Skip to content
Skip to content
Muscle & StrengthHub

Muscle7 min readIntermediate

Overhand vs underhand tricep pushdown: does grip matter?

Half the gym says the reverse-grip pushdown hits a part of the triceps nothing else reaches. The other half says it just hurts your wrists. Both camps are usually repeating something they heard. A study measured it directly: overhand and underhand, each with a handle and with a padded strap, recording the triceps and the wrist muscles at the same time.

By Updated

The short answer

In 22 adults performing single-arm cable pushdowns, the triceps long head showed higher electrical activity with an underhand grip on a handle than in any other condition, while wrist flexor activity was highest overhand and wrist extensor activity highest underhand. Participants completed fewer repetitions with the underhand handle grip (Villalba et al., 2024).

  • Fewer repetitions were completed underhand with a handle than overhand.
  • Activation in one session is not muscle growth, so this changes exercise choice, not expected results.

Does grip change the tricep pushdown?

Surface electrodes recorded the triceps lateral head, the triceps long head, the flexor carpi radialis and the extensor carpi radialis on the dominant side. The long head showed higher activity in the underhand handle condition than in all other conditions. , 2024).

What each condition produced (Villalba et al., 2024)
ConditionWhat stood out
Underhand, handleHighest triceps long-head activity; highest wrist extensor activity; fewest repetitions
Overhand, handleHighest wrist flexor activity
Underhand, padded strapNo condition-specific peak reported
Overhand, padded strapNo condition-specific peak reported

Does the reverse grip hit the medial head?

This is the claim you hear most, and this study cannot support it: the medial head was not measured. What was measured was the long head and the lateral head, and it was the long head that rose with the underhand grip on a handle.

The second common claim — that the reverse grip is pointless — also does not survive the data. Something did change. Whether that change produces more muscle over months is a different question, and this study did not ask it.

How to use this in your own arm training

  1. Step 1

    Keep an overhand pushdown as your main version

    You will usually complete more repetitions with it, which makes it easier to load and to progress week to week.

  2. Step 2

    Add an underhand handle set if you want long-head emphasis

    That was the condition with the highest long-head activity in this study, on one arm at a time.

  3. Step 3

    Expect fewer reps underhand

    Fewer repetitions were completed in that condition, so use a lighter load rather than forcing your usual weight.

  4. Step 4

    Stop if the wrist becomes the limit

    If your wrist gives out before your triceps, change grip or attachment. The point of the set is the triceps.

  5. Step 5

    Do not drop your pressing

    Pushdowns are assistance work. Heavy pressing remains the backbone of triceps and arm training.

, 2021). What matters more is the total amount of hard work your triceps get each week and whether you add to it over time.

What this study cannot claim

Electromyography is a measure of electrical activity during a set, not a measure of muscle growth. Two exercises with different activation can produce similar growth, and a higher reading does not promise a bigger arm.

  • It measured 22 adults in a single session, not a training programme.
  • It did not measure the medial head of the triceps.
  • It did not measure muscle size, strength or any long-term outcome.
  • It tested the single-arm cable pushdown only, not barbell, dumbbell or bodyweight triceps work.

Direct comparisons like this one are rare. The closest equivalent for lower-body work compares the landmine and barbell Romanian deadlift.

People also ask

Is the underhand tricep pushdown better than overhand?

It produced the highest triceps long-head activity of the four conditions tested, but fewer repetitions were completed with it. Neither grip was shown to build more muscle.

Does the reverse grip pushdown work the medial head?

This study did not measure the medial head, so it cannot support that claim. It measured the long head and the lateral head of the triceps.

Why can I do fewer reps with an underhand pushdown?

Participants completed fewer repetitions underhand with a handle, and wrist extensor activity was highest in that condition, so the wrist may limit the set before the triceps do.

Does the cable attachment change a pushdown?

The measured peaks appeared with a handle rather than with a standard padded pulley strap, so attachment and grip are worth considering together.

Should I do both pushdown grips in the same session?

You can, but there is no evidence here that doing both beats doing one well. Total weekly hard sets and steady progression matter more.

Scientific References & Evidence

  1. Schoenfeld, B.J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D.W. and Plotkin, D.L. (2021) 'Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum', Sports, 9(2), article 32. doi: 10.3390/sports9020032. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032
  2. Villalba, M.M., Fujita, R.A., Junior, C.I. and Gomes, M.M. (2024) 'Forearm position influences triceps brachii activation during triceps push-down exercise', International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 4(1). doi: 10.47206/ijsc.v4i1.250. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47206/ijsc.v4i1.250

Read next

Educational information for adults aged 18 and over. It does not diagnose, treat or manage any medical condition. If you have a health condition, or symptoms that worry you, speak to your doctor or a health professional.