Machine Overhead Tricep Extension

How to Perform the Machine Overhead Tricep Extension

1. Adjust the seat height so the handles are behind your head and your upper arms can rest against the pads.
2. Sit with your back flat against the pad and grip the handles behind your head.
3. Position your upper arms alongside your head, elbows pointing forward and upward.
4. Start with your elbows fully bent, feeling a deep stretch in your triceps.
5. Extend your arms overhead by straightening your elbows against the resistance.
6. Squeeze the triceps hard at the top of the movement when your arms are fully extended.
7. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position, allowing a full stretch in the triceps.
8. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions without letting the weight stack rest between reps.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Muscles Worked

Benefits

• ✓Targets the long head of the triceps more effectively than pushdowns due to the overhead arm position.
• ✓Machine guidance ensures consistent resistance and reduces the coordination demands of free-weight overhead extensions.
• ✓The stretched position at the bottom provides a strong hypertrophy stimulus.

Pro Tips

• ●The overhead position places the long head of the triceps under a deep stretch, which is optimal for growth.
• ●Focus on squeezing at the top and stretching at the bottom for maximum time under tension.
• ●This exercise pairs well with pressing movements like bench press or machine dips for complete tricep training.

Variations

Recommended Sets & Reps