Cable Triceps Kickback
triceps
What moves the load, and what it costs
3.5MET
Triceps is the prime mover. The cable keeps tension through the whole range, which fixes the main weakness of the dumbbell version.
Cue: Use a low pulley and a single handle, with the upper arm held still parallel to the floor.
स्रोत·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER WEIGHTS, 8–15 REPS·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files cable triceps kickback under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 3.5, and middling for conditioning work.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so cable triceps kickback is filed under Resistance training (weight lifting), multiple exercises, 8–15 repetitions at varied resistance.
- Take the category's MET value — 3.5. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 3.5 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Cable Triceps Kickback: 3.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal/min
स्रोत·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Tricepsट्रायसेप्स ब्रॅकाय | Prime mover | कोपर सरळ करतो. लाँग हेड खांद्यावरूनही जातो, त्यामुळे हात डोक्यावर असताना त्यावर सर्वाधिक ताण आणि भार येतो. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
केबल मशीन. प्रत्येक रेप पहिल्या रेपसारखाच दिसला पाहिजे. तो पहिल्यासारखा दिसेनासा झाला त्या क्षणी सेट संपला.
PATTERN · ISOLATION
- Take the handle and set the upper arms in position — overhead, vertical, or angled back depending on the variation — with the elbows tucked in.
- Brace the trunk and keep the ribs down so the lower back does not arch.
- Use a low pulley and a single handle, with the upper arm held still parallel to the floor.
- Bend the elbows to lower the load until you feel a strong stretch through the back of the arm.
- Straighten the elbows back to the start without letting the upper arms move.
- Lock out gently rather than snapping into the finish.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Letting the elbows drift and flare.
The upper arms are the fixed part. If they move, the shoulders and chest start helping and the triceps get less.
Going heavy on an overhead version.
The long head is at its longest and weakest overhead. Choose the load for the stretched position, not the lockout.
Snapping into lockout.
Elbows do not enjoy being slammed straight under load. Finish under control.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
Nothing on this site regresses it further: this is already near the entry point of its pattern. Take load off, shorten the range, or slow the tempo — in that order.
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a single-joint movement does its best work in moderate to high reps — very low reps load the joint before the muscle.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–4 | 6–10 | 2 मिनिटे | Single-joint work responds poorly to very low reps — the joint gets the load before the muscle does. |
| Muscle size | 3–4 | 10–15 | 60–90 sec | This is where isolation work earns its place: cheap volume for one muscle, little systemic fatigue. |
| Endurance / fat loss | 2–3 | 15–25 | 30–45 sec | High reps here are genuinely useful — the load is small enough that form survives the fatigue. |
| First month | 2 | 12–15 | 60 sec | Light. Isolation work is for adding volume later, not for building a base. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Resistance training (weight lifting), multiple exercises, 8–15 repetitions at varied resistance — 3.5 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 3.5 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
स्रोत·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
Nothing at all to hand: क्लोज-ग्रिप पुश-अप is the closest match — same prime mover, same pattern, no kit.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the cable triceps kickback work?
Cable Triceps Kickback is a single-joint isolation movement in which the triceps is the prime mover. Straightens the elbow. The long head also crosses the shoulder, so it is stretched and loaded hardest with the arm overhead.
Is the cable triceps kickback good for beginners?
होय. तांत्रिक अवघडपणासाठी या साइटवर याला 5 पैकी 1 गुण आहेत — प्रशिक्षकाशिवाय एकाच सत्रात शिकता येण्यासारखे. सर्वात कमी योग्य वजनाने आणि 12–15 च्या दोन किंवा तीन सेटने सुरुवात करा.
What can I do instead of the cable triceps kickback at home?
The closest no-equipment substitute is the close-grip push-up, which trains the same prime mover through the same movement pattern. If you own a little equipment, the dumbbell triceps kickback is closer still. It will not load you as heavily, so use higher reps and slower tempo to make up the difference.
How many sets and reps of the cable triceps kickback should I do?
For muscle size, 3–4 sets of 10–15 with 60–90 sec rest. For strength, 3–4 sets of 6–10 with 2 min rest. In your first month, 2 sets of 12–15, stopping well short of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle group matters more than the exact rep number in any of these ranges.
Does the cable triceps kickback burn fat from the triceps?
No. No exercise removes fat from the area it trains — spot reduction has been tested repeatedly and does not happen. Training the triceps builds the muscle underneath; where body fat is lost from is decided by an overall calorie deficit and by your genetics, not by which exercise you chose.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
स्रोत·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
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