Cable Triceps Extension - Exercise of the Week

The cable triceps extension is a great exercise to target the triceps (which are the muscles at the back of your arms) using a fluid motion with the cable machine. As the exercise only requires this single piece of equipment, using a rope pulley attachment, it is simple to complete with little setup required. Here we explain how to do the exercise - complete with pictures of one of our fitness team within our gym itself.

Cable Triceps Extension

To begin, set the cable pulley to the lowest point on the machine and have a rope pulley attached to it. As with any exercise that you are trying for the first time, make sure to pick a lighter weight that is manageable to manoeuvre. Stand facing away from the machine and hold your arms behind your head to grip each end of the rope attachment. As you can see from the picture above, your elbows should be bent at both sides of your ears to grip the rope in this way. Stand in what is known as a staggered stance with one foot in front of the other and a slight bend in the knees. This is the starting position of the cable triceps extension.

Next, extend your arms fully upwards into the air so that there is no bend in your elbows. At the top of this movement, pull the ends of the rope attachment to each side so that it forms a ‘V’ shape. Slowly bend at the elbows again to return the rope attachment back to the starting position at both sides of your ears. This is one repetition (rep) complete of this arm exercise that targets your tricep muscles. As with any exercise, please feel free to ask any of our friendly fitness team for a demonstration and guidance on how to complete this exercise properly should you need it.

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