Behold a question from an anonymous reader (I always withhold names unless I’m given explicit consent to include them):
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Ive been lifting more regularly since we last spoke and seeing progress in strength in all areas…except triceps.
I do 2×12 sets of tricep pushdowns every workout – and seem to struggle to finish them every single time, even at the weight I started working out at.
i’ve added weight on every other movement
barbell bicep curl
overhead press
bench
squat
dead
lat pull downs
rows
calf raises
but no movement at the station for triceps.
What’s the go?
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The “go” is as follows:
Certain exercises lend themselves to increases in strength (sometimes rapid increases) and others don’t.
Rope pushdowns sit in the latter camp.
Believe it or not, this is actually a good thing as it suggests you are paying strict attention to your form. In fact, I tend to get a little concerned when people report big strength gains in this movement because it almost always means they’re using a fair bit of deltoid, lat, and momentum to complete their reps.
To put your mind at ease, when I perform rope pushdowns, I never use more than a quarter of the stack despite being able to close grip bench 100kg for easy sets of 8. Whereas I see many men doing rope pushdowns with three quarters of the stack or more who can’t bench anywhere near what I can (which still isn’t much in the grand scheme of things), nor do they possess triceps as large and shapely as I do.
I think this is telling, but I know there are many who might disagree.
Anyway.
With cable movements in general, I find the best metric for progression isn’t weight lifted but rather movement quality. Use them to develop the skill of mind-muscle connection — truly isolating the muscle(s) you want to work while constraining everything else to a supporting role only (i.e. to create and maintain a stable “platform” to lift from). Not only will this probably result in pleasing size gains, but it will also enhance your ability to control your “big” movements like squats, deadlifts, and so forth which, in time, tends to result in fewer niggles and outright injuries as you begin to tap into more challenging loads.
Them’s my thoughts on the matter.
For more on getting strong and in shape, specifically learning how to write safe, sustainable programmes using methods almost lost to the mists of time, my biased recommendation is that you purchase “Silver Era Secrets” to work with me on this personally and privately for the next three months.
The programme is quite expensive (£1200), so certainly not for anyone who is feeling the pinch.
But otherwise, I think you will struggle to find a more unequivocal approach (again, I am biased).
Here are the details:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/programme/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman