Exercise
Rope Tricep Extension
The Rope Tricep Extension with rope is a cable exercise that strengthens the back of the upper arms while helping you maintain controlled, steady movement.
Rope Tricep Extension
The Rope Tricep Extension is a standing cable movement where you press a rope attachment down using your arms, focusing on extending your elbows. It is useful for building arm strength and improving control, especially because the cable provides constant tension throughout the movement.
You should feel the work mainly in the back of your upper arms, with your shoulders relaxed and your upper arms staying close to your sides. Keep your body upright, move through a comfortable range, and use a slow, controlled tempo to avoid swinging or using momentum.
This exercise fits well into upper body or arm-focused workouts, often after pressing movements. To make it easier, use a lighter weight and shorten the range slightly; to make it harder, slow the lowering phase while keeping the movement smooth and controlled.
How to Perform the Rope Tricep Extension
- Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and attach a rope to the upper pulley.
- Grasp the rope with both hands using an overhand grip, then step back to create tension on the cable while keeping your upper arms close to your head.
- Position your elbows at a 90-degree angle with your upper arms parallel to the floor and your palms facing each other.
- Brace your core and maintain a slight forward lean from your hips while keeping your spine neutral and shoulders down.
- Exhale as you extend your forearms downward by contracting your triceps, pushing the rope down and slightly outward until your arms are fully extended.
- Maintain fixed upper arm position throughout the movement, ensuring only your forearms move during the extension.
- Inhale as you slowly return to the starting position by bending at the elbows, allowing the weight to raise the rope back up in a controlled manner.
- Keep tension on the triceps throughout the entire movement, never fully relaxing at the top position or locking out the elbows at the bottom.
Important information
- Keep your elbows tucked in close to your head throughout the movement to maximize tricep engagement and minimize shoulder involvement.
- Maintain a neutral wrist position during the exercise to prevent unnecessary strain on the wrist joints.
- Adjust your distance from the cable machine so that the weight stack doesn't touch down between reps, maintaining constant tension on the triceps.
- Focus on the mind-muscle connection by consciously squeezing your triceps at the point of full extension for maximum benefit.
FAQ - Rope Tricep Extension
The Rope Tricep Extension primarily targets all three heads of the triceps brachii, with particular emphasis on the medial and lateral heads. This isolation exercise minimizes involvement from other muscle groups, making it highly effective for specific triceps development.
Keep your upper arms stationary and close to your sides throughout the movement, extending only at the elbow joint. Maintain a slight forward lean from the hips, avoid rounding your back, and focus on fully extending your arms at the bottom of the movement without locking out your elbows.
For optimal triceps development, include this exercise 1-2 times weekly with at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions. Position it after compound pressing movements like bench press or shoulder press when programming your workout.
Avoid bending your elbows to compensate for limited shoulder mobility, as this negates the stretching benefits. Don't rush through repetitions or use momentum—move slowly and deliberately. Also, never force the movement beyond the point of mild discomfort, as this could lead to shoulder strain.
To make it easier, reduce the weight and focus on higher repetitions or use a single-arm variation. For increased difficulty, add more weight, slow down the eccentric (lowering) phase to 3-4 seconds, or try drop sets by performing consecutive sets with decreasing weight without rest.
Rope Tricep Extension
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