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Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdown

Performed at a cable stack with palms facing up, the reverse-grip pushdown extends the elbows through the same arc as a standard pushdown while the underhand grip forces stricter elbow position and highlights the triceps' medial head. Lifters use it to clean up pushdown technique and to keep elbow-friendly volume in their arm training. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Triceps · triceps brachii Anconeus

Sets & reps by goal

GoalSets × RepsRest
Strength4 sets x 3-6 reps2 min
Muscle3-4 sets x 9-12 reps60-90 sec
Endurance2-3 sets x 18-27 reps30-45 sec

Rep ranges per Helms 2014 · Schoenfeld 2016.

Level — Beginner

Beginner — mechanically simple, with the underhand grip acting as a built-in form enforcer; load lighter than your overhand pushdown.

Proper form — 5 cues

  1. Set a straight or EZ bar at upper-chest height and grip it underhand, thumbs wrapped.
  2. Draw the shoulder blades down and pin your elbows against your sides.
  3. Press the bar down until the elbows reach complete lockout.
  4. Squeeze the back of the arms for a beat with the wrists dead straight.
  5. Let the bar rise until forearms pass parallel, elbows never leaving your ribs.

Breathing: Exhale as you press to lockout, inhale as the bar returns up under control.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

Wrists curl backward under the load.. The underhand grip leaves the wrist flexors holding the bar's pull, and once they buckle, the strain lands in the wrist instead of the triceps. Fix: Lighten the stack noticeably and keep a straight line from knuckles to elbow — this exercise is loaded lighter than the overhand version by design.
Leaning over the bar and pressing with bodyweight.. Tipping the torso turns elbow extension into a leaning shove, and the triceps split the work with gravity. Fix: Stand tall a half-step back from the stack, brace the trunk, and let only the forearms travel.
Stopping short of full lockout.. The medial head this grip highlights does its decisive work in the final degrees of extension — skip lockout and you skip the point. Fix: Treat every rep as finished only when the elbows are completely straight and you feel the squeeze above the elbow tip.

Common questions

Reverse-grip vs regular pushdown — is the difference real?

The triceps extends the elbow in both, so the overlap is large. What genuinely changes: the underhand grip makes elbow flare and shoulder involvement much harder, so form self-corrects, and many lifters report feeling the inner portion of the triceps more strongly near lockout. Think of it as a strictness tool and a variation for elbow comfort, not a different muscle group.

Why is my reverse-grip pushdown weaker?

Two honest reasons: the wrist flexors are now the link holding the bar, and they fatigue before your triceps do; and the strict elbow position removes the subtle shoulder-and-bodyweight help most people lean into on overhand pushdowns. A 20 to 40 percent load drop is normal. The triceps still work hard — the chain around them is what got weaker.

Should I use a bar or single handle for reverse-grip pushdowns?

The single-handle, one-arm version is worth trying if the bar bothers your wrists — each wrist finds its own comfortable angle, and you can watch one triceps work at a time. The bar version trains both arms together and saves time. Whichever you choose, the wrist-straight rule decides the load, not the stack number you would like to move.

Related exercises

Overhead Cable Triceps ExtensionTriceps Rope PushdownTriceps Single Hand Cable Triceps PushdownTriceps Triceps Pushdown MachineTriceps Single Hand Triceps Dumbbell ExtensionTriceps

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