Cable Tricep Extension: Muscles Worked, How To Do & Tips

Do you dream of having sleeve-busting arms that turn heads wherever you go? Then, the cable tricep extension is the secret weapon for building an impressive tricep.

Many people focus solely on traditional tricep exercises, such as the close grip bench press and skull crusher (for a good reason).

However, the cable tricep extension is a highly effective way to target your tricep from a different angle with a rope attachment, EZ bar, or straight bar.

To build a stronger and bigger tricep, you can do the cable tricep extension with different body positions (seated, kneeling, or standing) and grip positions.

• Overhead Cable Tricep Extension
• One Arm Cable Extension
• Reverse Grip Cable Extension
• Lying Cable Tricep Extension
• Single Arm Tricep Extension
• Rope Tricep Extension, and others.

Let’s talk about each of them.

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Cable Tricep Extension Muscles Worked

• Primary muscles worked: Triceps Brachii (all three heads: long, lateral, and medial)
• Secondary Movers (Minimal Activation): Anconeus (small muscle located on the back of the elbow)
• Stabilizing Muscles: Forearms (wrist flexors and extensors), Core (rectus abdominis, obliques, erector spinae), rotator cuff muscles and forearm muscles

How To Do Cable Overhead Tricep Extension

1. Attach a rope to the bottom pulley of the cable machine and face away from the pulley.
2. Hold the rope with both hands with palms facing each other (neutral grip), extend your arms until your hands are directly above your head.
3. Your elbows should be in close to your head and the arms should be perpendicular to the floor with the knuckles pointing to the ceiling.
4. Slowly lower the rope behind your head while holding the upper arms stationary. Inhale as you perform this movement and pause when your triceps are fully stretched.
5. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat the desired number of sets and reps.

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Tips and Techniques

• Keep your elbows tucked close to your head throughout the entire movement. This isolates the triceps and prevents shoulder involvement.
• Don’t lock the elbows out entirely if you want to keep more tension in the triceps.
• Your elbow should remain relatively stationary. Avoid letting it sway forward and backward.
• Keep your core tight to maintain stability and reduce the risk of lower back strain.
• It might not be a good idea to add more weight than is needed. So start with light weight and progress.
• Use a controlled, slow tempo, especially on the eccentric (lowering) portion. Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement to fully stretch the triceps.
• It is important to extend your elbows at the bottom fully. Feel the deep stretch at the top and the hard contraction at the bottom.
• Try different grip widths use a rope attachment, EZ-bar, or straight bar to see what feels best and hits your triceps just right.
• Depending on your fitness level and goals, start the sets and reps to increase strength or build muscle mass and endurance. Here are some general guidelines for enhancing muscle mass.

5 Best Cable Tricep Extension Variations

Here are 5 different ways to do cable triceps extensions. It’s a good idea to change up these variables throughout your training to keep your muscles guessing.

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1. High Pulley Cable Overhead Extension

Unlike other tricep extensions, this exercise targets the long head of the triceps more effectively due to the overhead position.

The high pulley setup allows for a more extensive range of motion, giving your triceps a deeper stretch and a more robust contraction.

It offers almost unmatched versatility because it is easy to change the load, angle, grip positioning, and body positioning.

How To Do

1. Attach a rope to the top of a cable stack and stand up.
2. Pick up the rope overhead with a neutral grip (palms facing)
3. Step forward slightly to create tension in the cable. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and lean forward.
4. Don’t allow the rope to pull you backward or cause you to overarch throughout your lumbar spine.
5. Pull the rope downward until the elbows are almost locked out.
6. Slowly lower the attachment back behind your head

2. One Arm Cable Overhead Extension

When performing a tricep extension with a cable machine, you can add plenty of single-arm exercises to correct potential imbalances.

You can use this exercise to target each side of the triceps separately. This will balance the strength of each arm and will give you an asymmetrical look.

How To Do

1. Attach a stirrup (handle) to a lower-level cable pulley.
2. Grasp the stirrup with one hand and press it up, over your head.
3. Turn away from the pulley and stagger your feet for balance.
4. Your elbow should be raised high; the cable should be pulled taut.
5. Keep your elbow close to your head, and exhale as you extend your elbow to raise the stirrup over your head.
6. Inhale as you flex your elbow to lower the stirrup towards the starting position until you feel a mild stretch in your triceps brachii. Repeat 8–12 reps.
7. Repeat the exercise with your opposite arm.

3. Cable Concentration Tricep Extension

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your cable extension exercises, why not try cable concentration triceps extension?

As with all unilateral exercises (i.e., exercises in which you train one side of your body at a time), start with your weak side.

Make sure that you kneel in a position that ensures optimal resistance throughout the exercise’s full range of motion.

How To Do

1. Attach a stirrup handle to a cable pulley and adjust the pulley up high.
2. Kneeling on your left knee (with the left side of your body turned towards the machine), keep your right bent and the upper portion of your thigh parallel to the floor.
3. With your right elbow and upper arm pressed against your inner thigh just above your knee, pull the cable down towards the floor in a slight arcing motion.
4. Slowly to return to the starting position. Repeat and switch arms.

4. Cable Lying Triceps Extension

Cable Lying Triceps Extension is a perfect variation of regular skull crushers done with the bar. The lying tricep extension primarily works the triceps brachii, emphasizing the long head of the tricep.

This cable version will create constant tension on your triceps and help you improve your mind-muscle connection. You can also do this with ropes, which will target your lateral head more than the long head.

How To Do

1. Attach a bar at the lower end of the cable machine and place a bench in front of it.
2. Lay down on the bench and hold a bar with on overhand grip.
3. Your elbow should face up, and your arms should be at a 90° angle. This will be your starting position.
4. Move the bar down until the bar reaches below your head. Keep your elbows tucked in.
5. Press the bar up by squeezing your triceps and extend full at the top.
6. Do not lock your elbows out, and repeat for desired reps.

5. Incline Cable Tricep Extension

Finally, if you’re looking for one more effective tricep extension exercise, try the incline tricep extension.

One of the best exercises for drawing and pumping triceps is hand extension due to the overhead extensions.

Triceps extensions can be beneficial for fixing imbalances in the triceps or rehabilitating from injury. It puts no pressure on the wrists, so they are an alternative for people with wrist strain or injury.

How To Do

1. Attach the rope handle to the lower block, grasp it with your hands, sit on the bench with your back.
2. Bend your hands at the elbows so that the ends of the handle are located behind your head.
3. Slowly straighten your arms, keep your elbows in a fixed position.
4. At the end, hold the peak contraction for a short time.
5. Return to the starting position.

Cable Tricep Extension Workout Routines

They can be incorporated into your workout routine in various ways. Here are some options:

1. As a standalone exercise: Do on 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps.
2. As part of a tricep workout: Do them along with other tricep exercises.
3. As part of a full-body workout: Do them with other compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

1. Tricep Focused Workout Routine

2. Upper Body Workout Routine

3. Full Body Strength And Stability Routine

Best Alternatives Of Cable Tricep Extension

1. Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extension
2. Cable Tricep Kickback
3. Barbell Skull Crusher
4. Tricep Kickback
5. Barbell Overhead Tricep Press
6. Dumbbell Tricep Extension
7. Cable Tricep Pushdown
8. Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

References

• American Council on Exercise: ACE Study Identifies Best Triceps Exercises (source)
• The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension
• Tiwana MS, Sinkler MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Triceps Muscle. [Updated 2021 Aug 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536996/
• Kholinne, E., Zulkarnain, R. F., Sun, Y. C., Lim, S., Chun, J. M., & Jeon, I. H. (2018). The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica, 52(3), 201–205.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.