Thursday, 24 January 2008

Push Downs - Arms Exercise


Pushdowns are an isolation exercise for upper arms, in particular the triceps, while using relatively few other muscle groups. This is one of the most easy to learn tricep exercises to tone arms. Triceps pushdowns is an exercise to tighten upper arms.
For this exercise for arms, it is best to use a cable machine with a rope or a straight bar attached to an overhead pulley. To know the appropriate weight, choose a weight that you can push 12-15 times without compromising proper form. Begin this combined arms exercise by gripping the bar with your hands facing away from you and are 6-12 inches apart and about shoulder width apart with the forearms at a 90 degree angle or less to the upper.

Stand about a foot away from the cable machine. While keeping the upper arms tucked tightly in to your sides and as stationary as possible and your back straight, push the apparatus down until your arms are completely extended.Avoid the common mistake of using your upper body weight or raising the shoulders to bring down the bar. Let the weight closer to the front of the body. This way you maximize the involvement of the lateral triceps head. You keep the pectorals out of the exercise, by maintaining a more erect posture. Pause for a while then slowly bring the weight back at chin level to your starting point. Let up your upper arms angle up again then repeat the process. This best arms exercise is sure to tone those flabby arms. Try to push the bar towards the ground by dropping your shoulders, when you come to the bottom of the pushdown. This extra squeeze on the triceps increases the contraction greatly. It is important that you control the weight on the way up and bring the weight back slowly. You will have to use elastic force from the back muscles to rebound the weight back down if you do not control the weight as it comes up.This rebound reduces tricep activation. You have to slow on the way down to squeeze the triceps during the movement or you will get very little out of this combined arms exercise except perhaps a backache. So make sure to do this arm exercise in a slow and controlled manner.

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