For triceps growth
For triceps growth, overhead cable extension rates well ahead on our research criteria: more stretch, more of the work on the triceps.
Cable kickback is easier on the joints.
Both are good choices, and they train the triceps differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Cable Kickback. Hardest where the triceps is shortest, so it misses the stretch, but it’s light on the elbows.
Overhead Cable Extension. Overhead extensions grew the triceps about 1.4× more than the arm-at-side version in a 12-week study.
For triceps growth, overhead cable extension rates well ahead on our research criteria: more stretch, more of the work on the triceps. Cable kickback is easier on the joints. Both are good choices, and they train the triceps differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Cable kickback needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Overhead cable extension 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 overhead cable extension.