TricepsCable machineBeginner

How to Do Rope Pushdowns

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Sep 30, 2026

A rope pushdown is a triceps isolation exercise on a high pulley. Hold a rope with your palms facing, pin your elbows to your sides and push down until your arms are straight, letting your hands split beside your thighs. It trains all three heads of the triceps. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 10-15

Median 10-rep weight 7032.5 lbkg men 37.517 lbkg women

Muscles Triceps, all three heads

Setup High pulley, rope

Rope Pushdown start and bottom positions

1Start. Pulley at the top, palms facing, hands just below the knobs. Elbows at your sides and bent, hands at chest height.
2Bottom. Keep your upper arms still and push down until your arms are straight, with your hands beside your thighs. Then let the rope rise under control.

Watch 3 video demonstrations

Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a rope pushdown

Set the pulley to the top notch and clip on a rope. Hold both ends just below the knobs, palms facing each other.
Stand close to the stack with your feet hip-width apart and lean forward slightly from the hips. Pull the rope down until your elbows are at your sides and your forearms are about level with the floor.
Keep your upper arms still and push the rope down by straightening your elbows.
In the last few inches, let your hands move apart so they finish beside your thighs, with your wrists straight.
Let the rope rise over 2 seconds until your forearms are level again, without letting the plates touch.

Setup

How to hold and spread the rope

GripJust below the knobsPalms facing, with each knob against the little-finger side of your fist. Holding higher up the rope leaves less room for your hands to split.

SpreadTo your thighs, no widerLet your hands drift apart in the last few inches so your arms can straighten beside your thighs. Any wider and your elbows flare or your wrists bend.

WristsStraight, palms still facingKeep your wrists in line with your forearms. Twisting your palms back at the bottom turns your forearms, and the triceps does not turn the forearm.

Length27 or 36 inchesMost gym ropes are about 27 or 36 inches long (70 or 90 cm). Both work for pushdowns. The long rope gives broad or tall lifters more room to split, and suits face pulls and overhead extensions too.

No study has compared rope lengths, grips or how far to spread. These cues follow from how the lift works: the triceps straightens the elbow, and the rope lets your hands move out of the way of your thighs, so your arms can finish straight with your elbows at your sides. For bar vs V-bar vs rope, see the tricep pushdown guide.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you rope pushdown?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 70 lb (32.5 kg) for 10 reps on the rope pushdown, and the median woman 37.5 lb (17 kg).

Men, typical 70 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 50 to 100 lb
Top 10% lift: 130 lb or more
Starting out: under 50 lb

Women, typical 37.5 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 27.5 to 50 lb
Top 10% lift: 70 lb or more
Starting out: under 27.5 lb

Men, typical 32.5 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 22.5 to 45 kg
Top 10% lift: 60 kg or more
Starting out: under 22.5 kg

Women, typical 17 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 12 to 22.5 kg
Top 10% lift: 32.5 kg or more
Starting out: under 12 kg

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 22,215 men and 5,378 women who log the rope pushdown on Gravitus, computed Sep 29, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	65 / 50 lb	35 / 27.5 lb
Median	95 / 70 lb	50 / 37.5 lb
75th	130 / 100 lb	70 / 50 lb
90th	175 / 130 lb	95 / 70 lb

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 22,215 men and 5,378 women who log the rope pushdown on Gravitus, computed Sep 29, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	30 / 22.5 kg	16 / 12 kg
Median	42.5 / 32.5 kg	22.5 / 17 kg
75th	60 / 45 kg	30 / 22.5 kg
90th	77.5 / 60 kg	42.5 / 32.5 kg

These are weights logged for rope pushdowns. Gravitus lifters log less on the rope than on a straight bar, so compare rope to rope. Stack numbers are not comparable between machines: many functional trainers use a 2:1 pulley, where the 40 lb pin feels like 20 lb. Compare yourself to your own log on the same machine.

Anatomy

Muscles worked

Triceps, all three headsStraighten the elbow. On the rope pushdown the long head was more active than the lateral head (Boehler 2011).

Primary

Forearms and gripHold the rope ends and keep your wrists straight.

Secondary

Core, lats, shouldersHold your torso and upper arms still.

Stabilizer

Research

Which head does the rope pushdown work?

All three, and the long head more than the lateral head. In one EMG study, 15 women did eight triceps exercises at 70% of their max. On the rope pushdown, the long head reached 81% of the activity it showed in a diamond push-up and the lateral head 67%, a significant gap (Boehler 2011). The medial head was not measured. With the arm at your side, the long head also produced the most force of the three heads in an EMG and modelling study (Kholinne 2018).

Four rope claims the research does not back, three of them from our old guide:

The rope targets the lateral head. It is the most repeated claim about this lift. The one EMG study we found that measured both heads on a rope pushdown found the reverse (Boehler 2011).
Spreading the rope adds a stronger contraction. No study has tested it. The triceps straightens the elbow; it does not pull your hands apart. Spreading helps only as far as it lets your arms go straight beside your thighs.
Turn your wrists out at the bottom. Twisting your palms to face back rotates your forearms, which the triceps does not do. Keep your wrists straight and let your hands drift apart.
A study showed the rope beats the bar. The study most often linked for this (Rendos 2016) never tested a rope. It compared a standard handle with two ball handles on the pushdown and found no difference in triceps activity.

Compare

Rope pushdown vs bar pushdown vs overhead rope extension

Attribute	Rope pushdown	Straight-bar pushdown	Overhead rope extension
Grip	Palms facing	Palms down	Palms facing
Arms	At your sides	At your sides	Overhead
Finish	Hands beside your thighs	Bar in front of your thighs	Arms straight, forward and up
Weight	Less than the bar	The most	The least
Best for	Sore wrists, higher reps	Heavy sets	Triceps growth

Verdict

The rope and the bar train the same muscle, so pick the one your wrists and elbows prefer. For size, add an overhead extension: it grew the triceps 1.4 times more than a pushdown over 12 weeks (Maeo 2023). See the overhead rope extension guide.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3-4Sets

10-15Reps

0-2Reps left

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. Do rope pushdowns after your presses, and add an overhead extension on another day or in the same session.

Stack jumps of 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) are big on a lift this light. Add reps first: when every set reaches 15, move up one pin and drop back to 10.

The rope suits a drop set on your last set: at failure, move the pin two plates lighter and keep going. Drop sets grew muscle about as much as regular sets in a meta-analysis of 5 studies, and some versions took half the time or less (Sødal 2023).

Form

Common mistakes

Elbows drifting forwardYour shoulders and lats start pushing the rope. Keep your elbows at your sides for the whole set.
Yanking the rope apartPulling the ends wider than your thighs flares your elbows and bends your wrists. Let your hands drift apart only at the bottom.
Twisting the palms backThe triceps does not turn the forearm, so the twist adds nothing. Keep your palms facing and your wrists straight.
Holding the rope too highYour hands cannot split and your arms stop short of straight. Hold just below the knobs.
Leaning over the ropeYour body weight moves the stack, not your triceps. Lean forward only slightly, and go lighter.
Cutting the top shortLet the rope rise until your forearms are level. Stopping halfway skips the stretched part of the rep.

Variations

Rope pushdown variations

Straight-bar pushdownPalms down on a bar. Takes more weight than the rope. Its guide compares every handle.

V-Bar PushdownWrists turned partway in, hands fixed. Takes about the same weight as a straight bar.

Single-arm rope pushdownOne end of the rope in one hand. Evens out a weaker arm and lets you turn side-on to the stack.

Reverse Grip Cable PushdownPalms up on a bar or handle. Lighter again than the rope.

Overhead Tricep Rope ExtensionSame rope, facing away with your arms overhead. Grew the triceps more than pushdowns over 12 weeks (Maeo 2023).

FAQ

Questions people ask

What does rope pushdown work?

All three heads of the triceps. In one EMG study the long head was more active than the lateral head on the rope pushdown (Boehler 2011). Your forearms hold the rope, and your core and lats keep you still.

What head does rope pushdown work?

All three, with the long head more active than the lateral head, 81% against 67% of their diamond push-up activity in one study (Boehler 2011). That study did not measure the medial head. For the most long head growth, add an overhead extension (Maeo 2023).

Is rope pushdown push or pull?

Push. You straighten your elbows against the cable, so it goes on push day with your chest and shoulder presses, usually near the end of the session.

Should I spread the rope at the bottom of a tricep pushdown?

A little. Let your hands drift apart until they finish beside your thighs, so your arms can straighten with your elbows at your sides. No study shows that pulling the ends apart harder adds triceps work; it mostly flares your elbows and bends your wrists.

Is the rope pushdown better than the straight bar pushdown?

Neither is better for growth; both train all three heads. Gravitus lifters log less weight on the rope, and the bar is easier to load heavy. Use the rope if a neutral grip feels better on your wrists or elbows.

How much weight should I rope pushdown?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 70 lb (32.5 kg) for men and 37.5 lb (17 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 100 lb (45 kg) and 50 lb (22.5 kg) or more.

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References