Seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath always showed up on stage with tremendous triceps and in a recent Instagram video, the man they call “The Gift” just shared his hacks for proper triceps pushdowns.
Few muscle men have ever rocked triceps like Phil Heath, so getting a better understanding of how the bodybuilding icon built them is a “money can’t buy” type of lesson. Fortunately, the Olympia great often shares his tips for free via social media, so that you can replicate his reps.
Benefits of Triceps Pushdown Exercise For Building Mass
Triceps pushdowns, often referred to as ‘triceps pulldowns’ are an isolation exercise that target the medial head (near the elbow) and lateral head (in the center) of the triceps. The lateral head is the part of the triceps that is often associated with that much coveted horseshoe shape that bodybuilders chase. This makes triceps pushdowns an excellent choice for building bigger arms and they will also improve your strength on other lifts, too.
Phil Heath’s Triceps Pushdown Hacks
“Here’s an added benefit to your tricep pulldowns,” shared Heath with his 4.4 million Instagram followers. “And, I know a lot of you guys, myself included when I first started doing these, you always come down and see how my elbows are flared out?” Heath demonstrated a triceps pushdown with elbows distanced apart, noting that there’s an instinct to do it this way when the focus is on spreading the rope handles apart. “Now, here’s my challenge to you,” he went on. “Bring these elbows in as close as possible.”
In his second variation, Heath brought his arms together so that they were practically touching his obliques. “And this is the finish, right here,” showed the show-stopping bodybuilder. With his arms now together, there is less of a proclivity to spread the ropes, and more focus on the downward vertical motion. “You can kind of tell that if you get (your elbows in) closer, you see more (vertical movement) here than if (my elbows) were just out here.” This master tip makes great sense, because a huge aspect of triceps pushdowns in the flexing of the elbow, and this is heightened when the vertical line is straightened, rather than when the elbows were flared out and trying to pull the ropes from side-to-side.
“And then, if you want to add some more degree to difficulty, hold for as long as you can on these last three reps” added Heath. In this demonstration, with the rope now at the bottom of the movement, The Gift grabbed hold of the rope handles and held the weight down for as long as possible, adding the element of time under tension for maximum effect. “Technique and time under tension has been awesome for me,” concluded Heath. And who could argue with that?
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