For triceps growth
For triceps growth, the two are close. Bar pushdown rates slightly higher: more of the work on the triceps.
Cable kickback is easier on the joints.
Both are good choices that train the triceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Bar Pushdown. Heavy and simple, but with the arms at your sides the long head never gets stretched.
Cable Kickback. Hardest where the triceps is shortest, so it misses the stretch, but it’s light on the elbows.
For triceps growth, the two are close. Bar pushdown rates slightly higher: more of the work on the triceps. Cable kickback is easier on the joints. Both are good choices that train the triceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Bar pushdown needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Cable kickback needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Cable kickback: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for bar pushdown.