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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Explore/Triceps

Single-Arm Cable Pushdown

Also called Reverse-grip pushdown

CableIsolationEasy to learnOne side at a time
Front
Back
Primary

Works

Triceps

You need

Cable station

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main muscles
  1. 1Elbow pinned to your side
  2. 2Push down until the arm is straight
  3. 3Let the forearm rise above 90° on the way up

Most common mistake

Letting the elbow drift forward.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for triceps
  • Easy to keep adding weight
  • Easy on the joints and recovery

Compare with

vs Cable Kickbackvs Dumbbell Skull Crushervs Triceps Extension Machine
A
For triceps
#8 of 20
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Research
79
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 79
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchGood
ProgressionExcellent
Low costExcellent

One arm at a time with steady tension. Joint-friendly, with less stretch than overhead work.

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

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