Tricep extension
Cable triceps kickback
Works
Equipment
Unilateral (one side at a time)
How to do it
- Set the pulley to the low position and grab the handle with one hand in a neutral grip.
- Hinge forward with a flat back and the elbow tucked against your torso at 90°.
- Keep the upper arm still and extend the elbow, driving the handle back.
- Squeeze the triceps with the arm extended and constant cable tension.
- Return slowly to 90° and finish your reps before switching arms.
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbow drift away from the torso and raising the upper arm.
- Cutting the range short without fully extending the elbow.
What the evidence says
Over 12 weeks, training one arm overhead and the other with the arm at the side, the overhead arm grew about 1.4–1.5 times more: +28.5% vs +19.6% in the long head and +19.9% vs +13.9% in the whole triceps — and that with lighter absolute loads. If you only keep one extension variation, make it the overhead one.
Maeo S, Wu Y, Huang M, et al. «Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position». European Journal of Sport Science, 2023. View the study
In trained lifters, eight weeks of doing only the lengthened half of the range produced the same elbow-extensor growth as full range of motion. The non-negotiable part is the bottom, the stretch: you can cut the lockout without losing anything.
Wolf M, Androulakis Korakakis P, Piñero A, et al. «Lengthened partial repetitions elicit similar muscular adaptations as full range of motion repetitions during resistance training in trained individuals». PeerJ, 2025. View the study
At 0° of shoulder elevation the triceps long head generates the most force; from 90° upwards the medial head takes over as the main elbow extensor. So the overhead position isn't where the long head contributes most — and it's still where it grows most.
Kholinne E, Zulkarnain RF, Sun YC, Lim S, Chun JM, Jeon IH. «The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension». Acta Orthopaedica et Traumatologica Turcica, 2018. View the study
What isn't settled: What's well measured is shoulder position (overhead vs at the side). What isn't is the comparison between the actual variations: nobody has compared lying EZ-bar extensions vs cable pushdowns vs kickbacks over time at matched volume. The kickback in particular has no growth study at all — only the suspicion that it loads the triceps at its shortest length.
Other variations
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