What the heck is the McManus Tricep Pushdown?
Well you know that THT is all about MAXIMIZING muscle fiber recruitment.
You also know from a previous post that in order to achieve this in the triceps we need an exercise that will:
- straighten the arm (from a position of elbow flexion) and…
- bring the arm down towards the body
Previously I demonstrated the cable kickback as a way of meeting the above criteria. However, after some feedback from people saying that they found that exercise a little awkward, I hit the lab/homegym again.
I’ve now come up with a variation of the tricep pushdown that is, at least in the author’s opinion, better than the cable kickback and easier to do.
It works BOTH tri’s at the same time and allows for great resistance at that all important PEAK CONTRACTION POINT.
Watch the vid and if it seems like a regular pushdown, read the details below for those CRITICAL differences. (sorry this clip turned out a little blurry for some reason).
The McManus Tricep Pushdown
* Stand a few paces back from the pulley so that the chain is at about a 45 degree angle
* Bend at the knees
* Lean the torso forward and keep a straight back. Stick your butt out.
* You want to push the attachment down until your arms are fully extended. You DO want to ‘lock-out’ the arms in this exercise. This is the PEAK CONTRACTION POINT and because of the angle of arms and the chain, we place much greater resistance at this point where most tricep muscle fibers are recruited. We can therefore induce more microtrauma, which in layman’s terms means MORE GROWTH STIMULATION!
* Ideally, if you had a long rope attachment or something that would allow the arms to extend the arms BEHIND the torso, that would allow for an even FULLER contraction of the triceps. However, this really is EXCELLENT as it is – don’t be concerned too much. I’m using this type of attachment.
* Pause for a second at the PCP before performing the negative. You’ll know if you’re doing it right because the PCP will feel seriously INTENSE. I have the sound in the video muted but I’m making an audible groan at the PCP of every rep.
* You don’t have to let your forearms come up very far past the point where they are at right angles to the upper arms. Control the weight up. Don’t pause in this position, only pause at the PCP.
* Keep your elbows fairly locked into your sides. Contrary to what your instructor will tell you, a little bit of movement is fine and entirely natural once you start using heavier weights. In fact, towards the END of a set a little bit of upper arm movement will allow you to push through your weakest point in the range of motion and helps you complete another rep or 2. Higher Intensity = More Growth Stimulation. Just do it smoothly, no sudden jerking movements and you’ll be fine.
You’d think to hear some of theses gym staff that your arm will fall off or you’ll grow a third eyeball because you DARED to allow some momentum. “Oh My God! He CHEATED!”. Are there judges in these gyms that are marking your form out of 10 or something? Is it every trainee’s goal to score a perfect 10 because I could have sworn we were there to stimulate our muscle fibers to grow! Anyway, I’m off on a rant, back to the post.
It may take a little practice to ‘feel around’ for the correct balance of the body for this exercise. Do a lighter dummy set to get used to it first so that you don’t waste an actual working set.
Factor this in straight away and let me know how you get on.
Stay Motivated!
Mark
P.S. While doing an Amazon search I found these long tricep straps that look like they’d get the job done to great effect! I’m thinking about investing in them. If any of you guys have experience with these, let me know.
Great post Mark. Can’t wait to give it go! Loving all the PCP exercises 🙂
Ah, I was hoping you’d post a video on these soon – now, is it safe to assume you’d recommend these over the tricep pushdown video you had out last year since they focus the PCP more?
Dude, are like all your new and “best” exercises, going to be cable exercises?
@Dee. Thanks man.
@Sean. Yes.
@iRobot. Dude, if that’s what it takes for maximal stimulation lol.
Hi Mark
That looks like a great triceps builder.
I can see your tris really working hard.
Looks great mark, I’m loving all these exercises you bring out a lot of them are similar to stuff i already do but with a slight tweak, or using the cables in ways I hadn’t thought of previously. In my opinion you are definitely moving in the right direction with the cables, due to the simple effect of gravity alway having a constant effect on the weight stack causing the muscles targeted to constantly be engaged! unlike with dumbbell/bars where the weight generally lets off after, or doesn’t begin until a certain point.
Great work!
@Keith Thanks mate.
@George. You hit the nail on the head my man!
wow that’s good stuff,yo thanks mark i have noticeably improved since i started following your pcp exercises especially my back.you the man
nice way of explaining it george very true 😀
nice you see you working til failure mark!
inspirational!
@Omar. That’s great to hear.
@Michael. I actually cut the video off 1 rep before I reached failure. So you can imagine how hard that rep was and how slow it was to complete.
An interesting variation, Mark! I’ll roll it out tonight after work.
Now all I need is auopilot in my Escape for the drive home after the gym thanks to you constantly raising the bar (chain, whatever!) with your improved exercises!
Hey Mark,
loving the new exercises!
Are these better / would these replace tricep cable kickbacks? i’ve been doing the kickbacks for a while now and find them an awesome tricep workout, wandering what your view on this would be?
cheers
@Mark
Just had a look at those straps they look like they would be really good for these, would be able to get that extra kick back and less chance of forearms giving out before your triceps especially if you are doing these after some forearm intensive exercises. If you purchase them dont forget to let us know how they are. (i might invest anyway its only a few £)
@Adam. I’m lucky I’ve got a home gym 😉
@Mike. If you don’t find the kickbacks awkward then there’s no need to drop them. You could alternate them. I personally loved the cable kickbacks but these are even better.
@George. Yes, put the strap around the top of the wrist/bottom of hand and you’re all set. Then I thought of another use.
If placed them around the elbow joints, I could replicate perfectly a pullover machine by using a high pulley – you’d get the best lat stimulation possible! So that was me sold – my straps are on their way as we speak 🙂 .
Great exercise mark! I train at home now and the o e thing i miss is the cable machine! Used to luv doing my pulldowns like this. I always found more of a burn by bending forward slightly.
That’s right Stephen but also remember to walk a few paces back from the machine so that the cable is angled – this is key to generating that resistance at the PCP.
All the best man.
HI Mark, was wondering should i replace this with tricep kickbacks or the normal pushdown.. and i do find kickbacks to be abit awkward
@Faris. Yes go ahead and replace the kickbacks with these.
best tricep isolation exercise ever besides dips but it is compound.
Mark, with the move to cable workouts, any recommendations on the ideal cable machine for a home gym? It seems that you have one.
Mark I really have shown a big change in size just in the three weeks I have been following ur weight lifting advice thanks a lot. Anyhow I tried ur pulldown exercise yesterday and a lot of tearing like pain in t he sides of my pecks. Is that ok or am I doing something wrong. If you get a chance hit me back please. Thanks again Shaun Whitaker
@Spence. I use the Marcy MP3100 Smith Machine – great piece of home-use equipment.
@Shaun. You must be doing something wrong. But in order to know I’d need to see you do it. If you wanna make a vid (maybe put it on YouTube), let me know and I’ll critique the form.