During practice, some training movements are somewhat similar. Due to some deviations in the training process by myself or the coach, some people's final training results are different from their original expectations. During training, rope push-downs and straight-arm push-downs may sound similar, but they are actually different. Let’s take a look at their differences below!
Different parts of exercise
The most important part exercised by rope push-down is the triceps brachii. Cable pushdowns are one of the few exercises that isolate our triceps. The straight arm push-down mainly stimulates the upper and middle part of the latissimus dorsi, and also exercises the posterior deltoid, long head of triceps brachii, infraspinatus, teres minor, teres major, etc.
The movements of the elbows are different
When practicing back muscles, our elbows are extended or slightly bent, the arms are straight and kept at the same angle, and the core is tightened , keep your back straight. If the wrist is bent when pressing down, most of the weight will be distributed to the arm, and the force-producing parts will be the triceps and waist muscles, resulting in no effective isolated stimulation of the back muscles. When practicing straight-arm push-downs, keep the straight arms at the same angle and the movement trajectory should be kept on the same plane, so the wrists must be straight.
To practice the rope push-down of the triceps brachii, you need to bend your elbow and keep the elbow joint close to the side of the body. During the entire movement trajectory, the upper arm clamps the body. This is completely different from the straight-arm push-down. Different. The process of pressing down on the rope itself is squeezing the triceps, so the shoulders and upper arms should remain stable, and only the forearms move up and down.