Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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General training information, not medical advice. If something hurts, stop and see a professional.
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Explore/Triceps

Rope Pushdown

CableIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary

Works

Triceps

You need

Cable station

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main muscles
  1. 1Elbows pinned to your sides
  2. 2Push down and spread the rope
  3. 3Let the forearms rise past 90°

Most common mistake

Leaning over the stack and pressing with the chest.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for triceps
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Easy to keep adding weight
  • Easy on the joints and recovery

Compare with

vs Bar Pushdownvs Triceps Extension Machinevs Dumbbell Skull Crusher
A
For triceps
#5 of 20
See the full list →
Research
81
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 81
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchFair
ProgressionExcellent
Low costExcellent

Simple and joint-friendly, but the long head never gets stretched.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • STriceps Extension MachineMachine
  • SOverhead EZ-Bar ExtensionBarbell
  • AOverhead Dumbbell ExtensionDumbbell
  • SOverhead Cable ExtensionCable

Takes

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needed to post
280