Do not let the elbows drift forward or flare out; the only thing that moves is the forearm.
  • Keep the wrists from curling under the load, which is the most common fault with the underhand grip.
  • Use a lighter load than your standard pushdown so you can fully lock out every rep.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Clipping on a rope out of habit. The medial-head emphasis here comes from holding a straight bar palms-up; a rope lets the hands rotate back toward neutral as you push, leaving you with an ordinary pushdown.
  • Letting the bar roll out of the palms into the fingers as the set gets hard. Seat it deep in the hand at the start, because with the palms up there is nothing above the bar holding it in place.
  • Hinging so far forward that the cable line falls behind your elbows and the bar swings away from your thighs. A slight lean is the whole setup.
  • Sliding the elbows back behind your ribs at lockout, which finishes the rep with shoulder extension and lets the triceps off. Keep the elbows level with your sides and stop when the arm is straight.

Frequently asked

Where should the reverse-grip pushdown go in my workout, and for how many reps?
Two or three sets of 12 to 15, placed at the end of your triceps work rather than the start. A supinated grip is not the place for heavy sets, so use around two thirds of your normal pushdown load and lock out every rep. A drop set suits it well: hit 12 to 15, take two plates off, and go again without resting, since this position costs very little recovery.
What can I do instead of the reverse-grip pushdown at home?
Anchor a band overhead, grip it with the palms up, and push down the same way; a band suits this version because it stays light where your grip is weakest. One-arm reverse-grip kickbacks with a light dumbbell, palm facing up, are another option and make the medial head easy to feel. Neither needs much load, because this movement is about the contraction at lockout rather than the number you move.
Why do a reverse-grip pushdown instead of a regular one?
Turning the palms up draws the elbows into your sides and shifts emphasis toward the medial head, which finishes the lockout. That makes it a useful late-session finisher and a fair option when standard pushdowns leave your elbows achy. It is a poor choice for your heaviest triceps work, since the grip gives out first and the wrists sit in a weak position. Skip it altogether if supinating under load bothers your wrist or elbow, and use a rope or V-bar.

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