Pushdowns are an isolation exercise for the triceps (the muscle along the back of the arm) done using a high pulley or pulldown machine. This is one of the most common and easy to learn tricep exercises.

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How to do it:

Let the bar up. Let up your upper arms angle up again until the bar is at chin level. Repeat. Keep your lower back slightly arched tight and your chest out.

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Tricks:

• When you come to the bottom of the movement, try to push the bar straight down towards the floor as though trying to push your body up. This will increase the contraction.

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Common Errors:

• Not controlling the weight on the way up and using momentum on the way down - this is a combination of errors. If you don't control the weight as it comes up, you will have to use elastic force from the back muscles to rebound the weight back down.
• This rebound back down reduces tricep activation.
• If you continue to use momentum on the way down and don't squeeze the triceps during the movement then you will get very little out of this exercise except perhaps a backache.
• Do this exercise in a slow and controlled manner.