How to Do Overhead Cable Tricep Extensions
An overhead cable tricep extension is a triceps isolation exercise done facing away from a cable. Hold a bar or handle behind your head, keep your upper arms beside your ears and straighten your elbows. It trains all three heads of the triceps and stretches the long head. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps.
- 1Start. Pulley at the top, facing away from the stack. Lean forward with your upper arms beside your head and your hands behind it.
- 2Finish. Keep your upper arms still and straighten your elbows until your arms are straight, then bend them back under control.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
How to do an overhead cable tricep extension
- Clip a straight bar, EZ bar or V-bar to the pulley and set it at the top. Hip height also works; see the chart below.
- Grab the bar, turn to face away from the stack with your hands behind your head, and step forward into a split stance until the weight lifts.
- Lean forward from the hips until your upper arms point forward beside your head. Brace your abs so your lower back stays flat.
- Keep your upper arms still and straighten your elbows until your arms are fully straight.
- Bend your elbows over 2 seconds until your hands are back behind your head, without letting the plates touch down.
Pulley height changes the rep
The weight stack pulls with the same force all rep, but not with the same leverage. Your elbow feels it most where your forearm is at a right angle to the cable, so pulley height moves the hardest part of the rep. The closer the cable runs to the line of your upper arms, the more load you keep in the stretch. The curves are modelled for a lifter facing away from the stack, on the same scale.
Use the top pulley to load lockout, the part a dumbbell leaves empty. Use hip height to keep load in the stretch. In Maeo 2023 the lifters bent from 90 degrees to straight, a range both setups load. On the top pulley, folding deeper than that adds stretch but little load.
How much weight should you use for overhead cable tricep extensions?
On Gravitus, the median man lifts 65 lb (27.5 kg) for 10 reps on the overhead cable tricep extension, and the median woman 30 lb (14 kg).
- Most lift
- 45 to 90 lb
- Top 10% lift
- 125 lb or more
- Starting out
- under 45 lb
- Most lift
- 22.5 to 45 lb
- Top 10% lift
- 60 lb or more
- Starting out
- under 22.5 lb
- Most lift
- 20 to 42.5 kg
- Top 10% lift
- 57.5 kg or more
- Starting out
- under 20 kg
- Most lift
- 10 to 20 kg
- Top 10% lift
- 27.5 kg or more
- Starting out
- under 10 kg
Why overhead? What the research says
Overhead extensions grew the triceps more than pushdowns in a 12-week cable study. In Maeo 2023, 21 adults trained one arm with overhead cable extensions and the other with pushdowns, 5 sets of 10 twice a week, bending from 90 degrees to straight. The overhead arm grew 1.5 times more in the long head (28.5% vs 19.6%) and 1.4 times more in the whole triceps (19.9% vs 13.9%), while lifting 34 to 39% less weight.
The long head is the only triceps head that crosses the shoulder, so raising your arm overhead stretches it.
Three common claims the research and the physics do not back:
- Cables give constant tension. The stack pulls the same all rep, but its leverage on your elbow changes, as the chart above shows. On a top pulley the deep stretch carries almost no load.
- Stop short of lockout to keep tension. On a top pulley, the hardest part of the rep is close to lockout, and the cable still pulls at three quarters of its peak with your arms straight. Stopping short skips it.
- Overhead work isolates the long head. In an EMG and modelling study, the long head did the most work with the arm at your side, and the medial head took over with the arm raised (Kholinne 2018). The overhead arm also grew more in the lateral and medial heads (Maeo 2023).
Muscles worked
Which attachment to use
No study we found has compared attachments for overhead extensions. All of them put your arm overhead, which is what Maeo 2023 tested. Pick the one that lets you keep your elbows still. The rope version has its own guide.
Overhead cable extension vs dumbbell vs pushdown
| Attribute | Overhead cable | Overhead dumbbell | Pushdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arm position | Overhead | Overhead | At your side |
| Hardest point | You choose, by pulley height | Forearms level | Depends on where you stand |
| Long head stretch | Most | Most | Least |
| Weight jumps | 5 to 10 lb | 5 lb | 5 to 10 lb |
If you pick one, pick an overhead extension. It grew the triceps 1.4 times more than the pushdown (Maeo 2023). Cable or dumbbell is your choice: the cable loads lockout, the dumbbell needs no machine.
Sets, reps and progression
Stop each set 0 to 2 reps short of failure. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a range you can keep strict. The overhead arm in Maeo 2023 did 5 sets of 10 twice a week.
Stack jumps of 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) are big for the triceps. Add reps first: when every set reaches the top of your range, move up one pin and drop back to the bottom of the range.
Common mistakes
-
Elbows drifting forward and downThe rep turns into a press and your shoulders help. Keep your upper arms beside your head.
-
Elbows flaring wideThe bar tips and your shoulders take over. Point your elbows forward, and go lighter if they keep drifting out.
-
Stopping short of lockoutOn a top pulley, the hardest part of the rep is close to lockout. Straighten your arms every rep.
-
Folding too deep on a top pulleyWith your hands deep behind your head, the cable lines up with your forearms and the triceps load drops to nothing. Lower the pulley if you want a loaded stretch.
-
Arching the lower backYour ribs flare as the cable pulls you back. Take a longer split stance and brace your abs.
Overhead cable extension variations
Questions people ask
What does overhead cable extension work?
All three heads of the triceps. The long head crosses the shoulder, so the overhead position stretches it. Your core, lats and shoulders hold your arms and torso still.
Does overhead cable extension work every triceps head?
Yes. Over 12 weeks the long head grew 28.5% and the lateral and medial heads 14.6%, both more than with pushdowns (Maeo 2023).
What pulley height should I use for overhead cable tricep extension, high or low?
Either works. A top pulley makes lockout the hardest part and goes light deep in the stretch. A hip-height pulley is hardest with your forearms level and keeps load in the stretch.
Is the overhead cable tricep extension better than the tricep pushdown?
For growth, yes. In Maeo 2023 the overhead arm grew 1.4 times more in the whole triceps than the pushdown arm, while lifting less weight. Pushdowns are still a good second exercise.
Can you use V bar for overhead tricep extension?
Yes. A V-bar gives a neutral grip at a fixed width and sits easily behind your head. No study we found compares attachments for this lift.
Is overhead tricep extension compound or isolation?
Isolation. Only the elbow moves. The shoulders and core work to hold your arms and torso still.
How much weight should I use for overhead cable tricep extension?
For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 65 lb (27.5 kg) for men and 30 lb (14 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 90 lb (42.5 kg) and 45 lb (20 kg) or more.
Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, overhead cable tricep extension included.
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